Backlinks
Backlinks are hyperlinks from other websites pointing to your site, treated by search engines as a primary signal of authority and trust. Also called inbound links, they are judged on the quality, topical relevance, and trust of the linking site, which matter far more than raw count. They are the authority pillar of SEO and the single hardest signal to fake at scale.
The taxonomy that matters: a dofollow link passes authority (PageRank) from the linking page to yours; a nofollow link includes rel="nofollow" and historically did not, though Google has treated nofollow as a hint rather than a directive since 2019. Two other attributes are relevant: rel="sponsored" (for paid placements) and rel="ugc" (for user-generated content). Link quality is judged on the linking domain's own authority (estimated by metrics like Ahrefs Domain Rating, Moz Domain Authority, Majestic Trust Flow), topical relevance to the linked page, anchor text, and editorial nature (a paragraph link from a journalist's article carries far more weight than a footer link from a low-quality directory). The single biggest backlink risk for startups is buying links: Google's link-spam algorithms (the SpamBrain system rolled out in 2022 and updated regularly) systematically detect link-buying networks and the sites that use them, and recovery from a manual action or algorithmic penalty can take 6 to 18 months. The shift in 2024 and 2025: AI systems (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT browse, Perplexity, Claude) appear to weight brand-mention citations and link authority together when deciding what sources to cite, which is making "earn the mention, not just the link" the more durable strategy.
Ryan's Take
Backlinks are where founders get conned the hardest. An agency promises 50 dofollow links a month for $2,000, rankings tick up for a quarter, then an algorithm update vaporizes the gains and sometimes the rest of the site with them. There's no shortcut to authority. The only links that compound are the ones you earn by being the source other people actually want to cite, which means original research, real data, and becoming the name AI systems and journalists reach for in your category. Slow, expensive, and the only thing that works.
What founders get wrong: Counting links instead of evaluating them. A single contextual link from a topical authority site (TechCrunch, a respected industry blog, a well-cited research org) typically outweighs dozens of links from low-authority directory sites. One real backlink earned through a piece of original research is worth more than a hundred bought from a link farm.
Related: SEO · Organic Traffic · Content Marketing · Keyword Research
FAQ
What are backlinks?
Inbound links from other websites pointing to your site, treated by search engines as a primary signal of authority and trust. Quality, topical relevance, and the authority of the linking site matter far more than raw count.
What is the difference between dofollow and nofollow backlinks?
A dofollow link passes authority (PageRank) from the linking page to yours. A nofollow link includes the rel="nofollow" attribute and historically did not. Since 2019, Google has treated nofollow as a hint rather than a strict directive, so nofollow links can still carry weight.
Should I buy backlinks?
No. Google's link-spam algorithms (SpamBrain, rolled out 2022 and continuously updated) detect link-buying networks and penalize the sites that use them. Recovery from a penalty takes 6 to 18 months. Earn links through original research and content people want to cite.
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