What Are Backlinks and Why Do They Still Matter?

Backlinks are those little blue links from other websites that mention and point to yours. They’ve been around forever, and as you’ve probably guessed, they still matter for SEO. A lot.

Why? Because from Google’s perspective, every backlink is basically a vote of confidence. If someone else is linking to your site, especially in a blog or article, they’re saying that the content on your website is actually useful and worth checking out.

But the slight problem here is that not all votes are created equal.

Quality Over Quantity

One link from a well-known, respected site in your industry is worth way more than a hundred dodgy links from spammy directories or totally unrelated blogs.

So let’s say for example that a reputable tech blog links to your software company guide. That’s a big win. And If a knitting blog links to your law firm’s homepage… then maybe not so much of a win.

Google looks at where the link is coming from, how trustworthy that site is… and whether the connection actually makes sense.

How Google Evaluates Links

It’s not just about the link itself - it’s about the context around it.

Where is it on the page? Is it buried in the footer or right there in the main content? What’s the article about? Is the link surrounded by helpful, relevant info, or is it randomly dropped in?

And then there’s your whole link profile - that’s the big-picture view of all the sites linking to you, how often, and what the anchor text says. Google’s looking for natural patterns, not shady shortcuts.

Modern Link Building Reality

You might have heard about dodgy backlink farms and those “buy 100 links for £5” scams. But forget about them now. That’s ancient history…  and it’ll get you penalised.