Before we get into what a backlink actually is, we must first understand what a website is.
A “Website or web-site or just a site refers to the collection of web pages, images, audio, video and other digital information stored on a web server, which can be accessed via the Internet or LAN.”
To access any website, you must enter a name into the web browser. What we call or commonly known as “domain name.” Like, “lrbinventiveit.com” is an example of a domain name.
Now, come to what backlink actually implies. Well, backlinks are links provided from one website to another. Simply put, if someone links to your website, you will get a backlink from their website. In contrast, if you link to another website, they will get a backlink from your website.
Here is an example that will make this concept more clear to you.
When serpkey.com mentioned the name of giantmarketers.com on their website or a link to another website somehow, that means the website giantmarketers has received a backlink from the website serpkey. Similarly, if 50 other websites are linked to giantmarketers.com, then it is assumed that the giantmarketers has got 50 backlinks.
This is what we call backlink. In a word, a backlink is a connection between our website and other websites.
Why Do We Use Backlinks?
If I ask, why do we vote for a specific minister?
Most probably, the answer will be to make that particular minister win in the election. The reason is, there will be many ministerial candidates for a single post, and who will be given this post is decided by vote; whoever has more votes is the winner, and they are given that position.
Similarly, if 3 different websites come with the same niche, topic, quality article, and design, who will Google rank first from these 3 sites????
Here backlinks come into play. If I count backlinks as votes, and if one of these 3 websites gets 10 votes, the other gets 5 votes, and the last one 1 gets no votes, then Google will give preference to the site with 10 votes, i.e., 10 backlinks. This way, Google will rank the site with 10 backlinks, second the site with 5 backlinks, and arrange the position consecutively.
Because Google bots will give more priority to the webpage that got 10 votes, or you can say that that has received 10 recommendations.
But, there is one thing that is quality, which matters the most while considering backlinks.
Let me clear it with an example. Suppose you and your friend have applied for a job together, and there are 50 ordinary people who have recommended you over the phone. On the other hand, a minister recommended for your friend over the phone. So, who do you think will be hired?
Of course, your answer will be “to your friend.” Actually, the reason is crystal clear. The power, authority, and trust of a minister are much more than 50 ordinary people; therefore, the minister will be given more priority.
The same thing goes for backlinks also.
A site that gets backlinks from only 1 authority and relevant site will get more power and trust than a site that gets 50 common or irrelevant backlinks.
PRO TIPS: You must keep one thing in consideration, that you have to get backlinks from the sites related to the topic of your site. Only then, the backlinks will be considered powerful backlinks.
Why Are Backlinks Important?
1. Ranking: Though Google says that backlinks or UGC backlinks don’t work, in reality, the situation is completely opposite. Backlinks have a lot of impact on the ranking, even helping you to rank higher in Google.
This is not just about me. Many SEO experts around the world have also experimented a lot with backlinks.
According to those researches, it is clear that backlinking boosts the Google ranking. In fact, in a study by Ahrefs, they showed how backlinks are helping in ranking more referral domains.
2. Visibility: As a result of backlinking, search engine robots keep visiting your site again and again. This way, your visibility increases much more easily and leads the post to get indexed quicker than before.
3. Referral Traffic: The page on which the backlink is inserted, we can easily get some referral traffic from the visitor on that page, which I’ll discuss in detail below.
Is it Possible to Rank Without Backlinks?
If you have heard that many people have ranked their site without any backlinks and still are in a good position, then you have heard right. Because you can rank your site even without getting backlinks. But in that case, you need to know some things well and work accordingly. These are-
1. Keyword Selection
One of the most crucial conditions for getting top rank without backlinks is “good keyword selection.”
Suppose I have targeted a keyword that has only 2 exact relevant results on Google while searching with that keyword. And those 2 results are in the 1st and 2nd position of Google. The remaining 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 positions have a few social media sites and less focus sites. So, if you cover an article with that specific keyword and optimize the On-Page factors well, you can easily make a place on the number 3-4 position.
