{"id":60,"date":"2026-10-23T20:13:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T20:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/?page_id=60"},"modified":"2026-10-23T17:01:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T21:01:42","slug":"blog-what-are-backlinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/blog-what-are-backlinks\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Backlinks and How to Build Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-group dp-site is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group dp-wrap dp-header is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"dp-brand wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/\">THE DIGITAL<br>PENGUIN<span class=\"dp-accent\">.<\/span><\/a><\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group dp-links is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/#services\">Services<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/#marketplaces\">Marketplaces<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/case-studies\/\">Our work<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/about\/\">About<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/contact\/\">Let\u2019s talk \u2197<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-group dp-wrap dp-hero is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"dp-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">INSIGHTS \/ THE DIGITAL PENGUIN<\/p><h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are Backlinks and How to Build Them<\/h1><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-group dp-wrap dp-section dp-prose is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img height=\"536\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 92vw, 1170px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/images\/dp-optimized\/blog-backlinks-ce517e6471-640.webp 640w, https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/images\/dp-optimized\/blog-backlinks-ce517e6471-1024.webp 1024w\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/images\/dp-optimized\/blog-backlinks-ce517e6471-1024.webp\" alt=\"What are backlinks and how to build them \u2014 backlinks illustration\"\/><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You&#8217;re publishing solid, engaging content \u2014 and traffic is still flat. Frustrating, but common. Good content is the price of entry; what pushes it up the rankings is <b>authority<\/b>, and the way search engines measure authority is largely through backlinks.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What exactly is a backlink?<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A backlink is simply a link from someone else&#8217;s website to yours. To Google, each one works like a citation: an independent site vouching that your page is worth pointing to. Pages with more high-quality backlinks tend to outrank pages without them \u2014 it&#8217;s been true since Google&#8217;s original algorithm and it&#8217;s still true today.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Not all links are equal<\/h2><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><b>Relevance beats volume.<\/b> One link from a respected marketing blog is worth more to a marketing agency than fifty links from random directories.<\/li><li><b>Authority matters.<\/b> Links from established, trusted domains pass far more value than links from brand-new or spammy sites.<\/li><li><b>Dofollow vs nofollow.<\/b> Standard (dofollow) links pass ranking value; nofollow links generally don&#8217;t, though they can still send real visitors.<\/li><li><b>Placement counts.<\/b> A link inside the body of an article outweighs one buried in a footer or sidebar.<\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seven proven ways to build backlinks<\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Guest posting<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Write a genuinely useful article for a blog in your industry, and earn a link back to your site in return. It builds authority, referral traffic, and relationships all at once. (This is the core of our <a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/blogger-outreach\/\">blogger outreach service<\/a>.)<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Niche edits<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of a new article, your link is added to an existing, already-ranking post where it genuinely fits. Because the page already has age and authority, <a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/niche-edits\/\">niche edits<\/a> often move rankings faster than fresh guest posts.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Create linkable assets<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Original research, statistics pages, free tools, calculators, and definitive guides attract links naturally, because writers need sources to cite. One great asset can earn links for years.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Broken link building<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Find broken outbound links on sites in your niche, then suggest your relevant page as the replacement. The site owner fixes a problem; you gain a link. Everyone wins.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Unlinked brand mentions<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If a site mentions your business without linking, a short, friendly email asking them to add the link converts surprisingly often.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Digital PR<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Newsworthy stories, expert commentary, and data-driven press releases can land links from news sites and industry publications \u2014 the highest-authority links most businesses will ever earn.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Competitor link analysis<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush show you exactly which sites link to your competitors. If a site linked to them, there&#8217;s a good chance it will consider linking to you \u2014 especially if your content is stronger.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How many backlinks do you need?<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s no magic number \u2014 it depends on what the pages currently ranking for your keyword have. Analyze the top ten results: their linking domains set the bar. In low-competition niches a handful of quality links can be enough; in competitive ones, link building is an ongoing program, not a one-time task.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The bottom line<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Backlinks are still one of the strongest levers in SEO \u2014 when they&#8217;re relevant, earned, and white-hat. If you&#8217;d rather skip the outreach grind, our <a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/blogger-outreach\/\">blogger outreach<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/niche-edits\/\">niche edits<\/a> services build authority links for you, safely.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-group dp-wrap dp-footer is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Good ideas. Better execution.<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Websites, marketing and marketplace management. One team for your next stage of growth.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group dp-links is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/contact\/\">Request a quote \u2197<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"mailto:info@thedigitalpenguin.net\">info@thedigitalpenguin.net<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"tel:+16462627158\">+1 (646) 262-7158<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wa.me\/12032930206\">WhatsApp<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/team\/\">Meet the team<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy policy<\/a><\/p><\/div><p class=\"dp-copy wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a9 2026 The Digital Penguin. All rights reserved. \u00b7 Serving businesses in the USA, Canada and beyond.<\/p><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understand backlinks and build a more credible approach to earning relevant links.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61,"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions\/61"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedigitalpenguin.net\/new-site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}