What are backlinks, and how do I earn them?

A backlink is a link on someone else's website that points to yours. Search engines follow links to discover pages, and links from real, relevant sites are one sign that people know and trust your business. For local search, Google says prominence includes information like how many websites link to your business.

Good links for a small business

• Your local chamber of commerce or business association.
• Industry associations, licensing bodies and manufacturer "find a dealer" pages.
• Suppliers and partners you work with.
• Local news coverage, community events and sponsorships you actually take part in.
• Local blogs, schools or charities you support.
• Customers who mention you on their own sites.

How to earn them

1. List the groups, partners and suppliers you already work with. Ask whether they have a member, partner or dealer page.
2. Sponsor or take part in local events and ask if the event page can link to you.
3. Publish something useful that others want to reference, such as a local guide or a clear answer to a common question.
4. Keep your citations accurate. Many directories include a link to your website.

What not to do

Google's spam policies treat links made to manipulate rankings as link spam. That includes:

• Buying or selling links.
• Large-scale link swaps ("link to me and I will link to you").
• Automated programs that create links.
• Hidden links or links stuffed into widgets and footers across many sites.

Paid placements and sponsorships are fine when the link is marked as sponsored. See the article on nofollow links.

Common problems

• If a tool shows thousands of links from strange sites, most are automated scraper sites. Google generally ignores them. Do not panic and do not pay someone to "clean" them without a clear reason.
• If someone offers to sell you links, decline. It can do more harm than good.
• If a partner links to you with "click here", you can ask them to use your business name or service instead. Google recommends descriptive link text.

Related articles

• What is a nofollow link, and when should I use it?
• Which SEO techniques should I avoid?
• What are local citations and NAP consistency?
• Why do reviews matter for local search?