What a backlink is and how to earn honest ones

What a backlink does

Search engines find pages by following links. A link from another site is one path to yours, and it also says someone chose to point there. That is why links have long been treated as a signal of interest.

Visitors follow them too. A link from a supplier's page can send a real person who is already interested, which is a benefit that does not depend on any search engine at all.

That is worth remembering when you decide where to spend effort. A link that sends a few interested readers each month can be worth more to a small business than one nobody clicks. That holds whatever the link does for search.

Why one link is not like another

A link from a local trade association, a supplier or a news page about your town carries context. A link from a page that exists only to hold links carries none, and may count against you.

Relevance and honesty matter more than quantity. A handful of real mentions from sites your customers actually read are worth more than a long list nobody visits. Our page on off-page SEO puts links in context.

Look at the words a link uses, too. A link that reads like a plain description of your business, or just your name, is natural. Links that all use the same keyword phrase look arranged, and you should never ask anyone to word one that way.

Where a local business can earn them

Start close to home. Chambers of commerce, business associations, local charities you sponsor, schools you support and neighbors in related trades often keep lists or news pages where you can appear truthfully.

Then look at the people you buy from and sell with. Manufacturers list their installers, and clients may credit a project. Keep a page of resources or press details handy, as our page on a press and media page describes.

When you ask, keep it short and personal. Say who you are, why the link would help their readers, and the exact address you would like them to use. Thank them whether or not they agree, since a good relationship outlasts any single link.

A short list of honest tactics

None of these are tricks. They are ordinary good business habits that happen to produce links as a side effect, which is the only dependable way to earn them.

• Publish a guide or checklist worth citing, specific to your trade and area
• Ask suppliers and partners whether they list local businesses
• Join your local business association and complete the profile
• Sponsor or support a local event and ask for a listing
• Offer a short, quotable answer to a local reporter's question
• Keep a clear page with your facts so others can cite them correctly

Offers to ignore

Messages promising a number of links for a fee are selling something the rules warn against. Google describes links bought to influence results as a link scheme, and the damage can outlast the contract.

Be wary of any offer that cannot name the sites involved. If you cannot see where the links will appear and why a real person would click them, you are not buying attention. You are renting risk.

Automated outreach deserves the same suspicion. A form email that says it noticed your site and would like to trade links is almost always a mass message. A real partner knows who you are and why the link would matter to their own readers.

How to tell whether you have any

Google Search Console has a links report that lists the sites linking to yours. Open it, look at who they are, and ask whether each is real and relevant. Our page on Search Console basics shows where to start.

If a few odd ones appear, do not panic. Most sites collect strange links over time. Focus on earning good ones, and treat the report as information rather than a score.

Earning links is slow. Start with the plain, honest ones: your suppliers, your trade association, your local chamber, a partner who already knows your work. Ask each by email, and name the page you would like linked.