How to Get Backlinks?

Backlink is a link that one website provides to another website.

Backlinks should be obtained from target keywords and high-quality pages, as they are believed to be beneficial after on-page SEO is completed.

Sometimes, surpassing or catching up with our competitors may not be possible by solely focusing on on-page SEO or off-page SEO. Therefore, natural-looking and high-quality backlinks should be acquired.

The algorithm used in backlink exchange is the PageRank algorithm. The main purpose of the algorithm is to determine the strength transferred between websites.

When acquiring backlinks, metrics such as website traffic, whether the users are normal individuals or bots, domain authority, user experience, freshness, the number of outbound backlinks (is it a link farm?), and relevance to your page should be considered. It should not be assumed that the more backlinks acquired, the better. (Two at 50 cents is equal to one dollar; ten at 10 cents is not)

There are two most commonly used types of backlinks: dofollow and nofollow. If we want the backlink to transfer power and bring traffic to us, the links we acquire should be dofollow. When a nofollow backlink is obtained, search engine bots will not follow the link, resulting in no power transfer.

Another aspect to consider when acquiring backlinks is obtaining them from the footer and header areas. Obtaining links in this way will eventually bring more harm than benefit. You will receive links from irrelevant pages and acquire too many backlinks from a single site.

Things to Consider When Acquiring Backlinks

• When acquiring backlinks, the quality and relevance of the website should be assessed.
• Backlinks from irrelevant websites or in foreign languages are generally risky and not beneficial. Links should not be obtained from such sources.
• Obtaining unrelated links from the footer and header areas is risky. Even if links are obtained from relevant websites, they should be nofollow. This is because links can be obtained from irrelevant pages on blogs, news sites, or even from relevant websites.
• Links obtained from link farm websites negatively impact backlink building and the site. They should not be done (it is strongly advised against).
• Obtaining links from relevant listings in business directories is not harmful. However, if there is excessive acquisition, Google may perceive it as abuse and classify it as spam. It is best to plan and register with business directories on a monthly basis.
• Hidden backlinks are not recommended by Google and are considered a black hat SEO tactic. They are strongly discouraged.
• Paid links are closer to white hat SEO tactics. They are a commonly preferred and highly beneficial tactic when the page is relevant.
• When obtaining paid backlinks, it is better and more natural to acquire them from different content and different pages.
• Google prefers paid links to be nofollow. To maintain a natural appearance in your backlink efforts, you should have nofollow links on your site. However, generally, dofollow links should be preferred.
• Cross-linking (websites linking to each other) is generally not recommended, but it can be a useful tactic if sites are given importance and have good ratings. EXAMPLE: Birevim, projefırsat, and …proje exchanging backlinks with each other.
• The site from which the link originates should be powerful and trustworthy.
  It is important for the link to bring visitors. Links that bring visitors can directly impact rankings.
• When acquiring links, the number and ratio of anchor text are important. It is equally harmful for all sites to be of very high quality as it is for all sites to be of very low quality. If you want to learn more about this topic, you can read Google’s backlink guidelines.

Penguin Algorithm: An Algorithm of Great Importance to Backlink Seekers

The Penguin algorithm is an actively functioning algorithm that combats spam backlinks. It is one of the most comprehensive core algorithms. It operates directly and shows its impact immediately. In other words, backlinks can yield immediate results, and their quality, whether good or bad, can be observed right away.

The Penguin algorithm assesses the relevance of the anchor text we receive and the page from which we acquire the link. For instance, it is risky to acquire links solely from naked URLs or brand keywords, and obtaining a footer link from an irrelevant site with high traffic and good authority is also dangerous. It is important to maintain balance and moderation in all aspects of backlink acquisition.

The algorithm checks whether visitors are coming from the acquired links and takes into account all the factors mentioned above to apply appropriate sanctions.

However, it is crucial to remember that manipulating Google does not always go unpunished. Manipulating Google without malicious intent and by doing things correctly, without exaggeration, can sometimes yield results.

Another important step for the Penguin algorithm is to disavow harmful (low-quality or irrelevant) spam backlinks to our website using the Google Disavow tool.

Keywords From Backlink: What is Anchor Text?

Anchor Text: Anchor text refers to the clickable texts used in links. Google considers anchor texts as informative indicators about the destination page.

Anchor texts are also crucial for internal linking within a website. In order to enhance user experience, it is important to select simple and easily understandable words as anchor texts. It is also important to maintain consistency with user habits.

Anchor Text Types

There are various types of anchor texts used in backlinks:

• Money Keyword: The exact match of the target keyword we want to rank for. These are short and high-volume keywords.
• Branded Keywords: Directly linking from brand names like Perfist, Fenerium, and Kiğılı. It can also be referred to as domain anchor text or “perfist.com.”
• Generic Keywords: These are highly used keywords by users with high search volumes.
  Examples include phrases like “click here” or “visit our website.”
• Compound Keywords: Linking both the target keyword and brand keyword together. For example, “Perfist SEO service.”
• Phrase Keywords: Linking longer phrases or sentences that include the target keyword. These may not necessarily be keywords themselves.
• Naked URL Links: Using the complete URL as the anchor text. This can be used for brand visibility and is recommended by Google. For example, “https://perfist.com/tr/”
• No Text Anchor: When linking from images or when the link is left blank, it becomes a no-text anchor. If linking from images, alt tags should always be used.

To avoid penalties from the Penguin algorithm, it is recommended to use the following anchor text variations in backlink articles:

• Branded → 70%
• Naked URL → 20%
• Generic → 5%
• Compound, Phrase → 1% to 5%
• Money → 1%

These percentages may vary within different industries. You can create a similar template based on your own planning and by analyzing which keywords your competitors are getting backlinks from. Your backlink strategy should follow the natural distribution in your industry.

When determining anchor texts, consider conducting competitor and industry backlink analysis. Think about what our top competitors have done and how we can do it better.

The sentence where the anchor text appears should be semantically meaningful. It’s better if it includes related keywords.