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Your website needs eyes on it if you want your business to get more customers. The more eyes, the better, which means you need to rank well in search engine results. You do this through search engine optimization (SEO), a multifaceted strategy that includes getting high-quality links to your site.
SEO backlinks continue to be critical for visibility and authority in competitive search results. But not just any links will do. Here’s what you need to know about the role of backlinks in SEO, which types matter, and how to build them the right way — ethically and effectively.
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks are simply links from one website to another. They can either be outbound links or incoming links. An outbound link is a link on your website to another website, which you might use when you cite statistics, make a recommendation, or discuss an organization. An incoming link is a link on another site pointing to yours. So, what is a backlink in SEO? When it comes to SEO and backlinks, we're generally referring to incoming links.
Why Backlinks Still Matter for SEO
Now that you understand what a backlink is, you’re probably wondering if they still matter for SEO. The short answer to that question is that they do still make a difference in 2025.
Specifically, search engines use backlinks as a signal of credibility and authority. If other websites are linking to yours, it indicates to the algorithm that you know what you’re talking about. Backlinks continue to be a key ranking factor because both search engines and users will follow external links to your page, making them a critical role in your online discoverability.
Types of Backlinks and Why They’re Not All Equal
If you want to build a strong link profile for SEO, it’s important to understand that not all backlinks are equal. So, what are the different types of backlinks? Here are a few:
- Editorial: Links from high-quality content on reputable industry publications or news sites
- Earned: Links that are earned organically when other websites link to your content because they find it relevant or valuable
- Guest Post: Links received from publishing or writing content on other websites in your industry or niche
Other notable types of links are sponsored and user-generated content (UGC) backlinks, with sponsored links being acquired through promotional activities or paid ads and UGC tags coming from user-generated content such as forums or comments. While these types of links are acceptable, links that are earned organically are the most valuable.
Finally, it’s important to understand the difference between dofollow and nofollow backlinks. Dofollow links pass SEO value to the linked page, while nofollow links don’t. However, having a healthy mix of both types of backlinks can improve your online visibility because both can drive traffic to your website.
White-Hat Link Building Tactics That Actually Work
Since the right types of backlinks correlate with higher rankings, you’re probably wondering, "How do I get an SEO backlink?" The last thing you want to do is pay for backlinks or do anything underhanded to get one. These tactics are considered “black-hat” and are a surefire way to damage your rankings and online reputation. Here are some white-hat link-building strategies that get results.
Create Share-Worthy, Linkable Content
The best way to generate inbound links is to earn them. To do this, you must have useful content that provides value. Create engaging website pages and quality blog content within your niche. Don’t forget to add relevant statistics and promote your content via social media.
Use Digital PR and Outreach Campaigns
Another SEO marketing strategy that works to build your backlink profile is to leverage public relations to build authority in your industry. Distribute editorial content and press releases through content syndication, which can help amplify your content’s reach and establish you as an expert in your field.
Try Guest Posting on Relevant Industry Sites
This content strategy continues to be a successful way to build links for SEO. The best way to get industry sites to accept your content is by analyzing their existing blogs to identify the topics that generate the most traffic and then finding a new angle that wasn’t covered in their post.
Fix Broken Links and Use Link Reclamation
Look for online content that has broken links or links that redirect to a 404 page. Once you’ve found something, send the website owner or administrator an email to let them know. At the same time, suggest that they replace the broken link with one of your pages on the same topic.
How To Spot and Avoid Low-Quality or Spammy Links
Low-quality or spammy backlinks are links from external websites that can harm your site’s rankings and potentially damage your online reputation. Google and other search engines view these “toxic” backlinks as a red flag. Get enough of them and it can result in reduced domain authority, making it harder for your intended audience to find you online.
That’s why you want to learn what bad backlinks look like so you can search for and remove them before they impact your SEO efforts. Some of the things that lead to low-quality links include:
- Paying for links: You should never pay or accept compensation for “dofollow” links that pass SEO value.
- Using private blog networks: Private blog networks are groups of websites owned by a single party with the sole purpose of supplying links to targeted sites.
- Exchanging links: Link exchanges happen when two websites agree to link to exchange backlinks with SEO as the primary goal.
- Posting overly optimized links: Low-quality backlinks aren’t natural and will often appear as awkward keyword phrases that don’t fit in the context of the external pages.
- Listings on low-quality directories: Listing your business on low-quality directories that don’t offer a positive user experience can produce spammy backlinks.
Some automated link checkers will give you an overall toxicity score, which identifies how many “toxic” domains link to your website. Once you identify these, you can use Google’s Disavow Tool to let the search engine know you wish to disavow the questionable URLs that link to your website.
Do Backlinks Help SEO in 2025? Yes — Here’s Why
In the age of AI-powered search and zero-click searches, do backlinks really help SEO in 2025? The answer is, yes, they still do. Even though Google’s search algorithm shifts over time, trust will remain a critical factor in establishing a positive online presence.
One of the best ways to exhibit trust is through backlinks. SEO focuses on many aspects of boosting your rankings, but high-quality off-site backlinks will remain an important signal going forward.
Build an SEO Backlink Strategy That Lasts
High-quality SEO backlinks are a critical component of a successful digital marketing strategy. It can take time, effort, and a bit of know-how to implement a strategy that gets your website and brand name noticed by the search engines and your intended audience. SEO content writing by professionals who understand how to find and create backlinks can help your business get a steady stream of new customers. Learn more about how our SEO services can help your business get results.
