A lot of people ask “What are backlinks? And why is it important?” Well, backlinks are hyperlinks from one website to another.

Search engines see backlinks as “votes” to your site. The more backlinks you have the higher your site shows on search engines.

However, not all backlinks are created equal. For example, if you have a website about golf, backlinks from Tiger Wood’s website or PGA Tour website are great backlinks.

On the other hand, a backlink from a random site like a dog training website is not as good.

You will be better off if you focus on finding backlinks from related websites and since backlinks are important, some people are willing to pay for backlinks.

SEO For Dentists

Paying for backlinks is against Google’s policy. According to Google, backlinks must be acquired naturally without paying or compensating other webmasters who place your links on their website. Paying for backlinks is a sure way to get your website banned by Google.

There are 5 elements that consider when deciding whether or not a backlink is a paid backlink. They are:

– Value
– How close it is to money
– Gift/loan
– Intention
– The surprise element

I have created an infographic that explains what paid links are according to Google Web Spam team so your website doesn’t get penalized.

Paid Links Infographic