What types of backlinks are there?
Backlinks can be roughly categorized into internal and external links. While internal links represent a link between different pages of the same domain, external backlinks connect a website with another domain.
Different types of backlinks can be identified within this rough subdivision: Dofollow, nofollow, image links and trashlinks. The importance and areas of application of these types are explained in more detail below.
Dofollow backlinks
Dofollow backlinks play an essential role in the positioning of a website within the 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.
Intrinsischer Mehrwert bedeutet dabei, dass ein Backlink, zum Beispiel in einem Blogartikel, für einen User einen Mehrwert bieten kann, da er erweiterte Informationen ausserhalb des Blogartikels ermöglicht.
Linkjuice, on the other hand, is a metric for quantifying the strength and quality of a backlink. In other words, it shows how much power a backlink has or how much another page is strengthened by this backlink.
Nofollow backlinks
This contrasts with nofollow backlinks, which have the exact opposite effect by explicitly instructing search engines not to follow the link in question. This means that the referring page is not directly linked to the target website.
Aktuellen Algorithmen zufolge betrachtet beispielsweise Google Nofollow-Links primär als indikative Hinweise. Hierunter fallen beispielsweise Links aus sozialen Netzwerken, Foren, Pressemitteilungen, Gästebüchern, Wikipedia-Einträgen, Pingbacks und Verzeichnissen. Dennoch ist ihre Relevanz nicht zu unterschätzen, da sie wesentlich zur Diversität und somit zur Natürlichkeit des Backlinkprofils beitragen.
Naturalness in connection with backlinks primarily refers to profiles that have various backlinks on the one hand, i.e. a mixture of DoFollow and NoFollow backlinks, for example, but also profiles that have some voluntarily placed links from topic-relevant sources, for example.
In addition, social media in particular can contribute to increased attention and consequently to an increase in website traffic through nofollow backlinks.
Image links
Image links represent a special form of linking in that they integrate an image as link text. This enables users to reach the target website by simply clicking on the image.
A distinction between dofollow and nofollow can also be made in the context of image links, depending on the strategic orientation and SEO objectives.
Trashlinks
Trash links, also known as spam links, are links that are mainly placed by sites with a large number of outgoing backlinks and simultaneously poor content and low quality.
Trash links can be harmful to the link profile.
It is recommended that these are identified and consistently removed in order to preserve the integrity and authenticity of the backlink profile.
In practice, there are numerous sources for backlinks. It should be noted that not all links are equally beneficial for SEO. Conscious and quality-oriented link building is therefore essential.
The following table shows which backlinks are recommended and which should be avoided:
How to place DoFollow and NoFollow links
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.
All you need to do is set the "nofollow" tag. Here we show an example of how the difference between a DoFollow and a NoFollow link manifests itself in the HTML code:
Only the tag "rel="nofollow" visible here ensures that the link becomes a NoFollow link.
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:
1. the text in question must be highlighted
2. The selected text must then be linked and the corresponding target URL entered. The entry is then confirmed with the blue enter button.
3 Then click on the cogwheel to place a NoFollow link and check the "Add rel="nofollow" box. To apply the change, the "Update" button must be clicked last.
What advantages do backlinks have for SEO?
The main advantage of backlinks is that they can increase the online presence and credibility of a website.
This means that the use of backlinks plays a central role in off-page optimization as part of search engine optimization (SEO).
This relevance of backlinks as an SEO tool is based on the perception of link placements as a form of expression of trust among websites.
Usually, a link to another website is only created if the linking website is convinced that it offers significant added value for readers or users.
Consequently, a backlink signals the authority of a website to search engines such as Google.
The greater the authority of a website, the greater the trust on the part of Google, the better it can rank for corresponding keywords.
Ahrefs case study 2021: The influence of backlinks on website ranking
An instructive case study by Ahrefs from 2021 provides an example of the significant influence of backlinks.
In an experiment, the Google Disavow tool was used to manually remove backlinks from three different blog articles: a blog article about YouTube, a blog article about BING and a blog article about SEO pricing (Stox 2021).
