The number of links that you earn does carry weight for search engines, but perhaps more important is to ensure that you have an inventory of good quality incoming links. Although there is no defined number that you can target, you must gauge yourself what could impress search engines. Indeed, one thing that Google has very well defined and you can just not afford to compromise on it is the quality of links. Link building remains central to SEO success, and only good quality links are what you need to tell Google about the goodness of your website. Be very careful to ensure that you review the backlink profile periodically to remove any inferior quality links that might have crept in inadvertently. The amount of good links tells a lot about the quality of your website and attracts search engines.
Against the above backdrop, one thing becomes obvious – you need to acquire the skills necessary to identify good links. There must not be any confusion to determine the quality of links, but it is not always easy to segregate the bad ones. How would you know which links are bad and what can you do to remove it? We will try to answer the question through this article by looking at the metrics that could help to translate the quality into quantifiable terms.
The link origin determines its pedigree
For knowing about the quality of any link, the easiest way is to look at its origin. If you find it difficult to identify the link quality prima facie, look at the website from which it comes because most likely, poor quality links originate from poor quality websites. The next question you are likely going to raise is how you would know that the website is bad? If you find the website features from which the link comes is likely to affect your SEO prospects adversely, deal with such links with a heavy hand and banish it from your link inventory. Some websites behave like link farms because its only purpose is to supply links to other sites. Beware of such websites that could spoil your SEO prospects by sending poor quality links.
Make use of Page Rank
The metrics of Page Rank would tell how any website fares in quality by using a scale 0 to 10. Page Rank uses the information from the website’s link profile to assess its quality. When any website receives a link from another website, it is a signal to search engines about the trust they place on the content of the site. By linking, they are telling that they have found enough merit in your website that they would like to share with their audience. The more popular is the website that offers links, higher is the value of links because your site would gain wide exposure among the large follower base of the donor website.
Consider domain authority
When evaluating a link opportunity, you must consider the domain authority of the website offering it. Domain Authority (DA) is a calculation for ranking that helps to understand the authority and relevance of websites together with the ranking prospects in search results concerning the given keywords. The numbers relate to the overall website and its domain. While checking the domain authority, consider how much relevant the website description and title tags would be for your site. This aspect is critical because if the links are not relevant to your niche, Google will just not pay any attention to it.
Look at the Page authority
Although we are citing about Page Authority after covering the other points, Page Authority (PA) is perhaps the most crucial factor that tells about the link quality. By looking at the Page Authority, you can make out the amount of influence your website is likely to receive from the page that you target for earning links. Higher is the Page Authority; higher will be the sharing rate across a wide section of viewers. The high value of the page would have a deep impact on your website that would be in good stead by improving its search ranking.
Websites with high DA and PA have rich content
Websites that earn good scores in DA and PA have rich content. The authority it exerts in its niche originates from high-quality content, rich in information and value. To carry on with the legacy you earn through the links, you must also create high-quality content. An easy way of doing it is to outsource the service to professional content development companies. The iNeedArticles created by outsourced content writers are examples of how you can ensure a proper return on investment.
To check the ranking factors, you can use some SEO tools in the form of plugins and utilities, and you must never compromise on link quality.
