The technical definition of a backlink is a link received by one web node from another wed node where a web node is a web page, directory, another domain, etc. Backlinks were once used for web navigation, but are now important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
They become important when they are used by search engines to rank your site as the more backlinks they find to your site gives it a higher popularity and therefore a higher ranking which is why the big sites like Google are at the top of the pecking order for site ranking. A backlink is interpreted as a vote for your site by another in simplistic terms and sites with higher authority count higher with their backlinks than others.
A banklink can be said to be a “quality” backlink if either
- The theme of the backlink website is the same as your website; or
- The link to your website is using the keyword/keyphrase you are using to optimise your site
So how can you find out how many backlinks you have to your site? Well I know of two free tools and have used them on a number of occasions to see how many links I have to my web sites.
Backlink Checker – URL http://www.iwebtool.com/backlink_checker
Backlink Watch – URL http://backlinkwatch.com/#
You just enter your domain name on the page, click away and it immediately shows you how many links you have to your page.
You can also check individual pages of your domain by adding /blog or /about me and it will show all the links to those pages as well.
As backlinks are important, there are many sites offering to sell you backlinks although this practice is frowned upon and can even be the cause of your domain being banned from the search engines.
One good way to find sites that will assist your own backlink programme is to go to Backlink Builder (URL – http://www.webconfs.com/backlink-builder.php) and search using a keyword or a theme. I entered “Make Money Online” and within seconds it returned 140 sites where I could visit and make a comment that would be considered a good backlink to my own site.
As my new domain is quite new, there were very few backlinks as yet, but I would anticipate that as the site grows and gets filled with more quality content, the links will grow and my page will rate higher.
Why don’t you check your own site with one or both of the above tools and let me know in the comments section below how many are shown for your domain? Do you have any other backlink search tools?