On August 17, 2021, all backlinks were removed from all three websites, which immediately resulted in a significant drop in page views (Stox 2021).
The websites were monitored intensively over a period of one month. The following picture emerged:
- The YouTube article showed a decline of 18%.
- The SEO articles showed a decrease of 13.3%.
- The Bing article, on the other hand, hardly showed any decline.
After reintegrating all previously removed backlinks, differentiated developments became apparent: while the YouTube article still recorded a 4% drop in traffic and the SEO pricing article only returned to 99% of its original traffic, the BING article experienced a remarkable increase in organic traffic of more than 44% (Stox 2021).
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).
The study also makes it clear that removing all backlinks, even after they have been made visible again, can cause permanent damage (Stox 2021).
Why are backlinks important for SEO?
As the previous case study has shown, backlinks are a fundamental ranking factor for positioning on Google and are therefore indispensable for search engine optimization (SEO).
The concept is simple: the more high-quality and relevant backlinks a website has, the better it is ranked by search engines such as Google.
Since the Google Penguin update in 2012, particular attention has been paid to the quality of links; these act as search engine recommendations and thus increase the relevance and ranking of a website.
Backlinks from renowned and thematically relevant websites enable Google to recognize content more quickly and evaluate it better.
The natural creation of high-quality links is therefore essential for effective SEO strategies.
Backlinks in connection with OnPage and OffPage SEO
In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), the question often arises as to the degree of importance of backlinks compared to on-page and other off-page SEO strategies.
On-page optimization is a fundamental pillar within SEO and involves all measures that are implemented directly on the website to increase its visibility, rankings and conversion rates.
This includes, for example, content optimization, technical SEO and the adaptation of meta tags. These factors are essential to create a robust basis for a website and ensure its basic findability and user-friendliness.
In contrast, off-page optimization focuses on all activities outside of your own website that can influence its ranking in search engines.
The importance of backlinks plays a prominent role here, especially if they originate from a domain that is not your own.
Both SEO strategies, OnPage and OffPage, especially with regard to backlinks, integrate complementarily and are of immense importance in order to bring a website to the top of the search results.
While on-page optimization makes a website more accessible and easier to understand for search engines and users, high-quality backlinks strengthen external perception and credibility in the wide web of the Internet.
It is therefore essential to integrate both on-page and off-page SEO - and the backlink profile in particular - into any comprehensive SEO strategy.
However, the basics, such as a clean user interface, a responsive design and fast loading times, should be prioritized before you start generating backlinks.
How are backlinks taken into account in the Google algorithm?
As the Ahrefs study from 2021 showed, backlinks are still a significant ranking factor. But what do more recent figures say about the influence of backlinks?
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 and account for 14% of the ranking.
Even though the importance of backlinks has decreased slightly 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).
According to Evan Bailyn, the consistent publication of high-quality content remains the top priority.
There is a reason for this: Google values websites that continuously provide valuable information over a longer period of time.
These websites are indexed faster and receive better rankings. And not to forget: If you offer good content, other sites are more likely to trust you and link to you (Bailyn 2023).
Now you might ask yourself: what actually makes a good link?
This depends on a number of things, such as the link type and how well the content matches the link.
Ein spezielles Augenmerk sollte auf dem Ankertext (Engl. Anchor Text) liegen, also dem klickbaren Text, der zur verlinkten Seite führt. Dieser sollte farblich oder durch Unterstreichung hervorgehoben und thematisch möglichst passend zur verlinkten Seite sein.
Links that lead to nowhere because the page 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.
To really exploit all the possibilities of digital marketing and avoid Google penalties, it is worth hiring a company that specializes in digital marketing.
A professional Swiss SEO agency can help to continuously monitor and improve the quality and relevance of backlinks and the overall SEO strategy.
How are backlinks and the domain rating (DR) related?
The Domain Rating (DR) is a metric created by the SEO tool Ahrefs. The DR represents an essential indicator for the trustworthiness of a website and is displayed on a scale from 0 to 100.
