"Backlink" is a term that refers to links that point to a website or
webpage from another website. This type of link also might be called an inlink or incoming link. Backlinks on other sites can increase a website's traffic. They also are tools used in search engine
optimization (SEO), because the number and quality of backlinks that
point to a website's often plays a role in the site's rank among search
results.
Linking
A link allows an Internet user to click on it to navigate to or open a
different webpage. When the webpage that is opened is on a completely
different website from the one where the link appeared, the link would
be considered a backlink for that new site. The backlink might appear as
a uniform resource locator (URL),
also called an Internet address or web address, or it might be a word
or phrase that has the link embedded. The word or phrase usually will be
highlighted in some way, such as in bold type or underlined, to let the
reader know that it can be clicked on to follow a link.
Importance of Backlinks
Website owners often try to increase the number of visitors that
their sites receive by increasing the number of backlinks to their
sites. There are several ways that backlinks can be created. All of them
might increase a site's traffic, simply because Internet users will
have more opportunities to click on links to the site, but not all types
of backlinks will improve a site's search engine ranking. This is
because most search engines will evaluate the quality of the backlink
based on things such as the popularity and nature of the site from which
it originates. For example, a backlink from a website that exists only
to provide backlinks to other sites — usually for a fee — is unlikely to
improve a site's search engine ranking.
Link Exchanges
One way for a website owner to increase the number of backlinks that
his or her site has is by creating partnerships with website owners
whose sites are focused on similar topics and exchanging links. For
example, someone whose website focuses on techniques for making flower
arrangements might seek to partner with websites for florists, gardening
stores, wedding boutiques and home décor shops. By linking to these
websites on his or her site in exchange for those sites linking to his
or her site, the owner of the flower arrangement website will increase
the site's number of backlinks and will provide backlinks for the
partner sites. Although this type of link exchange
is popular among websites that focus on similar topics, it is unlikely
for competing websites that focus on the same topic or have the same
purpose to provide backlinks to each other.
Reviewers and Aggregators
Sites that review other websites or aggregate news or interesting
items are another source of backlinks. These sites often will summarize a
news story, blog post or webpage, then provide a link to it. Others
look for interesting websites, review them and provide links to them.
Many of the websites that provide these backlinks allow website owners
to submit websites for review or allow Internet users to suggest
webpages and other items to be aggregated. Personal blogs can serve a
similar purpose and are another source of backlinks, especially when the
blog's topic is related to the website to which the link points.
Commenting
Some website owners create backlinks by linking to their sites in
comments on related webpages. For example, the owner of a website for an
auto repair shop might comment on a webpage that has a new item about
cars and could include a link to his or her site. It can take time to
create backlinks this way, but this method can be effective.
Link Spamming
There are some websites and services that will charge a fee to
increase the number of backlinks for a site. Some of these websites will
disguise themselves as news sites or other commercial sites in order to
keep search engines from diminishing the value of the backlinks.
Backlink services often will engage in what is called link spamming —
placing links on as many websites as possible, no matter what the
purpose or quality of those websites is. For example, a computer program
can randomly "crawl" the Internet automatically place links on any
webpages that allow it to post a comment, even if the link has nothing
to do with that webpage. Most search engines will try to prevent these
types of backlinks from affecting their search result page rankings.
