A backlink is a reference from one website to another website. The link acts like a recommendation and is a decisive factor for search engine optimization (SEO), as it determines the authority, relevance and ranking of a website on the Internet.

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5 Key Takeaways

1. Definition & Quality
Backlinks are incoming links from an external domain to your website. The quality of a good backlink is more important than the quantityD
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2. SEO Value of Backlinks
Backlinks are essential ranking factors for search engines like Google. Google considers backlinks as recommendations. The more recommendations the website has, the more likely it is to rank for relevant search results.

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3. Risks of low-quality Backlinks
Bad backlinks can have a negative impact on your link profile and affect the ranking in search results. This makes the visibility of the website worse, which has an impact on traffic and sales.

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4. Analysis and Tools
With SEO tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs Backlink Checker the backlink profile can be checked. Through these SEO tools there is then the possibility to determine which link has positive and which link has negative effects.

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5. Link building Strategy
An effective link building strategy, regardless of a company's customers and industry, is crucial to getting quality backlinks.

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Types of Backlinks

Backlinks can be roughly categorized into internal and external links. While internal links represent a link between different pages of the same domain, backlinks external links connect a website with another domain.

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Within this rough subdivision, different types of backlinks can be identified: Dofollow, Nofollow, image links and Trashlinks. The significance and areas of application of these types are examined in more detail below.

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Dofollow-Backlinks

Dofollow backlinks claim an essential role in the positioning of a website within search engines. These links enable the search algorithms to follow the link, which not only creates intrinsic added value for a website, but also significantly strengthens the linked page through the substantial transfer of link juice.

Intrinsic added value means that a backlink, for example in a blog article, can provide added value for a user because it enables extended information outside the blog article.

Linkjuice, on the other hand, represents a metric for quantifying the strength and quality of a backlink. This means that it is possible to see how much power a backlink has or how much another page is strengthened by this backlink.

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Nofollow-Backlinks

In contrast to this are Nofollow backlinks, which have the exact opposite effect by explicitly instructing search engines not to follow the respective link. Thus, the referring page is not directly linked to the target website.

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According to current algorithms, Google, for example, considers Nofollow links primarily as indicative references. This includes, for example, links from social networks, forums, press releases, guest books, Wikipedia entries, pingbacks and directories. Nevertheless, their relevance should not be underestimated, as they contribute significantly to the diversity and thus the naturalness of the backlink profile.

Naturalness in the context of backlinks refers primarily to profiles that have different backlinks on the one hand, i.e. for example a mixture of DoFollow and NoFollow backlinks, but also profiles that have, for example, some voluntarily placed links from topic-relevant sources.

In addition, social media in particular can contribute to increased attention and consequently to an increase in website traffic through Nofollow backlinks.

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Image links

Image links represent a special form of linking by integrating an image as link text. This allows users to get to the target website by simply clicking on the image.

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Here, a distinction between Dofollow and Nofollow can also be made in the context of image links, depending on the strategic orientation and SEO objective.

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Trashlinks

Trash links, or spam links, are those links that are mainly set by sites with a large number of outbound backlinks and, at the same time, poor content and low quality.

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Trash links can prove to be detrimental to the link profile.

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It is recommended to identify and consistently remove them to preserve the integrity and authenticity of the backlink profile.

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In practice, there are numerous sources for backlinks. It should be noted that not all links are equally beneficial for SEO. A conscious and quality-oriented link building is therefore essential.

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The following table shows which backlinks are recommended and which should be avoided:

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How to place DoFollow and NoFollow links

Basically, the default setting for a link is DoFollow. If you want to place a link as a NoFollow link, this can be adjusted via the HTML code.

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For this, only the tag "nofollow" must be set. Here we show an example of how the difference between a DoFollow and a NoFollow link is expressed in the HTML code:

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<a href="https://beyondweb.ch">blauer Text</a>

<a href="https://beyondweb.ch" rel="nofollow">blauer Text</a>

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Only the tag "rel="nofollow" visible here ensures that the link becomes a NoFollow link.

