Are you looking for strategies to rank on Google?
Or are you here to satisfy your curiosity about the constantly evolving world of SEO?
No matter what your answer is, this article will help you find what you came for, so let’s get to it!
As you probably already noticed we will be taking a deep dive into backlink profiles and how to build them in a way that helps you secure your place in rankings.
Truth is it is impossible for a website to rank without having a good, well-structured backlink profile. Moreover, according to a SEMrush study over 50% of qualified sites without at least one backlink never reached the first page.
So today I will guide you through the process of understanding, creating, and analyzing a strong backlink profile, ensuring your online success.
What is a Backlink Profile?
Before jumping into how to build a strong backlink profile, it’s important to explore the backlink profile meaning.
A backlink profile is a collection of all the links that point to your website.
It provides search engines with insights about the quality, quantity, and relevance of these links. Think of it as a digital reputation – the better your backlink profile, the more trustworthy (and rank-worthy) your website appears to search engines. Understanding backlinks and their importance is crucial for optimizing your online presence.
Creating a solid backlink profile isn’t a walk in the park – it doesn’t just happen on its own and isn’t as simple as it might look. You will probably need the expertise of link builders and SEO specialists to make it happen.
Why Do I Need a backlink profile?
Why is all of that necessary you might ask? Well, the answer is simple.
SEO has become a crucial part of any business strategy, so if you truly want to keep up with the trends of the business world, it’s essential to understand the significance of a well-crafted backlink profile and to regularly conduct a backlink profile audit.
In a world where online visibility can make or break a business, search engines play a pivotal role in determining a website’s success. Google, for instance, considers numerous factors when ranking websites, and the quality of your backlink profile is high on that list.
7 Steps To Create A Strong Backlink Profile
Now that we have established some basic understanding of backlink profiles and their importance, let’s take a closer look at seven actionable ways you can build a robust backlink profile for your website.
Focus on backlink quality more than quantity
When it comes to a backlink profile, it’s all about quality over quantity.
Forget about the old days of getting as many links as possible – search engines have wisened up. Now, they’re looking for a strong backlink profile.
Let’s understand what a good backlink is about:
- Authority: Backlinks from authoritative websites have more weight. By reputable websites, we mean sites with a high DR, which shows their ranking on search engines, quality content, and strong credibility.
- Relevance: The most valuable backlinks come from websites that are relevant to your content. This means that the linking site’s subject should align with yours. This way, search engines will easily understand the relevance and context of the link.
- Do-follow vs. No-follow: Do-follow links give SEO value, while no-follow links instruct search engines not to consider them for rankings.
- Link diversity: A varied backlink profile containing links from various websites can boost your website’s authority.
- Freshness: Regularly updated links contribute to your site’s authority, as search engines also consider the freshness of your backlinks.
Remember – collecting a bunch of quality backlinks will do more for your SEO efforts than a gazillion mediocre ones.
Be Aware of Link Schemes
The quest for backlinks may look a lot like a jungle full of link schemes – sneaky tactics people use to outsmart the system.
Using link schemes is like cheating when you know you are going to get caught – it might give you a short-lived victory, but at the end of the day, is it really worth it?
Link schemes may vary from site to site. Here are some samples of it:
Paid links. It involves buying or selling links in exchange for money, for example, a clothing shop pays a blog to include a follow link of its website.
Automated linking. This one is about creating many backlinks with the help of software or third-party link-building services. For example, a site uses a bot to post comments with links on various unrelated blogs and forums.
Private Blog Networks. PBNs are a group of sites that link to a specific site. Their content is often irrelevant, created merely to provide backlinks. For example, a business produces many blogs that link to its e-commerce website.
Keyword-rich anchor texts. Anchor texts become link spam if they contain too many keywords the target site is trying to rank for. For example, a business of garden tools writes many guest posts about gardening hacks. Each guest post links back to their website with the anchor
text “best garden tools.”
Instead of trying to trick the system, play the game fair and square. Engage in honest link building strategies. Building relationships with reputable websites is definitely the way to go, they will help you stay in the good books of search engines.
And remember, mastering link building skills takes time and effort. It’s an ongoing process that demands consistent dedication and strategic implementation.
Diversify Your Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink that leads you to another website and is used by search engines to understand the context as well as the relevance of the linked content.
Anchor text diversity is a crucial aspect of building a natural-looking backlink profile. Diversifying your anchor texts not only helps the backlinks look more natural in the eyes of search engines but also helps in ranking for many different keywords.
Instead of using the same old anchor text again and again, spice it up a little. Consider using branded terms, generic phrases and relevant keywords. This will also provide a more comprehensive idea of the content of your website.
However, make sure to properly do keyword research before making up anchor texts.
Diversifying anchor text is important but don’t take it to the extremes. Remember that the linked content and the anchor word should correspond to each other. Choose words and phrases that will enhance user experience, not the opposite. A well-thought-out anchor text strategy contributes to the organic and authentic growth of your backlink profile.
Never Underestimate the Importance of Content
When it comes to building permanent backlinks, content plays a crucial role. Good content attracts visitors, but it also attracts other websites into wanting to link arms with you. Basically, when your content stands out on the internet everyone wants to have even the smallest association with you.
