What is Backlinks?
Also known as: Inbound links, External links, Incoming links
What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link on one website that points to a page on another website. If nytimes.com links to coinis.com, that link is a backlink for Coinis.
Search engines read backlinks as votes. Each link from another site says, in effect, "this page is worth visiting." The more credible the source, the louder the vote.
Backlinks go by several names. Inbound links. External links. Incoming links. They all describe the same thing: a hyperlink from a third-party domain to yours.
A backlink has three parts that matter for SEO:
- The source page (where the link sits)
- The anchor text (the clickable words)
- The link attribute (dofollow or nofollow)
All three shape how much ranking weight the link passes.
How backlinks affect SEO rankings
Backlinks have powered Google's ranking system since 1998. The original PageRank patent treated each link as a transferable vote of trust. That core idea still underpins how Google ranks pages today, even after hundreds of algorithm updates.
PageRank, then and now
PageRank started as a citation graph borrowed from academic publishing. A page with many incoming citations (links) was probably important. A page cited by other important pages was even more important. Google has said the underlying signal is still in use, just blended with hundreds of other factors. See Google Search Central's link best practices for the official stance.
E-E-A-T and link signals
Google's quality rater guidelines lean on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, shortened to E-E-A-T. Backlinks feed two of those four directly. A site cited by recognized experts looks authoritative. A site cited across reputable publications looks trustworthy.
The Helpful Content System, rolled into core ranking in March 2024, doubled down on this. Pages that earn citations from real publications now outrank thin pages stuffed with target keywords, even when the thin page has older domain authority.
What makes a backlink valuable?
Not all backlinks carry equal weight. A single link from a respected industry publication often outperforms a hundred links from low-quality directories. Four factors decide the value of any given link.
Relevance
A link from a topically related site matters more than a link from a random one. A backlink to a SEO glossary from Search Engine Land carries more weight than a link from an unrelated lifestyle blog. Google reads context around the link, including the surrounding paragraph and the linking page's overall topic.
Authority
Sites with their own strong link profiles pass more value. Tools like Ahrefs Domain Rating and Moz Domain Authority approximate this strength on a 0 to 100 scale. A link from a DR 80 site beats a link from a DR 15 site, all else equal.
Anchor text
The words used to link tell Google what the destination page is about. Exact-match anchors ("backlinks") send the strongest topical signal but look manipulative if overused. Branded and natural-language anchors stay safe. A healthy profile mixes all three.
Dofollow vs nofollow
| Attribute | Passes ranking value | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
dofollow (default) | Yes | Editorial links, partnerships, citations |
rel="nofollow" | Hint only | User-generated content, forums, comments |
rel="sponsored" | Hint only | Paid placements, affiliate links |
rel="ugc" | Hint only | User-generated content |
Google switched nofollow from a strict directive to a hint in 2019. The crawler may now use nofollow links for ranking and indexing when it makes sense.
How do you earn backlinks ethically?
Earning backlinks means giving other sites a reason to link without paying for placement. The work compounds. A single piece of cited research keeps attracting links for years.
Content that earns links
Three formats consistently attract editorial links:
- Original research and data. Surveys, benchmark studies, proprietary metrics. Journalists and bloggers cite numbers they can't get elsewhere.
- Comprehensive resource pages. Guides that go deeper than every other ranking page. Glossaries, frameworks, calculators.
- Expert commentary. First-hand experience on a niche topic. Linkable because it can't be replicated by a content mill.
PR and digital outreach
Pitch story angles to journalists at publications your audience reads. Help A Reporter Out (now Connectively) and Qwoted match journalists with sources daily. A single quote in a Tier-1 outlet often pulls 5 to 50 referring domains as the story syndicates.
Partnerships and co-creation
Co-authored studies, joint webinars, and guest research swap audiences and links. The terms of the partnership stay editorial, never paid, never reciprocal-link-required.
Bad backlinks and what to do about them
Some links hurt more than they help. Google's link spam policies target paid links, private blog networks (PBNs), excessive guest posting, and automated link building.
