Pillar guide Backlinks · 1 of 9

What Are Backlinks? Why They Matter and How to Earn Them

Learn what backlinks are, why they matter for SEO, and how to earn relevant links. Includes quality checks, Search Console tips, and a practical checklist.

Updated 11 min read Fact-checked by Dex · 7 claims, 0 open

Key takeaways

  • Backlinks come from other sites; relevance and context matter more than a raw total.
  • Check the source page, destination, and reason for each reference.
  • Build useful resources and approach audiences with a real reason to use them.
  • DEX plans a backlink marketplace for 2027, with access intended after month three.

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. If a trade association links to your business guide, that link is a backlink for your site. It gives readers a path to your page and can help search engines discover and assess it.

The useful question is not just how many links you can collect. Ask why another publisher would recommend your page, who would use that recommendation, and whether the destination delivers what the link promises.

This guide explains what backlinks are, how to judge their value, where to check them, and how a small business can earn relevant references. It also shows how DEX supports the content work behind those references and what its planned backlink marketplace would add in 2027.

A backlink is an incoming link from a page on another website. The source page contains the link; your page is the destination. The clickable words are its anchor text.

Imagine a local business group publishes a guide to preparing a storefront for winter. It links to a heating company’s maintenance checklist. The checklist has earned a backlink from the business group’s guide. This is a hypothetical example, not a reported customer result.

A backlink and a referring domain count different things. A domain is the website providing the link. Several pages on the same website can link to you, creating multiple backlinks from one referring domain. Keep the two measures separate when reading a report.

A mention without a clickable link is not a backlink. It may still help people learn about the business. Likewise, a link to your home page and a link to a detailed resource are different references, even when they come from the same publisher.

The direction of a link determines which job you are discussing:

  • Backlink: another website points to your page.
  • Internal link: one page on your website points to another page on the same site.
  • Outbound link: your page points to a page on another website.

If you cite an official manual in your article, that is an outbound link from your site and an incoming link for the manual’s publisher. It does not give your own article a new backlink.

The guide to sources and external links covers choosing and citing evidence. Here, the focus is references received by your site. Both jobs matter, but they need different decisions and measures.

Links can help search engines find pages and understand connections between them. A relevant reference also gives a person a reason to visit your site. These are related benefits, but they are not the same outcome.

A link in a trade guide may send a few readers who need exactly what your page explains. A link on a widely visited page may receive little attention if it sits in an unrelated list. Look at the source, context, and reader’s next step instead of assuming every link has equal value.

Backlinks are part of the wider SEO picture. Your page still needs to answer a useful question, work properly, and be available to search engines. Links do not repair a confusing offer or turn a thin article into the best answer.

Nor does a backlink guarantee a citation in an AI answer. Treat mentions, links, search visits, and AI citations as distinct observations. A change in one measure does not establish what caused another to move.

Start with the reason for the recommendation. Would this link help the source page’s reader even if no SEO tool counted it? Then inspect the page and the destination.

Relevance to the topic and audience

A reference from a related resource has a clear role. A local association might point to a member’s practical guide because it solves a common problem. A specialist publication might cite original data, which is the idea behind digital PR, because its readers need the finding.

Relevance is more specific than sharing a broad industry label. Check the actual passage, audience, and task. A nearby business can be a poor fit for a particular article, while a publisher in another region can be an excellent source of relevant readers.

Editorial choice and useful context

Look for a reason the publisher selected the page. The surrounding text should explain what the destination offers. A reference beside a relevant explanation is easier to assess than a hidden link or an unrelated block of names.

Anchor text should set an honest expectation. The publisher controls its own wording. Asking every site to repeat the same search phrase is not a substitute for earning a useful recommendation.

A destination that deserves the visit

Open the page receiving the link. Does it contain the promised answer? Can a visitor read it on a phone? Is the evidence available? A guide with a clear method and a useful example gives another writer something concrete to reference.

Third-party authority scores can help sort a research list, but they are vendor metrics, not Google scores. Do not accept or reject a link only because a number crosses a threshold. Inspect the page and the reason for the reference.

Describe both how the reference arose and how the publisher marks the link. Those are separate properties.

Editorial, resource, and business references

An editorial backlink appears when a publisher uses your page as a source or helpful next step. A resource page may list a guide or tool for its audience. A relevant trade directory can help people find a real business. Each still needs review for accuracy and usefulness.

