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What backlinks are, why they matter for SEO, how to earn good ones, and what to avoid.

If keywords and content are the visible side of SEO, backlinks are the invisible engine underneath. They're one of the signals Google uses when it decides which pages to show — though Google is clear that links are only one signal among many.

Quick summary

A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Google's PageRank algorithm reads links a bit like votes of confidence, so links from quality sites help. Quality matters more than quantity. Never buy links: Google's spam policies count buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam.

What is a backlink?

A backlink (also called an inbound link or incoming link) is a link on another website that points to a page on your website.

For example: if a local business publication writes an article about small businesses in your city and links to your website, that's a backlink.

Why do backlinks matter for SEO?

Google's original breakthrough was a concept called PageRank — the idea that a page is more valuable if other pages link to it. Think of links as votes. A page with many high-quality links is seen as more authoritative than a page with few.

PageRank is still part of Google's core ranking systems. But Google is careful to put it in proportion: "While PageRank uses links and is one of the fundamental algorithms at Google, there's much more to Google Search than just links. We have many ranking signals, and PageRank is just one of those." So backlinks help, but they don't override weak content.

Not all backlinks are equal

The quality of backlinks matters more than the quantity. Here's what makes a backlink valuable:

Factor	What it means
Authority of the linking site	A link from a site people already trust carries more weight than one from a site nobody reads
Relevance	A link from a site in your industry tells Google more than a link from an unrelated site
Editorial placement	A link somebody chose to add inside an article is a genuine recommendation; a link you placed yourself in a footer or a directory is not
Anchor text	Google reads the visible words of a link: "this text tells users and Google something about the page you're linking to"

A few links from trusted, relevant sources beat a long list of low-quality ones.

How to earn quality backlinks

Earn links, don't buy them

Buying or selling links for ranking purposes is link spam under Google's spam policies. Google says sites that break those policies "may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all". Focus on earning links through genuine value.

Legitimate ways to earn backlinks:

Create genuinely useful content. Content that educates, informs, or solves problems gets linked to naturally. Comprehensive guides, original research, free tools, and unique insights all attract links.

Get listed in industry directories and local directories. Many industries have reputable directories that link to member businesses. Local business directories and chamber of commerce listings provide valuable local citations.

Guest posting on industry publications. Writing a guest article for a respected industry blog usually includes a link back to your site. Focus on publications your customers actually read, and write for their readers. Google's spam policies specifically name paid guest posts, and guest posts with keyword-stuffed link text, as link spam — so don't pay for placement and don't haggle over the wording of the link.

PR and press coverage. Getting mentioned in news articles, podcasts, or industry publications earns high-quality backlinks. Even local press coverage can be valuable.

Partner and supplier pages. If you work with other businesses, they may list you as a partner or case study on their site, which often includes a link.

Broken link building. If a resource you know well has gone offline, you can reach out to sites linking to it and suggest your equivalent resource as a replacement. (This is more advanced — we handle it if it's part of your SEO strategy.)

What to avoid

These tactics violate Google's policies and risk penalties:

Buying links from link farms or link brokers
Exchanging links excessively ("you link to me, I link to you")
Spammy blog comment links or forum spam
Mass directory submissions to low-quality directories
Private blog networks (sites created purely to sell links)

Google says it detects policy-breaking practices "both through automated systems and, as needed, human review that can result in a manual action" — and that sites which break the policies may rank lower or drop out of results altogether.

How to check your backlinks

Google Search Console has a Links report, which shows which sites link to yours, what the link text is, and how your own pages link to each other. For a fuller picture, tools like Ahrefs and Moz offer backlink analysis — we use these as part of SEO audits.

Common questions

How many backlinks do I need to rank well?

There's no magic number, and Google doesn't publish one. It depends on your competition — more competitive keywords generally need more authority behind them. For many local or niche businesses, a handful of high-quality local links plus solid on-page SEO goes a long way.

Someone is linking to my site with spammy anchor text. Can it hurt me?

Usually not. Google says it "works very hard to make sure that actions on third-party sites do not negatively affect a website", and that "in most cases, Google can assess which links to trust without additional guidance, so most sites will not need to use this tool" — the tool being its Disavow links tool. That tool is meant for sites that already have (or expect) a manual action over links somebody built for them, and Google warns that using it incorrectly can hurt your performance in Search. It should only be done by an expert. Let us know if you spot anything concerning.

Can I build backlinks myself?

Yes. Getting listed in local directories, building relationships with industry publications, and creating great content are all things you can contribute to. We can guide a strategy and handle the outreach and technical parts.

Social platforms usually mark outbound links with a "nofollow" or similar attribute, and Google says links marked that way "will generally not be followed" — so they don't pass ranking credit the way an ordinary link does. Google does list social media promotion as one way to get new content discovered, though. Social activity indirectly supports link building: it puts your content in front of people who may then link to it.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

Backlinks, explained