How does Google determine which website to rank first, second, and third? It comes down to SEO. Well, it’s more in-depth than that. Google has more than 200 ranking factors. Backlinks are arguably the number one factor. But what are backlinks and how do they work?
Backlinks – What are they?
Backlinks are created when one website links to another. Google algorithms interpret backlinks as votes. Hence, the more links your website has, the more votes it is getting and ultimately a higher rank in the SERP.
However, these votes are not equal; it all comes down to quality or authority, which are just terms to describe a website’s trustworthiness. A link from a high ranking website is worth much more than a low ranking one. Google does this because they are aware that it is challenging to get authoritative links. The algorithms take it a step further, and also check links for relatively — these measure how related are those websites.
How do Search Engines See Backlinks
Google is checking for one; the number of links your website is getting over some time. Without this measure, sites could purchase enough backlinks overnight and would rank up high on the SERP. Second, the check for Domain Authority, that’s how authoritative a website is. Google measures this on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100. The higher the number, the better, noting that it’s easier to get from 0 to 10 than from 10 to 20.
If you can get the following three in check, your website rank will increase:
- A lot of backlinks: How many sites are linking back to you.
- Relevant Sites: How related is the website linking to yours.
- High Domain Authority: How many of the backlinks are coming from websites with high domain authority.
If you are wondering what Domain Authority a specific website has, you can use Ahrefs.com. You put in the URL you want to check, and its domain authority will pop up although this is a paid tool that requires a subscription. You can instead use some of the free tools like Open Site Explorer on Moz.com.
Now that you know what backlinks are and how search engines utilize them, its time to find out how to get backlinks. One of the quickest ways to get links is probably through a round-up post.
Round-up Post Technique
An example of this approach would start by emailing as many experts in your field, asking them a question. Once you get many responses, you can go ahead and write a fantastic blog and include the answers from all the experts. You should also include their name and link to their website. Once published, you should email the experts again and tell them you have created this excellent blog and if they mind sharing it on their social media. For them, they’re getting publicity by being mentioned in your blog, and you will increase your backlinks and ultimately your rank.
Research Competitors Backlinks
Earing backlinks can be very time-consuming. Up-coming sites and ones that aim to expand might find it challenging to come up with a strategy. This is where researching your competitors’ backlink becomes crucial. By having an overview of how better ranking competitors have built their link network, you can have a better idea of how to proceed. Insights can include the collection of pages and domains linking to the site, and which target keywords are they using. You can use the above tools to see similar insights.
Still Difficult?
Well, it won’t be the first thing that’s easier said than done, that’s why there are plenty of companies that can offer help. If you lack the expertise, time, or resources, you can always find dedicated SEO experts. If you need help with hiring to the right agency, you can refer to this guide.