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Insert DoFollow and NoFollow on WordPress websites

Users of a WordPress website can proceed differently when placing NoFollow backlinks.

The following steps must be carried out here:

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1. the text in question must be marked

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The marked text must then be linked and the corresponding target URL stored. The entry is then confirmed with the blue Enter button.

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Then click on the cogwheel to place a NoFollow link and check the "Add rel="nofollow" box. Finally, the "Update" button must be clicked so that the change can be applied.

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What are the advantages of backlinks for SEO?

Significantly, backlinks offer the advantage of increasing online presence and improving the credibility of a website.

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Thus, the use of backlinks plays a central role in off-page optimization in the context of search engine optimization (SEO).

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This relevance of backlinks as a toolkit of SEO is based on the perception of link placements as a form of trust among websites.

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Typically, a link to another website is only made if the linking website is convinced that it offers significant added value for readers or users.

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Consequently, a backlink signals the authority of a website to search engines like Google.

The greater the authority of a website, the greater the trust on the part of Google, the better you can rank for corresponding keywords.

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Ahrefs case study 2021: The influence of backlinks on website ranking

An instructive case study by Ahrefs from 2021 highlights the significant influence of backlinks in an exemplary manner.

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In an experiment, the Google Disavow tool was used to manually remove the backlinks of three different blog articles: a blog article about YouTube, a blog article about BING, and a blog article about SEO pricing (Stox 2021).

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On August 17, 2021, all backlinks were removed from all three websites, immediately resulting in a significant decrease in page views (Stox 2021).

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The websites were intensively monitored over a period of one month. The following picture emerged:

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1. the Youtube article showed a decrease of 18%.

2. the SEO articles showed a decrease of 13.3%.

3. the Bing article, on the other hand, showed hardly any decline.

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After reintegrating all previously removed backlinks, differentiated developments became apparent: while the YouTube article still recorded a 4% decrease in traffic and the SEO Pricing article only returned 99% of the original traffic, the BING article experienced a notable increase of organic traffic by more than 44% (Stox 2021).

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This case study impressively underlines that backlinks are still a central ranking factor and have established themselves as a vital tool in search engine optimization (Stox 2021).

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In addition, the study makes clear that removing all backlinks, even after they are made visible again, can cause permanent damage (Stox 2021).

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Why are backlinks important for SEO?

As the previous case study has shown, backlinks are a fundamental ranking factor for Google positioning and therefore indispensable for search engine optimization (SEO).

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The concept is simple: the more high-quality and relevant backlinks a website has, the better it will be ranked by search engines like Google.

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Since the Google Penguin update in 2012, special attention has been paid to the quality of links; these act as recommendations from the search engines and thus increase the relevance and ranking of a website.

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Backlinks from renowned and thematically relevant websites enable Google to recognize content more quickly and to evaluate it better.

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Accordingly, the natural building of high-quality links is essential for effective SEO strategies.

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Backlinks in connection with OnPage and OffPage SEO

In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), the question often arises about the degree of importance of backlinks compared to OnPage and other OffPage SEO strategies.

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OnPage optimization is a fundamental pillar within SEO and involves all measures implemented directly on the website to potentiate its visibility, rankings and conversion rates.

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These include, for example, content optimization, technical SEO, and meta tag customization. These factors are essential to create a robust foundation for a website and ensure its basic findability and usability.

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In contrast, OffPage Optimization focuses on all activities outside of one's website that can influence its ranking in search engines.

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Here, the importance of backlinks takes a prominent role, especially if they come from a domain that is not your own.

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Both SEO strategies, OnPage and OffPage, especially in terms of backlinks, integrate complementarily and are of immense importance to bring a website to the front in search results.

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While OnPage optimizations make a website more accessible and understandable for search engines and users, high-quality backlinks strengthen external perception and credibility in the wide web of the Internet.

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It is therefore essential to integrate both OnPage and OffPage SEO - and specifically the backlink profile - into any comprehensive SEO strategy.

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Basically, however, the basics, such as a clean user experience, a responsive design and fast loading times should be prioritized before you start generating backlinks.

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How are backlinks considered in the Google algorithm?