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.
It is helpful to know that it is similar in function 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.
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.
The important thing to note about the Ahrefs DR scale is that it is not a linear scale, but an exponential scale. This means that the higher you get on the scale, the more difficult it becomes to increase your score even further.
Here are some examples of well-known domains, their DR values and number of backlinks:
- 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
The selected examples illustrate the significant relevance of backlinks.
A backlink from a website with a high DR can have a substantial positive impact on your web presence, while links from sites with a low DR can be potentially harmful.
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 Brack.ch website has a significantly higher DR value of 73 with only 74,000 backlinks.
This therefore underlines the premise that backlink quality is more important than their quantity.
Comprehensive knowledge of both your own DR and the DRs of potential competitor websites forms the basis for the development of a targeted link building strategy, whereby links from websites with high DR values are particularly desirable.
What factors determine the value of a backlink?
The question now arises: How can I recognize good backlinks?
Die Frage nach dem Wert eines Backlinks stellt sich primär bei DoFollow Backlinks da sie – im Gegensatz zu NoFollow Links – den sogenannten Linksaft (Engl. Linkjuice) an die verlinkte Seite weitergeben und somit deren Wertigkeit und Autorität in den Augen der Suchmaschine stärken.
There are various factors that can be used to assess the value of such a backlink. The following are of particular importance and should definitely be taken into account:
Thematic relevance
One of the most decisive 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.
From the user's perspective, this makes perfect sense: the source is thematically relevant if the user has a good reason to click on the link.
Search engines, such as Google, rely on the assumption that thematically relevant links serve to offer visitors additional added value.
Backlinks that are not only clicked, but also lead to users staying 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 on the Google algorithm and serve as a positive ranking factor.
Search engines sound the alarm bells for off-topic backlinks that are more likely to have been bought or are merely intended to push the position in the search results.
Mittlerweile sind sie äusserst versiert darin, Link Spam und Links zu themenfremden Seiten, die keine Klicks generieren, zu identifizieren und entsprechend nicht als Ranking-Faktor zu berücksichtigen.
With updates such as the Penguin updates, Google has made significant adjustments to the evaluation of backlinks and has also penalized domains that have engaged in extensive link spam.
Consequently, it is very important to position backlinks that are thematically relevant in a targeted manner. Even among backlinks of comparable strength, the one with thematic relevance would be rated significantly higher and more positively than a link without a corresponding thematic reference.
Number of outgoing domains
Another important factor is the number of outgoing domains. It is important that the number of outbound links remains moderate.
An excessive amount of outbound links can reduce the value of a backlink from a website. But what does this mean in concrete terms?
Hier ein Beispiel zur Veranschaulichung:
Stell dir vor, eine Website mit einem Domain Rating (DR) von 50 verlinkt auf deine Seite. Diese Website hat allerdings bereits 1 Million Backlinks auf verschiedene andere Seiten platziert.
In such a scenario, the "linkjuice" redirected to your site would only amount to one millionth of the total value, as the power of the links is distributed across all scattered links.
If the same website with a DR of 50 links exclusively to your site, the backlink would receive all the available linkjuice from that site (assuming there are no internal links).
Traffic
Website traffic, also known as user traffic, refers to the number of visitors who visit a website in a defined period of time.
The more traffic there is, the greater the proportional share of visitors who could potentially be interested in a product or service.
If I receive a backlink from a website with high traffic, more link juice will be passed on to my website. This means that the search engines will rank the backlink more highly. It is therefore important to obtain backlinks from websites with high traffic.
Within a domain, there are usually big differences. In most cases, the homepage will attract more visitors than more specific subpages such as the "About Us" page.
This is why backlinks that come from the homepage often have a higher value than links from other subpages of a website.
Placement
In addition to the factors already mentioned, the correct positioning of the backlink is also of great importance.
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 bottom of the footer of the website.
The position of the backlink within the page structure is also decisive.
