20 Sep Backlink Basics: Domain Authority, Anchor Text, and Link Frequency
Whether launching a new business or attempting to take your existing company to the next level, getting onto the first page of Google is one of the best ways to boost the awareness and credibility of your brand. To make this happen, you will need to master the basics of backlinks and domain authority.
Backlinks are one of the most important metrics that search engine crawlers use to rank websites on the SERPs. Naturally, then, a deeper understanding of backlink basics will put you in the strongest position to give your site the visibility it deserves. Here’s all you should know about domain authority, link frequency, and more.
A Brief Look At Backlinks
Backlinks are links placed on one webpage that are hyperlinked to a related webpage. While they are most commonly connected to text but may also be attached to images, video, or infographics.
Also known as inbound links or incoming links, they are links found on other websites and pointed towards your domain. Conversely, outbound links are the links placed on your site that direct your visitors to other relevant sites.
Backlinks are hugely beneficial for your search engine marketing strategy because Google sees them as a recommendation from the referring site. This vote of confidence gives your brand a professional and trustworthy vibe. In turn, your ranking will improve.
To see the best results from inbound links, though, you must utilise them in the right way…
Backlinks And Domain Authority
Domain authority (DA) is a grading score out of 100 that determines how likely a website is to rank in the SERPs. As a website owner, boosting your DA should be an ongoing priority. However, it’s also a vital ingredient in the recipe for successful backlink tactics.
While a backlink from any website can be seen as a vote of confidence, search engine crawlers pay far greater attention to recommendations that come from credible sources. In short, a backlink from a national news site will carry greater weight than one from a new blog that gets 100 visits per month and uses a WordPress subdomain.
A site’s domain authority is calculated through a complex algorithm that’s powered by machine learning. You can find out a website’s DA ranking with a free domain checker tool. As well as gaining an insight into how your site ranks, it will help you make a list of relevant sites to reach out to for the sake of guest blogging, directory listings, and other backlink building opportunities.
For the best results, you should target websites with a domain authority of at least 80. Of course, getting your website mentioned by a major news site may be quite difficult unless there is a newsworthy story attached to the brand. Still, when you find the right balance between credibility and accessibility, finding suitable domains should be a lot simpler.
Backlinks And Anchor Text
When looking at on-site SEO practices, you will quickly learn to appreciate the need for relevant keywords. Keyword stuffing and link cloaking, for example, are just two issues that make your web pages less relevant and reliable. Consequently, this can significantly harm your SERPs rankings. Relevance is an equally important factor when looking to utilise backlinks, which is why the anchor text should be given attention.
The anchor text is the clickable text that is hyperlinked to your website. Ideally, then, the text should tell search engines (and website readers) what the associated webpage or company is about. It could be linked to the content itself, such as the title of a guide you’ve posted, Alternatively, the anchor text may simply be your brand name or mention the products you sell.
Anchor text should flow naturally within high-quality content while the keywords surrounding the hyperlinked can also contribute to the impact of a backlink. Anchor text that is the same as the keyword of a webpage is known as exact match anchor text. This is a form of targeted anchor text. Naked URLs are another potential solution. You cannot always control the anchor text, especially when backlinks appear organically on other websites. Still, you should try to gain a variety of relevant anchor texts. Otherwise, it can seem like you are spamming search engines, which will lead to penalties.
Backlinks And Link Frequency
Link frequency is another subject that you must consider when gaining backlinks. Once again, it needs to feel organic, or else you could be punished by search engines. If you go from 0 backlinks to thousands within a day or two before going back to 0 new links and then subsequently gaining another spike, it can look suspicious. You should avoid it along with these common SEO mistakes at all costs.
Of course, a new business launch or product release will bring a natural increase in interest. But generally speaking, you want link frequencies to gradually build over time. There is no set number of links you should aim for. Once again, though, you should remember that quality trumps quantity.
Still need some help in making the most of backlinks in your digital marketing strategy? Book a free SEO Audit today.