As the Ahrefs study from 2021 showed, backlinks are still an essential ranking factor. But what do more recent figures say about the influence of backlinks?

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According to the latest research by U.S. SEO guru Evan Bailyn, backlinks (as of October 2023) are still an essential building block in Google rankings, accounting for a whopping 14% of rankings.

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Even though the importance of backlinks has slightly decreased due to the latest Google search engine updates in Q3 2023, they are still the third most important factor in the Google algorithm (Bailyn 2023).

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According to Evan Bailyn, consistently publishing high-quality content remains top of mind.

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There's a reason for that: Google values websites that continuously provide valuable information over a long period of time.

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These websites get indexed faster and get better rankings. And not to forget: If you offer good content, you are more likely to be trusted by other sites and get linked (Bailyn 2023).

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Now you might ask: what actually makes a good link?

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This depends on a few things such as the link type and how well the content matches the link.

Special attention should be paid to the anchor text, i.e. the clickable text that leads to the linked page. This should be highlighted in color or underlined and be as thematically appropriate as possible to the linked page.

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Links that go nowhere because the site no longer exists are not only bad for the user experience, but also result in penalties from Google. Various tools available online, such as the Broken Link Checker , can be used to identify such broken links.

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To truly exploit all the possibilities of digital marketing and avoid Google penalties, it is worth hiring a company that specializes in digital marketing.

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A professional SEO agency can help continually monitor and improve the quality and relevance of backlinks and the overall SEO strategy.

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How are backlinks and domain rating (DR) related?

Domain Rating (DR) is a metric created by the SEO tool Ahrefs. The DR represents an essential indicator of the trustworthiness of a website and is presented on a scale from 0 to 100.

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The following applies: the higher the DR value, the more trust the site signals, according to Ahrefs.

The DR therefore plays a key role in assessing the credibility and authority of a website.

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It is helpful to know that its function is similar to the so-called Domain Authority (DA), which also reflects the relevance and robustness of a website, but was invented by another SEO tool called MOZ.

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Both metrics, DR and DA, are central tools when it comes to evaluating the authority of a website in the search results of search engines such as Google.

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What is important to note about Ahrefs' DR scale is that it is not a linear scale, but an exponential scale. This means that the higher you go on the scale, the harder it becomes to increase your value even further.

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Here are some examples of well-known domains, their DR values and number of backlinks:

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- Facebook.com = DR 100 with 2.1 billion backlinks

- NYTimes.com = DR 94 with 282 million backlinks

- Wikipedia.org = DR 86 with 86.2 million backlinks

- 20min.ch = DR 84 with 18.3 million backlinks

- Migros.ch = DR 82 with 3.1 million backlinks

- Galaxus.ch = DR 74 with 3.8 million backlinks

- Brack.ch = DR 73 with 74,000 backlinks

- Lindt.ch = DR 57 with 3.3 million backlinks

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The selected examples clearly illustrate the significant relevance of backlinks.

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A backlink from a site with a high DR can have a substantial positive impact on one's web presence, while links from sites with a low DR can be potentially harmful.

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It is also noticeable that the quantity of backlinks does not necessarily have a direct influence on the DR scale. Lindt.ch achieves a DR of 57 with 3.3 million backlinks, while the website Brack.ch has a significantly higher DR value of 73 with only 74,000 backlinks.

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This underlines the premise that backlink quality is more important than quantity.

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Comprehensive knowledge of both your own DR and the DRs of potential competing websites forms the basis for developing a targeted link building strategy, with links from websites with high DR values being particularly desirable.

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What factors determine the value of a backlink?

The question now arises: How do I recognize good backlinks?

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The question of the value of a backlink primarily arises with DoFollow backlinks because - in contrast to NoFollow links - they pass on the so-called link juice to the linked page and thus strengthen their value and authority in the eyes of the search engine.

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There are various factors to assess the value of such a backlink. The following are particularly important and should definitely be taken into account:

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Thematic relevance

One of the most crucial factors for the quality of a backlink is the thematic relevance of the referencing domain/website. This is essentially about whether the topic of the source page matches the content of the linked website.

