Backlinks created for the website are one of the most significantaspectstorank on thesearch engines. The more backlinks a website has from relevant domains, the higher it will rank,but all backlinks are not equal. Getting backlinks from low quality or spammy sites can actually hurt your rankings. So, what exactly makes a backlink “quality”? In this post, we will explore what defines quality backlinks and how you can build them.

1.      Domain Authority and Trust Flow

Two key metrics that determine the quality of a backlink are Domain Authority (DA) and Trust Flow (TF). Domain Authority is a score from 0-100 that represents how authoritative and influential a domain is according to Moz. Trust Flow represents how much authority that domain carries to other sites through its links. Generally, the higher the DA and TF scores of a linking page, the more “juice” or ranking power that backlink will pass on to the receiving page. Backlinks from domains with DA scores of 50+ and high TF are considered very high quality.

2.      Relevance and Topical Authority

In addition to domain metrics, the relevance and topical authority of a backlink source is important. A linking page should be within the same or closely related topic/industry as the target page. For example, a blog post about “SEO tips” on a marketing website would be very relevant for an SEO service provider, but less so for a plumber. The more authoritative the source is on the topic being linked to, the more valuable the backlink.

3.      Link Location and Anchor Text

The location and anchor text of the backlink also impacts its quality. Links in the body content of articles are considered more natural and thus higher quality than links in sidebars or at the bottom of pages. Links with anchor text that contains the target page’s primary keyword(s) are also more valuable for ranking than generic text like “click here” or “read more”.

4.      Linking Intentions and User Experience

Google also evaluates the intentions behind backlinks and whether they were obtained naturally or unnaturally. Links that were obtained solely or primarily to manipulate search rankings are frowned upon. On the other hand, links included to benefit users and from authentic editorial recommendations tend to be higher quality. The user experience when clicking on the backlink also matters – it should lead to relevant on-topic content.

5.      Authority Signals and Social Shares

Other authority signals associated with high-quality domains include social shares, citations, brand mentions and third-party endorsements. For example, a link from a page that has been shared thousands of times on social networks or mentioned in other authoritative sources would pass on more ranking power. The more authority signals around a linking page, the higher quality the backlink.

6.      Building Quality Backlinks Organically

There are many ethical ways to build quality backlinks organically over time such as creating valuable content, participating in online communities, guest posting on relevant industry sites, getting local citations, gaining brand mentions and more. The key is to focus on contributing quality resources others will want to link to naturally due to their helpfulness, trustworthiness and authority on the topic. Avoid low-quality tactics like comment spam, unnatural private blog networks or buying cheap links that can hurt rankings.

Conclusion

True “quality” backlinks are those that come from authoritative sources within the same topic as the target page, are naturally obtained without manipulation, and pass on various authority signals when users click on them. The best approach is to focus on creating great content others will want to share organically. While building quality backlinks takes longer, they are much safer for rankings and lead to more loyal, relevant traffic over the long run.