SEO Backlinks Glossary of Terms

Backlink: Also known as inbound links, backlinks are hyperlinks from external websites that direct users to your website. They play a crucial role in SEO, as search engines consider them as a vote of confidence and authority.

Anchor Text: Anchor text refers to the clickable text within a hyperlink. It helps search engines understand the relevance and context of the linked page. Using descriptive and keyword-rich anchor text can improve the SEO value of the backlink.

Dofollow Link: A do-follow link is a hyperlink that passes authority and relevance from the linking page to the linked page. Search engine crawlers follow these links and consider them when determining search engine rankings.

Nofollow Link: A nofollow link is a hyperlink that doesn’t pass authority or relevance to the linked page. It includes the rel=”nofollow” attribute, instructing search engine crawlers not to follow the link for ranking purposes. However, nofollow links can still drive traffic and provide other non-SEO benefits.

Top view of digital device near wooden cubes on light blue backgroundLink Juice: Link juice refers to the value or authority passed from one web page to another through backlinks. Pages with high-quality backlinks have more link juice, which can positively impact their search engine rankings.

Domain Authority (DA): Domain Authority is a metric developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). It takes into account factors such as backlink profile, quality, and relevance to determine the authority of a domain.

Page Authority (PA): Page Authority, also developed by Moz, is a metric that predicts how well a specific webpage will rank on SERPs. It considers factors like backlink profile, content quality, and relevance to determine the authority of a particular page.

Link Building: Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks from external websites to your own. It involves various strategies and techniques to improve your website’s visibility, authority, and search engine rankings.

Internal Link: An internal link is a hyperlink that directs users from one page of a website to another page within the same website. Internal linking helps users navigate your site and distributes link authority across different pages.

External Link: An external link, also known as an outbound link, is a hyperlink that directs users from your website to a different website. These links can provide additional information to users or reference sources, but they don’t directly influence your website’s rankings.

Link Relevance: Link relevance refers to the correlation between the content of the linking page and the linked page. Search engines consider relevant links to be more valuable, as they indicate that the linked page is authoritative and trustworthy on the given topic.

Natural Link: A natural link is a backlink that is earned organically without any manipulation or paid schemes. Natural links are the result of others finding your content valuable and willingly linking to it.

Link Profile: A link profile is the collection of all the backlinks pointing to a website. It includes factors such as the number of backlinks, their quality, diversity, and anchor text distribution. A healthy and diverse link profile is crucial for a strong SEO presence.

Link-Building Outreach: Link-building outreach is the process of reaching out to website owners, influencers, or industry leaders to establish connections, promote your content, and request backlinks. It involves personalized communication and relationship building.

Link Farm: A link farm is a group of websites that exist solely to create and exchange links. These networks aim to manipulate search engine rankings and are considered a black hat SEO technique. Search engines penalize websites associated with link farms.

Disavow Tool: The disavow tool is a tool provided by search engines, such as Google, that allows website owners to request the exclusion of certain backlinks from being considered in their website’s ranking. This tool is used when webmasters believe that certain backlinks are low-quality, spammy, or obtained through manipulative tactics.

Link-Building Campaign: A link-building campaign refers to a planned and strategic effort to acquire backlinks for a website. It involves setting goals, identifying target websites, executing outreach strategies, and monitoring the results. A well-executed link-building campaign can significantly improve a website’s SEO performance.

Authority Link: An authority link is a backlink from a highly trusted and reputable website. These links are considered valuable because they indicate to search engines that the linked website is authoritative and trustworthy within its niche or industry.

Link Velocity: Link velocity refers to the rate at which a website acquires new backlinks over a specific period of time. A sudden and unnatural increase in link velocity can raise red flags for search engines, potentially leading to penalties. It’s important to maintain a natural and gradual link-building process.

Link Audit: A link audit is a process of evaluating and analyzing a website’s backlink profile. It involves examining the quality, relevance, and overall health of the backlinks. A link audit helps identify any low-quality or spammy backlinks that may be harming the website’s SEO performance and allows for necessary actions to be taken, such as disavowing or removing those links.

Conclusion

Understanding the terminology related to SEO backlinks is essential for implementing effective link-building strategies. From differentiating between do follow and nofollow links to considering factors such as link relevance, authority, and natural link acquisition, each term plays a role in shaping your website’s backlink profile and SEO success. By familiarizing yourself with these terms, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the world of link building and optimize your website’s visibility, authority, and search engine rankings.

Get in Touch

Our Solutions

Paid Search

Get Started

Complete the following and one of our account representatives will be in touch.