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Seen from the user's perspective, this makes perfect sense: the source is thematically relevant if the user has a good reason to click the link.

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Search engines, such as Google, rely on the assumption that thematically relevant links serve to offer visitors additional added value.

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Backlinks that are not only clicked but also cause users to stay on the linked page for a longer period of time send strong positive signals to the search engines. As a result, this can have an advantageous effect in the Google algorithm and serve as a positive ranking factor.

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When it comes to unrelated backlinks that are more likely to have been purchased or that simply aim to boost your position in the search results, the search engines ring alarm bells.

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They are now extremely adept at identifying link spam and links to off-topic sites that do not generate clicks and therefore not taking them into account as a ranking factor.

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With updates such as the Penguin Updates, Google has made significant adjustments to the evaluation of backlinks and has also imposed penalties on domains that have engaged in extensive link spam.

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Consequently, it is very important to specifically position backlinks that have thematic relevance. Even among backlinks with comparable strength, the one with thematic relevance would be rated significantly higher and more positively than a link without the corresponding thematic reference.

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Number of outgoing domains

An additional important factor is the number of outgoing domains. It is important that the number of outgoing links remains moderate.

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An excessive amount of outbound links can reduce the value of a backlink from a website. But what does that mean specifically?

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Here is an example to illustrate:
Imagine a website with a Domain Rating (DR) of 50 links to your site. However, this website has already placed 1 million backlinks to various other sites.

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In such a scenario, the “link juice” directed to your site would be only a millionth of the total value, as the power of the links is distributed across all the connections spread.

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If the same website with a DR of 50 links exclusively to your site, your backlink would receive all available link juice from that site (assuming there are no internal links).

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traffic

Website traffic, also known as user volume, refers to the number of visitors who visit a website in a defined period of time.

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The more traffic there is, the larger the proportional share of visitors who could be potentially interested in a product or service.

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If I receive a backlink from a website with high traffic, more link juice is passed on to my website. This then means that the search engines rate the backlink as higher quality. It is therefore important to get backlinks from websites that have high traffic.

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There are usually big differences within a domain. In most cases, the homepage will attract more visitors than more specific subpages such as: E.g. the “About Us” page.

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That's why backlinks that come from the homepage often have a higher value than links from other subpages of a website.

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placement

In addition to the factors already mentioned, the correct positioning of the backlink is also very important.

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This means that a backlink that is placed in the landing section of a website, for example, generates a relatively higher influence simply because of its prominent position than a backlink that is placed at the very bottom of the website footer.

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The position of the backlink within the page structure is also crucial.

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A backlink on the homepage, which usually has the highest traffic on a domain, is more valuable than a backlink that is only positioned somewhere on a subpage where hardly any users click through.

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Followed vs. Nofollowed

Finally, it should be noted which links are marked as followed and which as nofollowed.

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In particular, backlinks from websites with a high spam rate and from sponsored posts should always be set as nofollowed, as they can negatively affect the value of the backlink and thus also the value of the website.

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What metrics do I use to determine whether a backlink is good or bad in quality?

Many of the things that determine the “value” of a backlink, such as topical relevance, cannot be measured quantitatively. Nevertheless, the aspects should not be ignored.

We spoke to backlink expert David Hahn from SEO Galaxy and asked him what metrics should be considered when selecting backlinks.

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According to David Hahn, all metrics of a link should generally be taken into account if you really only care about quality. He suggests the following as general, general minimum metrics for buying backlinks:

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The following applies: the higher the metrics are, the better.

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David Hahn emphasizes that when planning links, special attention should be paid to ensuring that the link source already has rankings, is thematically relevant and that the domain has defined minimum metrics, which must be set individually depending on the customer, goal and budget (Hahn 2023).

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Nevertheless, in some cases it can also make sense to use link sources that do not meet all the minimum metrics, but should still be included in link planning due to their high thematic relevance or strong ranking (Hahn 2023).

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In addition, in certain situations it can also make sense to target links from domains with a high DR but little traffic. This makes sense, for example, if more link mass, i.e. a higher quantity of links, is to be generated in the link profile.