Invest time and resources into creating content that’s not just good but outstanding. Here are some steps you can take to ensure the quality of your content.
- Conduct thorough research to understand your audience’s needs.
- Write compelling and engaging headlines to grab attention.
- Provide valuable and unique insights or information.
- Use multimedia elements such as images and videos to enhance content.
- Optimize for search engines with relevant keywords.
Whether it’s killer articles, insightful guides, or even informative videos, do your best to become the content star. Your audience will love you, and so will those who hold the keys to backlinks.
Good content isn’t just about you. It’s about making your audience captivated. When others find your content shareable and irresistible, they’ll link to it, thus boosting your backlink profile with minimal effort.
Leverage Guest Posting Opportunities
Guest posting remains a powerful strategy for building backlinks and establishing authority. Identify and find guest posting opportunities with websites that provide insightful, well-researched and engaging articles.
When guest posting, you should focus on providing valuable and relevant content to the host website’s audience. If done right you will enjoy the benefits of guest posting, such as tapping existing audiences, expanding your reach, and ultimately getting a backlink from a credible source.
Feels like a dream come true!
To maximize the efficiency of this strategy, select platforms whose target audience aligns with yours, follow their guidelines and make sure that your content truly provides value to the reader; don’t just do it for the sake of doing it.
Ensure Backlink Relevancy
Relevance is a fundamental factor in the effectiveness of your backlinks. While sometimes it may be tempting to get links from any available source, search engines prioritize links that are contextually relevant to the content on your website.
Look for websites that are closely related to your industry, specific target, or the specific topics that you cover. When a search engine notices a connection between the linking site and your content it reinforces the authority of your website in that particular field.
Relevant backlinks strongly contribute to your SEO efforts and bring targeted traffic to your site. People who click on these links from a related source are more likely to be interested in your content or even products and services so they are more likely to stick around.
I would suggest often conducting a thorough backlink audit to help ensure that your links align with your content strategy and contribute positively to your site’s SEO performance.
Build Friendships, Not Just Links
As any link builder will assure you, in the world of backlinks it’s not just about the links it’s also about the relationships you build along the way. Building strong partnerships within your industry isn’t just good for business – it’s a ticket to a backlink paradise.
By making friends with other businesses or organizations in your industry you open the door to more link building opportunities. Such strong partnerships are a path to strong collaborations which is the most important thing in link building.
Effective relationship-based link building involves creating friendly and warm relations with partners and making a way for future collaborations. Here’s an example of a successful partnership from our team.
Networking also opens a door for guest posting opportunities, interviews and so many more collaborations that will ultimately contribute to the growth of your backlink profile. This is why it’s essential to engage with other specialists in your field and create relationships that go beyond the digital world. Keep it professional, but also keep it friendly.
How Do I Analyze My Backlink Profile?
Now that we’re over with the theoretical part let’s get to business.
Let’s say you have already put in some effort to create a good backlink profile, how do you actually analyze it and know what’s up?
Easy! You turn to the help of a good backlink profile checker which will help you get all the insight you might need.
When dealing with such a delicate issue where numbers are a determining factor, it’s important to have the right tools at your hand. There are many options available in the market that can help you gather all the data you need, but let’s take a look at one particular option that I prefer. First, you gotta get familiary with some terms through an SEO glossary. This will help you know where you should begin and how you should build your strategy.
Let’s talk Ahrefs!
Ahrefs offers a variety of SEO tools and, surprise, surprise, it has a backlink profile section. You can use this to find out anything you need about the backlinks of any website – the total number of the backlinks, the referring domain, the authority of these domains and even the anchor texts.
To do this you have to sign in to your Ahrefs account, go to the Site Explorer section, type in your domain, and just like that you’ll have all the necessary metrics in front of you.
By using such tools you can:
- Get insights about your own backlink profile
- Conduct your competitor’s backlink profile audit
- Optimize your SEO strategies
Here’s a screenshot that shows how this works.
Wrapping It Up
Okay, let’s sum it all up into couple of points:
- A backlink profile is the set of all the links that signal to your website.
- Building a strong backlink profile is an ongoing process that requires dedication, good strategies, and quick adaptability.
- Strong backlinks are crucial for boosting website authority, credibility, and search engine rankings, driving increased organic traffic.
- To have a strong backlink profile, pay attention to the link quality and relevancy, avoid link schemes, use various anchor texts, and try guest posting.
- A backlink profile checker tool like Ahrefs can help you keep track of your backlinks and refine your link building strategies.
I hope that the strategies and tools that we have discussed in this article helped you understand the complex world of backlinks a little better.
FAQ about backlink profile analysis
Are backlinks permanent?
Backlinks can be both permanent and temporary, however permanent backlinks are generally considered more valuable.
How many backlinks should I have?
Although there are some averages, there is no specific number that guarantees success. Remember it’s the quality and relevance of those backlinks that counts.
What are bad backlinks?
When we say bad backlinks we refer to links that might be considered irrelevant or even spammy by search engines. Because of them, websites can even get penalized and as a result rank lower.
Can backlinks be removed?
Yes! If you want to remove a backlink try contacting the owner of the site and ask them to remove it. If this is not an option you can always disavow a link through backlink audit tools.