A contribution to another publication can also include a reference where it adds value. Writing a guest article solely to insert an optimized link creates a different situation from contributing knowledge that the publication actually needs.

Follow, nofollow, sponsored, and UGC

A normal link does not need a special “dofollow” HTML attribute. The term usually describes a link without a qualifying relationship value. Other attributes indicate circumstances such as paid placement or user content.

Google explains nofollow, sponsored, and ugc in its link documentation. The site placing the link chooses the appropriate treatment. A link can still lead a reader to useful material even when it has one of these attributes.

Do not judge a reference only by follow status. Consider the reader, placement, and relationship too. A paid placement should be disclosed and qualified; it should not be presented as an independent editorial endorsement.

For a site you manage, start with the Links report in Google Search Console. Review external links, linking sites, and the pages receiving them. Access requires the appropriate permission for the property.

The report is a starting point, not a complete live inventory. Google documents limits and differences between its link data and other reports. Avoid treating a missing entry as proof that a link does not exist or an old entry as proof that it still does.

Keep a small working record with the source page, destination, date checked, context, and next action. Distinguish the number of links from the number of sites. Open important references before deciding what they mean.

When you compare competitors, look for patterns worth understanding: what kinds of resources attract references, and which audiences use them? The SEO competitor analysis guide explains how to turn observations into priorities. Another site’s link profile is evidence to inspect, not a list you must reproduce.

Begin with a useful contribution and a relevant audience. A page needs a reason to be recommended beyond the fact that your team wants links.

Create a resource with something specific to offer

Useful resources, often called linkable assets, include a clear checklist, a calculator with visible assumptions, a well documented process, or original findings from work you can explain. Choose the format from the reader’s task. A long article is not automatically more useful than a short tool.

Ask what another writer could cite. A generic overview may repeat what is already available. A careful comparison, original diagram, or clearly sourced explanation can give the reader a distinct reason to open your page.

DEX brings keyword research, content planning, drafting, and fact review into its content process. Use that workflow to develop a resource that answers a real question. The guide to writing articles with AI covers working from a brief and reviewing the draft. Publication alone does not earn an outside recommendation.

Share it with people who have a reason to use it

Identify a publication, association, or business whose audience faces the problem your resource solves. The link prospecting process shows how to qualify each one. Read the relevant page before making contact. Explain the contribution and why it fits that particular context.

A short, specific outreach message is more useful than a mass message asking for a backlink. Let the publisher decide whether the resource belongs. Do not invent a relationship or claim to have read a page you have not reviewed.

Use real relationships and recover useful references

A supplier, professional group, or community organization may have a legitimate reason to list your business or resource. Keep details accurate and choose relevant listings. Membership should have a real purpose beyond collecting links.

If a publisher already mentions your resource, check whether a link would help its readers find the material. If a relevant link is broken, you can explain the problem and suggest a genuinely suitable replacement. Neither situation entitles you to an insertion.

Focus on a few justified opportunities. Track the resource, audience, message, and response. This makes the work reviewable without treating link volume as a quality measure.

Consider a hypothetical heating company that often answers questions about winter maintenance for small storefronts. Its team decides to publish a checklist based on the tasks it can explain accurately.

  1. Define the task: help an owner prepare for a service visit and understand when to call a qualified professional.
  2. Add a clear contribution: separate basic observations from work that requires a technician, and explain the limits.
  3. Check the evidence: review manufacturer guidance and the rules relevant to the location. Do not turn a safety issue into unsupported DIY advice.
  4. Choose an audience: a local business association already maintains a seasonal resource page for members.
  5. Make a specific suggestion: explain which part of the checklist could help that page’s readers.
  6. Leave the decision with the publisher: it may link, decline, or request changes.

The opportunity comes from a useful resource and a clear audience fit. No backlink, traffic gain, or ranking change is assumed. Even if the association declines, the checklist should still help the company’s own customers.

That final test is useful for any topic: would you keep this page if nobody linked to it? If the answer is no, revisit the content’s purpose before starting more outreach.

Google’s link spam policy covers links created primarily to manipulate rankings. Examples include buying ranking credit, excessive exchanges, automated link creation, and low-value content made to carry links.

A region or niche match does not change the purpose of a scheme. Review why the reference exists and what the publisher is recommending. Relevant wording alone does not turn a required trade into an independent endorsement.

