Link building is one of the most effective ways to improve your SEO and boost your organic traffic.
But not all links are created equal.
Some links can help you rank higher, while others can harm your website or even get you penalized by Google.
So how do you distinguish a good link from a bad link?
In this guide,
I’ll show you how to evaluate the quality and value of any link using a simple checklist. You’ll learn how to identify the key factors that make a link good or bad, such as relevance, authority, trust, diversity, and context.
By the end of this guide,
You’ll be able to recognize a good link in seconds and avoid wasting your time and resources on low-quality or risky links.
What is a Good Link?
A good link is a link that meets two criteria:
• It is relevant to your website and your niche.
• It is authoritative and trustworthy.
Relevance means that the link comes from a website or a page that is related to your topic, industry, or audience.
For example,
if your website is about dog training, a link from a website or a page about dog grooming is relevant, while a link from a website or a page about gardening is not.
Authority means that the link comes from a website or a page that has high domain rating (DR), page rating (PR), domain authority (DA), page authority (PA), or other similar metrics.
These metrics measure the popularity and influence of a website or a page based on the number and quality of its backlinks.
For example,
if your website is about dog training, a link from PetMD is authoritative, while a link from an unknown blog or forum is not.
Trust means that the link comes from a website or a page that has high trust flow (TF), citation flow (CF), trust rank (TR), or other similar metrics.
These metrics measure the trustworthiness and credibility of a website or a page based on the quality and relevance of its backlinks. For example, if your website is about dog training, a link from The American Kennel Club or The Humane Society is trustworthy, while a link from a spammy or malicious website is not.
A good link should have both relevance and authority/trust.
A relevant link without authority/trust may not have much impact on your ranking. An authoritative/trustworthy link without relevance may look unnatural or irrelevant to Google.
How to Recognize a Good Link Using The Checklist
To recognize a good link, you need to check the following factors:
• The source of the link
• The anchor text of the link
• The location of the link
• The type of the link
• The number of the links
Let’s go through each factor in detail.
The Source of The Link
The source of the link is the website or the page that links to your website or your page.
To check the quality and value of the source, you need to look at its:
• Relevance: Is the source related to your niche, topic, or audience? Does it have similar keywords, content, or theme as yours?
You can use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to check the topical relevance score of any website or page.
• Authority: Is the source popular and influential in your niche or industry? Does it have high DR, PR, DA, PA, or other similar metrics?
You can use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to check the authority score of any website or page.
• Trust: Is the source trustworthy and credible in your niche or industry? Does it have high TF, CF, TR, or other similar metrics? You can use tools like Majestic or SEMrush to check the trust score of any website or page.
The higher the relevance, authority, and trust scores of the source, the better the link.
The Anchor Text of The Link
The anchor text of the link is the clickable text that links to your website or your page.
To check the quality and value of the anchor text, you need to look at its:
• Relevance: Is the anchor text related to your target keyword, topic, or content? Does it match the search intent of your audience?
You can use tools like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to check the keyword difficulty and search volume of any anchor text.
• Diversity: Is the anchor text varied and natural? Does it include different types of keywords such as exact match, partial match, branded, generic, etc.?
You can use tools like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to check the anchor text distribution and diversity of your backlinks.
The more relevant, diverse, and natural the anchor text, the better the link.
The Location of The Link
The location of the link is the place where the link appears on the source website or page. To check the quality and value of the location, you need to look at its:
• Visibility: Is the link visible and prominent on the source website or page? Does it appear in the main content area, above the fold, or near the top of the page?
You can use tools like [Screaming Frog] or [SEOquake] to check the position and prominence of any link on a website or page.
• Context: Is the link relevant and helpful to the source website or page? Does it appear in a natural and organic way, such as in a paragraph, a list, a quote, etc.?
You can use tools like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to check the surrounding text and content of any link on a website or page.
The more visible, prominent, relevant, and helpful the location, the better the link.
The Type of The Link
The type of the link is the format or method that is used to create the link. To check the quality and value of the type, you need to look at its:
• Diversity: Is the link different and unique from other links that you have? Does it come from a different source, domain, niche, etc.?
You can use tools like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to check the backlink profile and diversity of your website or page.
• Naturalness: Is the link natural and organic? Does it come from a genuine and authentic source that genuinely likes and recommends your website or page?
You can use tools like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to check the spam score and risk level of any link or source.
The more diverse, unique, natural, and organic the type, the better the link.
The Number of The Links
The number of the links is the total amount of links that you have or acquire for your website or page. To check the quality and value of the number, you need to look at its:
• Balance: Is the number balanced and proportional to your website’s size, age, authority, etc.? Does it match your website’s growth and popularity?
You can use tools like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to check the link velocity and growth rate of your website or page.
• Consistency: Is the number consistent and steady over time? Does it follow a natural and organic pattern? You can use tools like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to check the link history and trend of your website or page.
The more balanced, proportional, consistent, and steady the number, the better the link.
How to Recognize a Good Link Using Real-World Examples
To help you understand how to recognize a good link using the checklist, let’s look at some real-world examples.
Let’s say you have a website about dog training, and you want to rank for the keyword “how to train a dog”.
Here are some examples of good and bad links that you may get for this keyword:
• A good link: A link from [PetMD], with an anchor text “how to train a dog”, in an article about dog training tips, in a prominent position on their homepage. This is a good link because it has high relevance, authority, trust, visibility, context, diversity, naturalness, balance, and consistency.
• A bad link: A link from [Gardening Tips], with an anchor text “click here”, in an article about gardening tools, in a hidden position on their footer. This is a bad link because it has low relevance, authority, trust, visibility, context, diversity, naturalness, balance, and consistency.
As you can see, by using the checklist, you can easily recognize a good link from a bad link in seconds.
Conclusion
Link building is one of the most effective ways to improve your SEO and boost your organic traffic.
But not all links are created equal.
Some links can help you rank higher, while others can harm your website or even get you penalized by Google.
So how do you recognize a good link from a bad link?
In this guide,
I showed you how to evaluate the quality and value of any link using a simple checklist.
You learned how to identify the key factors that make a link good or bad, such as relevance, authority, trust, diversity, and context.
By using this checklist, you’ll be able to recognize a good link in seconds and avoid wasting your time and resources on low-quality or risky links.
I hope this guide helps you understand how to recognize a good link for SEO.
If you have any questions or comments about this topic or anything else related to SEO or digital marketing,
Please let me know in the comments section below!
Adam is a Technical SEO associate at 1stpage, a company that helps clients improve their SEO performance with high-quality and relevant links. He shares his expertise on technical website optimization and outreach link building. He explains how these strategies can boost your online visibility, traffic, and conversions. He is also a nomad who enjoys traveling and discovering new places. You can always find him near a city that you want to visit.
