โ Frequently Asked Questions
What are backlinks?
Backlinks (also called inbound links or external links) are hyperlinks on other websites that point to your website. They act as votes of confidence โ when a reputable site links to yours, it signals to Google that your content is valuable. Backlinks are one of the top 3 Google ranking factors.
What makes a good backlink?
High-quality backlinks come from: (1) High domain authority sites (news outlets, universities, government sites), (2) Relevant sites in your niche, (3) Links with descriptive anchor text, (4) Editorially placed links (not paid or spammy), (5) Links from pages that are themselves well-linked. A single link from The New York Times is worth more than thousands of low-quality links.
Why can't I see who links to my site?
Comprehensive backlink databases require crawling and indexing billions of web pages continuously, which requires significant server infrastructure. Professional tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush maintain these databases. Google Search Console (free) shows your own site's backlinks in its Links report โ the most accurate source for your own domain.