Why Links Are Important for SEO
There has long been a perception that links are crucial when it comes to SEO. It has traditionally been an important parameter, and it still is.
In this article, we will delve into what inbound, outbound, and internal links are, and how each of them can help or potentially harm your website.
Search engine optimization (SEO) was in its early stages largely based on the use of target keywords and specifically how to work with them on your website.
Essentially, it was about using the selected keywords as much as possible on the website, with the idea that Google would then get an impression that this was what the website was about.
However, this led to an unfortunate trend where industry players exaggerated the use of keywords to such an extreme degree that it seemed very unnatural. The method is known as “keyword stuffing.” This resulted in pages that were not particularly relevant or value-adding still managing to achieve high rankings in search results.
When Links Became a Real Parameter
In response to the above developments, there was a need for someone to create a structure where search results and rankings were no longer solely assessed based on the number of repetitions of keywords on a website.
At least that’s what the founders of Google, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin, believed.
From the very beginning in 1996, their mission was to start using links between websites as a parameter in assessing how high a search result should be placed.
The original idea was to specifically count the number and quality of links pointing to a given website, which would ultimately determine how important and relevant the website is. Implicit in this approach is the assumption that the more links a website tends to get, the more important the website is. However, the quality of these inbound links also matters significantly.
Inbound, Outbound, and Internal Links
There are several different types of links.
They can be classified according to where they lead. Whether they lead to another subpage on the same website or to a completely different external website.
Internal Links
As the name might suggest, this is an internal link where you link between two subpages on the same website.
Specifically, search engines look at the domain name, and if a link points to a page on the same domain from which the link originates, it is considered an internal link.
Inbound Links
An inbound link is a link coming from a completely different external website or domain. Again, it is somewhat self-explanatory.
Outbound Links
An outbound link is characterized by linking from your own website to websites on an external domain. That is, a domain that is not your own.
Which Links Have the Greatest Value?
Inbound links have traditionally been the type of the three links known for having the greatest value and effect when it comes to search engine optimization and the possibilities of ranking high in search results.
At the same time, they are also the most difficult to obtain (of high quality).
There can be several different reasons for linking to another website. It could be that you link to a source that supports the claim you are making.
The more links a website gets, the better. In theory, at least. Because the quantity of links is not the most important factor. The quality of links is just as important. In fact, even more critical.
Google largely looks at whether a link has the necessary quality. Often, there have been examples of websites trying to deceive Google by creating links that are not genuine and can be described as fake.
Over the past few years, Google has updated its algorithms several times and implemented updates that make the search engine better and better at detecting these fake links.
It will always be an advantage to get good, relevant links from external websites that have a certain level of authority and credibility. If you get a link from a major news site like DR.dk, there is no doubt that it is an inbound link of extremely high quality. However, these are also the types of links that are extremely difficult to obtain.