Overview
This article addresses the various linking concepts in SEO and their relevance .
Linking concepts in SEO in the early days dictated keyword usage as a means for ranking. This was even before the advent of Google.
At that time, pages essentially got ranked through keyword references as there were no algorithms available for determining priority. This resulted in arbitrary and random usage of keywords to attract viewership.
Content success is dependent on shareability to other websites, as well as its ability to access other specific websites. This is the function of links.
For a site to be of a good quality, links are a necessity. Therefore, sites with more backlinks tend to earn higher rankings, known as Organic search rankings.
Organic search rankings work by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine how important the website is. Important websites are always likely to receive more links from other websites.
Various types of links
A summary of terms used for linking in SEO, with examples, is highlighted below:
- Link: A link (or hyperlink) in a website is a word or button that points to another location. Clicking on a link takes you to a webpage, document or other online content. Without links we would not have websites. The main driving factor for a successful website content is ‘more links = more search traffic = more customers’.
- Example: “For more information please go to the price list of items“.
- Anchor text: Anchor Texts are ‘clickable’ words used to link one web page to another. It indicates to users what kind of page they’ll be taken to if they click the link. The blue, underlined anchor text is the most common as it is the web standard.
- Example: “In this sentence people are of relevance”.
- External or Outbound Links: External or Outbound are links on your website that link out to other websites. They are often used within content to add more context and to link a reader to another source that will add additional and important information.
- Example: “For any other information, please refer to https://———“
- Inbound link or Backlink: Inbound or Backlinks are links that come from other websites. Google views inbound links as an indicator that your site has high-quality content, making these links one of the most important elements in search engine optimization (SEO). Basically, inbound links tell site crawlers that your website is an authority on a certain subject — so the more inbound links you have from high quality, high authority sites, the better your website can rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Example: If Forbes.com mentions your latest book in a blog post and includes a link to your website, this is an Inbound link or Backlink.
Conclusion
Links in SEO provide a means for your content to get accessed and become available for worldwide reference.
Out of the three types of links, inbound links are the ones with the greatest SEO benefit, but they are also the hardest to acquire.
For a more detailed understanding, please refer to Search engine journal
A ready reckoner of the packages is contained in SEO Packages