Is There a Way to Check Your Backlinks?

Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.

The word backlink is one of the most commonly used terms in the world of search engine optimization (SEO), and remains an important part of content marketing. A backlink is just a link to another site using some kind of anchor text. According to Forbes, these links are crucial for staying relevant and adapting.

So what is the big deal with backlinks and why are they so important? In the larger sense, backlinks demonstrate the placement of a particular piece of content inside the larger digital world. When a reputable website creates a link to your page, they are giving a testament to the quality of the information on your site. This will give your site a boost. But if you aren't careful, a backlink from a poor site can negatively impact your site. This is where the importance of a backlink checker comes in. Let's look at ways to check your backlinks to ensure the success of your SEO strategy.

Quality Matters

For years, the rule was that websites with the most backlinks could be found at the top of the search results for their targeted keywords. Thus, a website's backlinks could improve its search engine results. Website owners and search engine marketers devoted a bunch of money and time money and time to the science of site ranking with backlinking. The thought at that time was the more links the better!

Today, however, backlinks can actually hurt a site if they’re not done correctly. Not all backlinks are created equal and watching out for your external links is very important. Toxic website owners might have links from your site and that could cause your site to be penalized if they are not removed. This could result in your page rank taking a hit in search results and the web traffic you see diminish. When a search engine finds a link pointing to your site it will either count the link and improve your site's rank, ignore the link as neutral, or penalize your site because of the quality of the link. Google has created guidelines on manipulative link building, to help webmasters with backlink analysis and learn what kinds of links to avoid. Since algorithms have changed and the quality of backlinks rather than the quantity matters, checking these links is more important than ever for your SEO.

Checking Your Backlinks

Once your website has been around for a little while, there is a good chance that you have some backlinks pointing your way, depending on the nature of your site. Some may be good quality reputable sites that are providing a bump to your site ranking, but some may be from lower-quality sites and some may not be helping your site at all. It’s important to understand your link profile, as this will give you a clear idea of whether or not you’re on the right track.

A backlink checker can assist with monitoring the source of links to your page. These checkers analyze all of the links pointing to your site and then provide you with a complete picture of the kinds of sites that are linking to yours. This will allow you to take notice of any poor-quality sites that link to your site and work to minimize their impact on the success of your SEO. It could also give you an understanding of potential link building possibilities so that you can focus on gaining more positive links that could boost your site. Monitoring which pages are providing positive backlinks will also give you a better idea of the content that is generating the most interest with your audience. When you take advantage of all the potential found in the backlink checker, it could be a resource that gives you considerable insight and can help you succeed.

Once you have established your site and you have decided to work on your page ranking and authority with an SEO strategy, a backlink checker will be integral to your success. Checking your backlinks will boost your rank on search engine results pages.

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