A backlink on the homepage with the highest traffic of a domain is worth more than a backlink that is only positioned somewhere on a subpage where hardly any users click through.
Followed vs. Nofollowed
Finally, it should be noted which links are marked as followed and which are marked as nofollowed.
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.
Which metrics do I use to determine whether a backlink is of good or poor quality?
Many of the things that determine the "value" of a backlink, such as thematic relevance, cannot be measured quantitatively. Nevertheless, these aspects should not be ignored.
We spoke to backlink expert David Hahn from SEO Galaxy and asked him which metrics should be considered when selecting backlinks.
According to David Hahn, all metrics of a link should be taken into account if you really only pay attention to quality. He suggests the following as general, blanket minimum metrics for backlink purchasing:
The higher the metrics, the better.
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 determined individually depending on the customer, goal and budget (Hahn 2023).
Nevertheless, in some cases, 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 can also be useful (Hahn 2023).
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.
In addition, when evaluating backlinks with the help of metrics, it must be noted that different tools display different figures for the identical metric due to different databases.
So beziehen sich beispielsweise der Sichtbarkeitsindex von Sistrix (SI) und der Online Value Index von XOVI (OVI) beide nur auf die «geschätzte Sichtbarkeit» einer Domain, welche durch verschiedene SEO-Tools und deren eigenes Keyword-Set unterschiedlich bestimmt wird.
This means that a niche domain can never achieve the same visibility as a domain in a large topic area, such as "cooking". Therefore, the visibility of a link source should not be considered as the only factor in link planning, but various metrics should be used (Hahn 2023).
EXCURSE: What are anchor texts and why are they important?
Anchor texts are essential elements of modern websites. They conceal hyperlinks that lead visitors from one page to another, the so-called target address.
Anchor texts can be used to link to relevant, additional 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.
Anchor texts are indispensable for two main reasons:
1. user value
They allow users to access additional, relevant information quickly and easily.
2. SEO advantages
Ankertexte fördern SEO, indem sie die Seitenarchitektur durch interne Verlinkungen für die Suchmaschine explizit verdeutlichen.
Thus, anchor texts are an essential tool both for the user and for search engine optimization in order to provide added value and context.
Types ofanchor 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, Thematic and Other anchor texts.
The aim must be to achieve as "natural" a mix of these different anchor texts as possible. If, for example, only "target anchors" that focus on keywords are used, there may be a risk of over-optimization and therefore a penalty from Google.
In order to find the most "natural" and optimal distribution of anchor texts for the search engine, you should therefore examine the anchor texts of the top five ranked competitors in the search results for a specific keyword and determine the aggregated average.
The following figure shows an example of how the anchor texts and their relative distribution can then be displayed as a percentage.
Check your own website's backlinks yourself
A backlink analysis can be used to check all incoming links to a website and identify possible weak points in the link profile.
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:
Google Search Console (GSC)
The Google Search Console (GSC) is a free service from Google that makes it possible to monitor, analyze and optimize the visibility and presence of a website in the search results.
The program provides detailed insights and analyses of various website factors and makes it possible to identify and rectify any errors or problems, such as hacked content or unnatural links.
Es stellt sich nun die Frage: wie gelange ich zu diesen Informationen?
Die folgende Abbildung erleichtert das Verständnis für den Prozess. Um zu den «Top Linking Sites» zu gelangen, kann im GSC in der linken Spalte der Tab «Links» ausgewählt werden.
Ahrefs Backlink Checker
The Ahrefs tool makes it quick and easy to check the backlinks of a domain. Each backlink determined is displayed with relevant SEO metrics such as domain rating, URL rating, domain traffic, etc., which makes it easier to estimate the link value.
The Ahrefs 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.
According to Ahrefs, it operates the world's second most active web crawler after Google, which is why the backlink database and therefore the database of the Ahrefs backlink checker is very extensive.
Click here to go directly to the Ahrefs Backlink Checker.
How can I generate backlinks?
