Backlinks Basics

Backlinks, in the simplest of terms is a connection between a web site and another web site. This connection is usually established through a link on a directory, blog, or forum. A web site can be an individual web site, a social networking site, a news web site, or a corporate site. These links are vital to the webmasters, as this enables them to receive traffic from targeted customers who are looking for the particular service or product that they provide.

Backlink building has been done by many individuals over the years, and in the last few years it has become one of the most popular forms of internet marketing. In a nutshell, backlinks are basically links that lead to another web site. While some of these backlinks may be just text within the graphic, some forms of backlinks can include logos, images, videos, and Java script. One of the best ways to go about creating backlinks is through the process of linking reclamation. Basically, a backlink diagram is created, then the site owner places his or her backlinks at strategic locations within the diagram.

Link reclamation involves creating a backlink profile that is centered around a certain topic or niche. This can take several forms. For instance, some webmasters create infographics that discuss a certain topic or niche, and then they place their backlinks at various locations throughout the infographic. Others create video guides by compiling video clips on YouTube and placing their backlinks at key points within the video.

Another way to build backlinks is through the process of authoritative link building. In this process, one website is tasked with directing traffic to another website. The person doing the directing is known as the “authority” behind the link, and this is often determined by the amount of authority that one owns in the niche that one is directing traffic toward. Higher rankings are achieved through better backlinks.

Higher search engine ranking factors also include the quality of backlinks. One should try to obtain as many backlinks as possible that are of high quality. A backlink is only as good as the quality of the website that it is coming from. This is one reason why a number of search engines have taken steps to penalize websites that attempt to forge their own backlinks or that try to manipulate the ranking system.

One final backlinks building strategy revolves around the concept of link popularity. This is the concept that links are counted in a hierarchy based on their importance. Higher ranking is dependent upon the number of authoritative sites that link to a website. Higher backlinks can help improve a website’s ranking in search engines, thus making them more visible and thereby improving visitor conversions.