Advertising and sponsorship can serve real marketing goals. Keep those relationships clear and use the appropriate link treatment. Do not sell a paid placement to your team as a guaranteed organic ranking improvement.

Also avoid judging outreach by the number of messages sent. A poorly matched campaign can waste other people’s time and damage trust. Start with the resource and reader fit, then decide whether contact is useful.

Record important changes and inspect them before acting. A newly reported link may be older than the report suggests. A missing link may reflect a reporting difference, a moved page, or an actual removal.

When a valuable reference points to a missing page on your site, first understand what the old page provided. Restore useful content or redirect to a genuinely equivalent destination where appropriate. Sending every old URL to the home page can leave visitors without the answer they expected.

If the publisher’s link is wrong, a factual correction request may help. If it removed a reference because your information became outdated, improve the resource before asking for reconsideration.

Do not make disavow a routine response to a tool’s “toxic” label. Google says most sites do not need its disavow links tool. Its guidance concerns substantial artificial link issues tied to a manual action or a likely one, and warns that incorrect use can harm performance.

Monitor visits and useful actions alongside links where data is available. A backlink count is not a count of customers. Compare periods carefully and avoid claiming that one new reference caused a change in search performance.

DEX also reviews pages that have not gained rankings after about 30 to 60 days. Use that broader review to revisit the page’s intent, evidence, usefulness, and priorities. The SEO content audit guide explains that work. A page’s lack of rankings does not identify backlinks as the cause.

DEX plans to introduce a backlink marketplace in 2027. The planned model would let customers find exchange opportunities by region, niche, and quality, with access intended after their third month of subscription. This is a planned feature, not a marketplace available today.

The proposal would bring partner discovery closer to the content workflow. A business could consider whether another site’s audience and topic fit its resource, then assess the actual page and proposed reference. Filters would help organize the search; they would not replace editorial judgment.

Each proposed link would still need to make sense for readers and comply with search engine policies. A marketplace match would not guarantee a backlink, a ranking result, or approval from Google. Excessive exchanges arranged to manipulate rankings remain a separate concern regardless of how partners are found.

Today, start with the work DEX supports in its content process: research a useful topic, plan a page, review the facts, and publish an answer worth recommending. The planned marketplace would be an additional way to discover opportunities, not a replacement for that foundation.

Use this sequence to turn the guide into a focused plan:

  • Check which pages already receive outside references and why.
  • Choose a customer question that deserves a useful resource.
  • Add a contribution another publisher can identify and inspect.
  • Review the page, its evidence, and the visitor’s next step.
  • Find a small set of audiences with a clear reason to use it.
  • Assess each opportunity by relevance and editorial value.
  • Track responses, live references, useful visits, and needed updates.

There is no universal number of backlinks that guarantees a position. Different searches involve different pages, audiences, and competition. Build the plan around the resource and the business need instead of copying a competitor’s total.

If content research, writing, review, and publication are scattered across your team, start with a free DEX SEO plan. Identify which pages deserve attention and build a clearer basis for future recommendations. The goal is a page people have a reason to visit and reference.

FAQ

How many backlinks do I need to rank?

There is no universal total. Search intent, competing pages, content, and link relevance all affect the task.

Can a page rank without backlinks?

It can, but no fixed link count predicts a result. Evaluate the page and the search rather than treating backlinks as an entry quota.

Are nofollow backlinks useful?

They can still help readers reach useful material. Do not judge a reference only by its relationship attribute.

Should I buy backlinks?

Do not buy links to manipulate rankings. Advertising and sponsorship need clear relationships and appropriate link attributes.

When should I disavow links?

Follow Google’s specific guidance for substantial artificial link problems connected with a manual action or a likely one. Most sites do not need the tool.

Sources

  1. SEO Starter Guide · Google
  2. Links report · Google
  3. Link spam policies · Google
  4. Qualify outbound links · Google
  5. Disavow links to your site · Google
  6. DEX SEO · DEX

Dex SEO is an AI SEO agent for small businesses. Every article here is planned from search data, drafted by Dex, fact-checked against the sources it cites, and reviewed by the team before it is published.

How this article was made: planned and drafted by Dex from search data, fact-checked by Dex (7 claims checked), then approved by the Dex SEO team.

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