There are many different strategies to generate more backlinks. Three basic methods are explained in the following section:
Placing backlinks manually
Manually placed backlinks are links that you place yourself on other websites, e.g. in comments, forums or on social media platforms.
This method requires active participation and interaction with other websites and communities. Attention should always be paid to the relevance and quality of the articles and topics in order to avoid being perceived as spam.
Sometimes writing a guest post on thematically relevant blogs can also be a way to manually set backlinks.
Earn backlinks
Verdiente Backlinks entstehen in erster Linie durch die Bereitstellung von qualitativ hochwertigen, informativen und nutzbaren Inhalten, oftmals auch als ‚Linkable Assets‘ bezeichnet.
This is content that is particularly link-worthy due to its unique and valuable nature. If your content is of high quality and relevance, the likelihood that other websites will link to your page is significantly higher.
Such backlinks are particularly valuable as they are perceived by Google as natural, earned recommendations. Methods for gaining these backlinks include the creation of different types of content such as articles, blog posts, infographics, studies, tutorials and videos that are specifically tailored to the interests of your target group.
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.
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 a considerable risk.
This practice is strictly forbidden by Google and other search engines and can lead to penalties, including the removal of your website from the search index.
Nevertheless, there are legal and accepted practices in the field of off-page SEO services for placing content on so-called publisher websites in return for payment.
For example, articles can be published on a publisher website for a fee. This is a form of purchased backlinks, where you pay for the publication of content.
Prices at Forbes, for example, range from 850 to 9500 US dollars, while the publication of branded content at 20min.ch starts at 4250 CHF.
Overall, it is advisable to focus on building natural and earned backlinks in order to achieve long-term success. An SEO expert can also be consulted here.
Frequently asked questions about backlinks
Finally, this section outlines and explains the most frequently asked questions about backlinks:
How do I recognize harmful backlinks?
Harmful backlinks can damage your website's reputation with search engines.
To recognize harmful backlinks, you should pay attention to the following:
1. irrelevant websites
If the links come from websites that have nothing to do with your content or your industry.
2. spam websites
Whenthe links come from websites with dubious content, lots of ads and little relevant content.
3. over-optimized anchor text
Ifthe anchor text is overloaded with keywords.
4. low domain authority
Websiteswith low domain authority can be potentially harmful.
5. fast backlink building
Anunnaturally fast increase in backlinks can indicate harmful backlinks.
How can you delete bad/toxic backlinks?
The following steps can be taken to delete bad or toxic backlinks:
1. analyze backlinks
Use tools such as Google Search Console or Ahrefs to analyze your backlink profile.
2. contact webmaster
After identifying the harmful backlinks, you can contact the webmasters of the relevant sites and ask them to remove the links
3. disavow tool from Google
If the webmaster does not remove the link, you can use Google's Disavow tool to tell Google that certain links should not be taken into account when ranking your website.
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", can be sufficient.
However, as soon as the competition increases and invests in SEO, building a solid backlink profile becomes essential.
While 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).
Backlinks therefore serve as a boost, which can significantly accelerate the ranking improvement and drive SEO forward.
Tools such as Ahrefs can be used to precisely analyze how much the competition is investing in backlinks, as the links built are visible.
Assuming that strong backlinks cost an average of CHF 500, you can calculate fairly accurately how much you need to invest to keep up with the competition.
Even though aspects such as high-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.
References
Bailyn, Evan (2023): The 2023 Google Algorithm Ranking Factors [online]
https://www.searchlogistics.com/learn/seo/link-building/zero-links/ [abgerufen am 11.10.2023]
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/ [retrieved 11.10.2023]
Hardwick, Joshua (2019): Nofollow- vs. Follow-Links: Alles, was du wissen musst [online]
https://ahrefs.com/blog/de/nofollow-links/ [abgerufen am 12.10.2023]
Stox, Patrick (2021): Do Links Still Matter for Rankings? A Study by Ahrefs [online]
https://ahrefs.com/blog/impact-of-links/ [abgerufen am 11.10.2023]