Pro Tips: Less focused sites are those which don’t cover 100% of user intent for your target keyword. For example, if someone searches for the “best dishwasher for low water pressure”, you will get some results that just focus on the “best dishwasher”. If Google brings these sites, which are less focused sites, that means there are huge chances to easily bypass these sites. No matter how big the sites are.
2. On-Page Optimization
Another condition to get the #1 rank on SERP without backlinks is “on-page optimization”.
If you want to get rank without backlinks, you must select good keywords as well as be proficient in on-page optimization. You need to be updated with all the regular on-page updates and know exactly what kind of on-page optimization currently works for sites.
3. Content Outline and Quality
There is a saying, “Content Is King“. In addition to the above facts, if you can create content by keeping your content structure or outline great and content quality right, then you can easily move to Google’s zero position without requiring any backlinks.
Here, the quality of the content depends on several things. For instance, sentence making, grammatical errors, irrelevant or unnecessary information, use of long sentences, etc.
So there is no exception to having great content that can easily take place on the first page of Google without backlinks.
4. Technical SEO
You need to always keep your eyes on your site to see any major technical issues. Major technical issues may include, 404 error, Webmaster issue, Coverage Issue, structure data issue, Mobile-friendly issue, UI/UX issues, loading speed issue, Index issue, etc., etc.
These problems need to be solved as soon as you figure them out. Otherwise, it won’t be long-lasting, even if you rank on the first page. The worst part is that if you have technical issues on your site, anyone can take you down and reach the top position in no time.
If you can maintain all the above facts well and stick to them for a minimum of 6 months, I hope that the site will do very well without any backlinks.
5. Getting Backlinks
I know some people in Bangladesh who earn about 10 thousand dollars a month from their website. But when I ask, they say that they haven’t done any backlinks so far; even if you check on Ahrefs, you will see that there are many backlinks on their site. So are they lying??
Not at all. The fact is, when their site is getting a good ranking in Google, because of their good content, some site authors refer to that site as an external link to fill their relevant information. This way, they get automatic backlinks, and the site keeps ranking better.
The main point is, that site actually got backlinks and wasn’t ranked without backlinks. But the owners of those backlink sites did not do it themselves; they have achieved the backlinks because of their good quality content. So there is no alternative to having good content on your site.
Do You Really Need Backlinks? Will My Site Be Harmed If it Doesn’t Have Backlinks?
If you want to rank for low competitive and high competitive keywords, then I would say the need for backlinks is immense.
The reason behind this is, if your competitors are in a good position with backlinks, then you won’t be able to rank those keywords very easily without backlinks. And even if it is ranked, it won’t last long.
However, there are two things that work here:
The first one is, Manually Created Backlinks — which means I’ve created my own backlinks.
The other one is, Acquired Backlinks — which means he got backlinks from another site, while someone else automatically gave backlinks because his content was good. I’ve explained it above.
So, the bottom line is that no one can stay in the top rankings for long without backlinks. To ensure top ranking, you have to get backlinks or acquire.
PRO TIPS: The most quality backlink is to “achieve backlinks”.
How Many Backlinks Are Needed to Rank?
This will depend on the competition of your keywords and the quality of your backlinks. Suppose your competitors’ average DR is 5 and DA is 10+. And those who are ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd all have about 2 relevant guest post backlinks, and the average DR of all guest post backlinks is about 10+. Besides their content, on-page optimization is also good, and anchor text is partially matched, branded, or naked.
In order to outrank them, you must keep the content and outreach right, and a minimum of 2-3 relevant guest posts can be made as well. Or if you have a better guest posting site, then sometimes it is possible to outrank with a single guest post also.
In this case, it cannot be said precisely, and, of course, you have to keep experimenting. If you can’t get outranked even with 2 guest posts, then you have to try with 3 guest posts.
I hope you have got an idea of how many backlinks it will take.
PRO TIPS: Currently, anchor text works best in branded, naked, and partial matches.
What is Basic Backlink? Do I need a basic backlink to rank?
It is basically a type of backlink that is commonly known as foundation backlinks also. By basic backlinks, we mostly mean the type of backlinks that can be done on your own. This means that you can create this type of backlinks by registering on the desired website.