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In addition, when evaluating backlinks using metrics, it must be noted that different tools show different numbers for the same metric due to different databases.

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For example, Sistrix's Visibility Index (SI) and XOVI's Online Value Index (OVI) both only refer to the "estimated visibility" of a domain, which is determined differently by different SEO tools and their own keyword set.

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This means that a niche domain can never achieve the same visibility as a domain in a large subject area, such as “cooking”. Therefore, the visibility of a link source should not be viewed as the only factor in link planning, but various metrics should be used (Hahn 2023).

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EXCURSION: What are anchor texts and why are they important?

Anchor texts are essential elements of modern websites. They hide hyperlinks that take visitors from one page to another, the so-called destination address.

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Anchor texts can be used to link relevant, further content in order to offer the user added value by referring to external pages or other areas of your own website. Typically, the text containing the hyperlink is highlighted in color.

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Anchor texts are essential for two main reasons:

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1. User Value

They allow users to access additional, relevant information quickly and easily.

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2. SEO Benefits‍

Anchor texts promote SEO by explicitly clarifying the page architecture for the search engine through internal links.

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Anchor texts are an essential tool for both the user and search engine optimization to provide added value and context.

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Types of anchor texts:

The choice of anchor texts is crucial for the naturalness of the link profile. At Beyondweb we differentiate between five different types of anchor texts: branded, target, URL, topical and other anchor texts.

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The goal must be to achieve the most “natural” possible mix of these different anchor texts. For example, if only “target anchors” are used that focus on keywords, there may be a risk of over-optimization and thus a penalty from Google.

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In order to find the most “natural” distribution of anchor texts that is optimal for the search engine, you should examine the anchor texts of the top five ranked competitors in the search results for a specific keyword and determine the aggregated average.

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The following figure shows an example of how the anchor texts and their relative distribution can then be displayed as a percentage.

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Check your own website’s backlinks yourself

Through a backlink analysis, all incoming links to a website can be checked and possible weak points in the link profile can be identified.

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This is important to determine whether the linking pages are thematically appropriate and of high quality, or whether they contain unwanted or harmful content. The following tools can be used for this purpose:

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Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free service from Google that allows you to monitor, analyze and optimize the visibility and presence of a website in search results.

The program offers detailed insights and analyzes on various factors of the website and makes it possible to identify and fix any errors or problems, such as hacked content or unnatural links.

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The question now arises: how do I get this information?
The following figure makes it easier to understand the process. To get to the “Top Linking Sites”, you can select the “Links” tab in the left column in the GSC.

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Ahrefs Backlink Checker

The Ahrefs tool allows you to check a domain’s backlinks quickly and easily. Each identified backlink is displayed with relevant SEO metrics such as domain rating, URL rating, domain traffic, etc., which makes it easier to estimate the link value.

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The Ahref Backlink Checker is an essential tool for link building. It allows you to analyze your own backlink profile as well as that of your competitors and potential new link sources.

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According to its own information, Ahrefs operates the world's second most active web crawler after Google, which is why the backlink database and thus the database of the Ahrefs backlink checker is very extensive.

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Here you can go directly to the Ahrefs Backlink Checker.

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How can I create backlinks?

There are many different strategies to generate more backlinks. The following section explains three basic methods:

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Place backlinks manually

Manually placed backlinks are links that you place yourself on other websites, for example in comments, forums or on social media platforms.

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This method requires active participation and interaction with other websites and communities. You should always pay attention to the relevance and quality of the articles and topics so as not to be perceived as spam.

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Sometimes writing a guest post on thematically relevant blogs can also be a way to manually set backlinks.

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Earn backlinks

Earned backlinks are primarily created by providing high-quality, informative and usable content, often referred to as 'linkable assets'.

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This is content that is particularly link-worthy due to its unique and valuable character. If your content is high quality and relevant, other websites are significantly more likely to link to your page.

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Such backlinks are particularly valuable because Google perceives them as natural, deserved recommendations. Methods for gaining these backlinks include creating different types of content such as articles, blog posts, infographics, studies, tutorials and videos that are specifically tailored to your target audience's interests.

