As long as Google has been using algorithms to rank search results, inbound links, or backlinks as they are commonly called, are important to SEO.
Historically, having more inbound links increases a site’s chances of ranking high in search results.
Links are still important to Google, but with Page Rank.
Let’s look at claims surrounding inbound links as ranking factors, followed by evidence to support or debunk those claims.
Disclaimer: Inbound Links Are Ranking Factors
Inbound links are links to your website from another domain.
There are many claims of inbound links as a ranking factor.
The first is that inbound links are a ranking signal for Google’s search algorithm.
In other words, Google evaluates links to web pages when determining how to rank it in search results.
Other claims about inbound links relate to the strength of the ranking signals generated by the links.
Quantity is said to be one of these factors, with more links producing a stronger signal.
This referencing domain Another factor is said to be that high authority and relevant sources generate stronger ranking signals.
The next section will dissect these claims and discuss what matters to Google when it comes to inbound links.
Evidence of inbound links as a ranking factor
Google’s algorithm is built on links.
PageRank, the algorithm that built Google’s search engine, relied only on links to rank content when it was first introduced.
describe to the public how its algorithm works, Google has said:
“PageRank determines a rough estimate of a site’s importance by calculating the number and quality of links to a page. The underlying assumption is that more important sites may receive more links from other sites.”
Google’s algorithm has since been updated to take other factors into account, but inbound links are still an important signal.
the company in its How Search Works Microsites, which describes how Google’s algorithm evaluates page quality:
“We look for sites where many users seem to value similar queries. For example, if other well-known sites are linking to the page (so-called PageRank), this has proven to be a good sign that the information is well trusted.
Aggregated feedback from our search quality assessment process is used to further refine the way our systems identify the quality of information. “
Without a doubt, inbound links are a Google ranking factor. Now let’s look at the next statement.
Does the number of inbound links matter to Google?
Google refutes the claim that the number of inbound links is a ranking factor.
Google’s John Mueller says The total number of inbound links to a website is “completely irrelevant” to search rankings.
Mueller explained why the number of links was not a factor, saying it was a signal that could be easily manipulated.
He advises website owners not to pay attention to how many backlinks they have. Google may even choose to ignore most of a site’s inbound links and only look at relevant links. Mueller said:
“We’re trying to understand what’s relevant to a site, how much we should weigh those individual links, and the total number of links doesn’t matter at all. Because if you want, you can create millions of links on millions of sites, And we can ignore them.
Or maybe there’s a really good link from a certain website, and to us that’s a very important signal that we should see this website as something relevant because it has that link. I don’t know, maybe from the homepage of a big news site, for example. So the totals are basically completely irrelevant. “
In that statement, Mueller confirmed that the authority and relevance of the referring domain was also taken into account.
Inbound Links as Ranking Factors: Our Verdict
To recap, here is the verdict on all claims based on the evidence we presented:
- Yes – Inbound links are a ranking factor.
- No – The number of inbound links is not a ranking factor. To be clear, this means that simply increasing the raw number of backlinks won’t help you, especially if the link quality is low. But one way that quantity matters is this: having a lot of quality links is always better than having a few.
- Yes – The relevance and quality of referring domains is a ranking factor.
Featured image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Magazine
