Backlink

A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Search engines treat backlinks as votes of confidence: each credible site that links to you signals that your content is worth trusting.

Why it matters

Backlinks remain one of the strongest ranking factors. A handful of links from respected, relevant sites can outweigh hundreds from low-quality ones. They’re also how readers — and AI answer engines — discover you in the first place.

The common misreading

Chasing quantity. A thousand spammy links do less than a few earned from authoritative, on-topic sources — and bad link-building can actively hurt you. Quality and relevance beat volume.