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For example, a useful study could provide detailed insights into current trends in your industry, while an effective infographic could present complex data in an easy-to-understand and visually appealing way.

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Buy backlinks

Buying backlinks is a practice where you pay for links to your website from other websites. Purchased backlinks can lead to increased rankings in the short term, but represent significant risk.

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This practice is strictly prohibited by Google and other search engines and can result in penalties, including the removal of your website from the search index.

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Nevertheless, there are legal and accepted practices in the area of off-page SEO services for placing content on so-called publisher websites for a fee.

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For example, articles can be published on a publisher website for a fee. This is a form of purchased backlink where you pay to publish content.

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The prices at Forbes, for example, are between 850 and 9500 US dollars, while the publication of branded content at 20min.ch starts at 4250 CHF.

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Overall, it is advisable to focus on building natural and earned backlinks to achieve long-term success. An SEO expert can also be consulted here.

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Frequently asked questions about backlinks

Finally, the most frequently asked questions about backlinks are presented and explained in this section:

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How do I recognize harmful backlinks?

Malicious backlinks can affect your website's reputation with search engines.

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To identify harmful backlinks, you should pay attention to the following:

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1. Irrelevant websites

If the links come from websites that have nothing to do with your content or industry.

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2. Spam websites

‍ If the links come from websites with dubious content, lots of ads and little relevant content.

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3. Over-optimized anchor text

‍ When the anchor text is overloaded with keywords.

4. Low domain authority

‍ Websites with low domain authority can be potentially harmful.

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5. Fast backlink building

‍ An unnaturally rapid increase in backlinks can indicate harmful backlinks.

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How to delete bad/toxic backlinks?

To delete bad or toxic backlinks, the following steps can be taken:

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1. Analyze backlinks

Use tools like Google Search Console or Ahrefs to analyze your backlink profile.

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2. Contact webmaster

After identifying harmful backlinks, contact the webmasters of the relevant sites and request that the links be removed.

3. Google Disavow Tool

If the webmaster does not remove the link, you can use Google's disavow tool to tell Google not to consider certain links when evaluating your site.

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Can SEO work without backlinks?

Backlinks vary significantly in their importance for search engine optimization (SEO) depending on the industry and competition. For local companies without ambitions on a national or international level, local backlinks, also known as “local citations,” may be sufficient.

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However, as soon as competition increases and they invest in SEO, building a solid backlink profile becomes essential.

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Although there are studies by Matt Diggity that show that an extremely high traffic gain can be achieved even without backlinks, he also emphasizes that SEO without backlinks takes a significantly longer time (Diggity 2023).

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Backlinks therefore serve as a boost, which can significantly accelerate ranking improvement and advance SEO.

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Tools like Ahrefs can be used to precisely analyze how much the competition is investing in backlinks, as the links built are visible.

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Assuming that strong backlinks cost an average of 500 CHF, it is possible to calculate quite accurately how much needs to be invested in order to keep up with the competition.

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While aspects such as quality content, on-page SEO, technical SEO, and user experience contribute to website optimization, a robust backlink profile remains an essential and recommended part of any comprehensive SEO strategy, especially in an intensely competitive environment.

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Sources

Bailyn, Evan (2023): The 2023 Google Algorithm Ranking Factors [online]
https://www.searchlogistics.com/learn/seo/link-building/zero-links/ [accessed October 11, 2023]

Diggity, Matt (2023): How to Grow Traffic 114.25% With a Content Driven SEO Plan (Case Study) [online] https://diggitymarketing.com/finance-lead-generation-seo-case-study/ [accessed October 11th .2023]

Hardwick, Joshua (2019): Nofollow vs. Follow Links: Everything You Need to Know [online]
https://ahrefs.com/blog/de/nofollow-links/ [accessed October 12, 2023]

Stox, Patrick (2021): Do Links Still Matter for Rankings? A Study by Ahrefs [online]
https://ahrefs.com/blog/impact-of-links/ [accessed October 11, 2023]

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