Are Backlinks Important for SEO

Are backlinks important for SEO? The short answer is yes, they are, but they are not as important as they were just a few years ago.

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What kind of backlinks are important for SEO

There are two types of backlinks: “dofollow” and “nofollow“.

Dofollow backlinks are the ones you should always be aiming for, as they are the ones providing “link juice” for your domain.

Nofollow backlinks are usually those acquired from blog comments, forum signatures, social media profile links, etc. These have absolutely no value to your website and in some cases can do more harm than good.

dofollow versus nofollow backlinks — *Dofollow backlinks are the ones you should be aiming for.*

Dofollow backlinks are the most important backlinks for your website, as they’re created by other webmasters, who see real value in your content.

Other webmasters will only link back to you, if the content on your website is original, engaging and thoroughly researched.
Mr Worthy

It is your job then to make sure, that the content you create is a high-quality masterpiece, which other sites will see as the best source of information for a particular topic.

Are paid backlinks good for SEO

Absolutely NOT!

And I truly discourage you from buying backlinks for your website.

The Internet is stuffed with offers from backlink sellers, who run so-called “PBNs” (Public Blog Networks).

Just so you know, these are already banned from use by Google, as they are classified as “link farms”.

If you are unlucky enough and have already bought such backlinks, beware that your best option now is to disavow them in your Google Search Console.

paid backlinks — *Never pay for backlinks, otherwise, Google will penalize your website!*

As soon as Google will find out where those backlinks are coming from, your website will suddenly drop hard in rankings or may even get completely de-indexed from Google search.

Recovering from that may take months, if not years. Some sites that have been caught red-handed for such practices never recovered and were forced to close their business.

So, ask yourself a question: is it really worth doing? Definitely not.

Are backlinks one of Google’s ranking factors

Yes and no.

Google still looks at things like social signals and backlinks from high authority websites but does not treat them as a permanent ranking factor.

It’s more of a signal to Google, that your website has some sort of value because it’s been shared e.g. on Facebook, or linked back from another high authority website.

google ranking factors — *Backlinks are not one of Google’s ranking factors. They are just a signal to Google.*

This could be an article that you have written on a specific topic or you have a niche site, that basically is the best source of information on the internet.

Again, this is just a signal to Google.

Your position on Google depends on over 200 ranking factors. Unfortunately backlinks are NOT one of them.
Mr Worthy

Are backlinks good for website traffic?

Absolutely yes!

Backlinks created on a specific website can bring you a lot of traffic to your website.

Let’s say you have a very good knowledge of programming.

Creating profiles on forums within that niche and linking back to your website will surely bring you a lot of visitors, and more likely they will turn into paying customers.

build backlinks for targeted traffic — *Correctly built backlinks can bring you a lot of targeted visitors.*

Or, perhaps you run a specific website, like coaching, mentoring, teaching, etc.

A good option, in this case, would be creating a Youtube channel and a few social media profiles, whereby by placing backlinks you can divert people to the specific content on your website.

The more backlinks you create, the more traffic you will get.
Mr Worthy

Even something as easy, as blog commenting can bring you a lot of traffic. You have to however participate in conversations and provide value to other users.