What is Backlink?

A backlink is exactly what it sounds like: a link on someone else's website that leads back to yours. Since Google's early days, links have been one of the ways it judges which sites are trustworthy and relevant.

Quality matters far more than quantity. A link from your local newspaper, a supplier you are an approved installer for, or a trade association is worth much more than dozens of links from random sites that exist only to sell links.

Buying links to manipulate rankings is against Google's spam policies. The cold emails offering ‘high authority backlinks’ for a small fee are usually selling exactly that, and at best they do nothing.

For a local business, a few genuine links from local and industry sites can help you edge ahead of competitors with similar websites. Paying for dodgy link packages can do the opposite, and it is money that would be better spent almost anywhere else.