How do backlinks help SEO?

A backlink is a link from a page on another website to yours. It provides third-party validation: a website other than your own is referring people to your page.

Backlinks bring authority into your site. They also help Google find your pages.

Judge the linking page

Suppose a cycling club’s repair guide links to your chain-maintenance explanation. The guide ranks for related queries, earns organic traffic and links to your page in a paragraph about chain repairs.

Now compare that with a forgotten page on a large domain, containing hundreds of unrelated links. A high domain score doesn’t tell you whether that particular page ranks or earns organic clicks.

For another website, a backlink or keyword tool can estimate which queries bring traffic to the page. An estimate isn’t the website’s actual Search Console data. If the tool reports no traffic, check its rankings and subject before ruling it out.

Check the words around the link

Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link. “How to maintain a bike chain” describes the linked page and connects it to the explanation around it.

A backlink points to one URL. A link to your repair guide gives that page a direct connection. A link to your homepage needs an internal link to pass authority on to the guide.

Give another website a reason to link

Create something a related website can use: an explanation of a difficult repair, original research or a useful tool. Find publishers who cover that subject and show them how your page could help their readers.

A cycling club might link to a chain-maintenance guide from its advice for members. Look for that specific connection when choosing websites to contact.

Keep a backlink research list

For each page you find, save:

• Its URL and subject.
• The relevant queries it ranks for.
• Its estimated organic traffic and the tool you used.
• The paragraph where a link to your page would help the reader.

Check the linking page rather than choosing a website by its domain score alone. Once a backlink reaches your site, internal links can pass authority to other related pages.