How To Understand And Use Backlinks

Backlinks have become the Holy Grail of search engine optimization; they have largely replaced the "content is king" mantra that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates explained in his seminal 1996 essay about the future of the internet. In the SEO community, opinions about content and backlinks tend to be divisive; there seems to be a faction that still believes in what Gates explained about content, but there is another school of thought that gives more credence to backlinks because they adhere to marketing tenets.

In terms of building organic traffic, backlinks should technically be more appropriate. The Google development team that works on the crawling and indexing algorithm has mentioned the importance of Tier 1 and Tier 2 backlinks and their relation to ranking on the search engine results page. All SEO professionals know that getting a backlink from The New York Times, for example, will result in very favorable ranking, but this may only be temporary if the website lacks good content.

The truth about backlinks is that they need to be anchored by solid content. Let's say a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco gets good reviews published on Eater.com; this is a Tier 1 backlink that will certainly boost rank, but maintaining a top SERP position will require not just content but a good online marketing strategy. If the website of the restaurant is not responsive, for example, this will eventually erode the magic of the Eater.com backlink.

Something else to think about when discussing the merits of backlinks is that organic traffic is not limited to Google searches. A fashion boutique, for example, can manage a social media marketing campaign that targets visitors more effectively than what can be accomplished with SEO. If the boutique is constantly being mentioned on Facebook, Pinterest, and fashion blogs, this may result in more organic traffic in comparison to the Google SERP.

Great content that is published on a regular basis will eventually result in backlinks. Think about an architectural firm that frequently posts quality photos of completed projects along with eloquent posts that explain the work involved along with design trends; at some point, journalists who cover real estate for a local news publication will come across the website, thus creating a backlink opportunity. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/gq8bag/doireallyneedtobuildbacklinkstoget/.