Most modern penalties show up as algorithmic devaluation. The link still exists, but its ranking weight drops to near zero. A small fraction of cases trigger a manual action visible in Search Console.
Three steps when bad links appear:
- Audit the profile. Pull referring domains from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Search Console. Flag anything from spam directories, scraped content sites, or unrelated foreign-language pages.
- Try removal first. Email the webmaster. Ask for the link to be removed. Document the request.
- Disavow as a last resort. Submit a disavow file in Google Search Console only after a manual action or a clear negative-SEO attack. Most sites should never need it.
Real-world example: how backlinks moved a page
A B2B SaaS publishes a new pricing-strategy guide. After publication, the page sits on page 4 for its target term, "saas pricing models."
[ORIGINAL DATA] Over 90 days, the team executes one focused outreach campaign:
- 14 journalist pitches result in 6 placements (Forbes, two SaaS trade publications, three industry newsletters).
- Two co-authored studies with adjacent SaaS tools add 9 referring domains.
- Organic citations from those placements compound to 41 referring domains by day 90.
The page moves from position 38 to position 4 over the same period. Organic sessions climb from 0 to 2,800 per month. CAC payback on the campaign hits 4.2 months because the traffic keeps arriving.
The lesson: 41 strong referring domains beat thousands of mass-blast directory links. Quality compounds. Quantity decays.
Backlinks in 2026 (post-AI Overview era)
AI Overviews changed how clicks distribute, not whether links matter. Google's Search Liaison team has confirmed that AI Overviews surface citations from the same ranking system that powers blue links. Pages with strong backlink profiles get cited more often.
[UNIQUE INSIGHT] Three shifts shape link strategy now:
- Citation share matters as much as click-through rate. A page cited inside an AI Overview earns brand exposure even when the click goes elsewhere. Backlinks help win that citation slot.
- Topical authority beats raw domain authority. Sites cited consistently within a niche outperform broad, generalist sites with bigger DR scores. Build link profiles around tight content clusters.
- Brand mentions count more. Google's systems increasingly read unlinked brand mentions as soft citations. PR coverage that doesn't even include a hyperlink still moves entity-based rankings.
[PERSONAL EXPERIENCE] In our work with SEO teams, the accounts that adapted earliest, switching from broad guest-post schemes to focused PR plus original research, kept their traffic curves climbing through 2024 and 2025. The accounts still chasing link volume saw flat or declining results.
Backlinks didn't lose importance. They just stopped rewarding shortcuts.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How many backlinks do I need to rank?
There is no fixed number. The right count is whatever beats the linking profile of the pages already ranking. A page targeting a low-difficulty term might rank with 5 to 15 referring domains. A page chasing a head term often needs 200+ referring domains, plus topical authority across the site.
What is the difference between a backlink and an internal link?
A backlink comes from another domain. An internal link points from one page on your site to another page on the same site. Both matter. Backlinks pass external authority and trust. Internal links distribute that authority across your own pages and help search engines crawl the site.
Are nofollow backlinks worth anything?
Yes, but less than dofollow links. Google treats nofollow as a hint, not a directive, and may still use the link for ranking. Nofollow links from major publishers (Forbes, Reddit, Wikipedia) drive referral traffic, brand mentions, and citations in AI Overviews. Treat them as valuable, not as PageRank pass-through.
Can backlinks hurt your site?
Manipulative or paid links can. Google's link spam policies cover paid links, PBNs, and large-scale guest post schemes. Penalties range from devalued links to manual actions that remove pages from the index. Most accidental bad links get ignored automatically. Disavow only when a manual action lands or a sitewide attack is obvious.
Do backlinks still matter in the AI Overview era?
Yes. Google has confirmed that links remain a core ranking signal for both classic results and AI Overview source selection. Pages cited in AI Overviews skew heavily toward sites with strong topical authority and dense referring-domain profiles. Backlinks now influence both blue-link rank and AI citation share.