What is a backlink?

1. 71

   JT Waltersposted 12 years ago

   Sprry I have read the leanring center and still don't understand what a back link it. Can somone explain it to me?
   
   Thanks,
   
   JT

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   1. 77

      Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      In super basic terms, a backlink is when someone puts a link to your hub somewhere else on the Internet.
      
      There are degrees of "quality" for backlinks. And lots of people make their own (which is a good strategy) using their Facebook accounts, blogs, websites and hubs to sort of cross polinate. What constitutes a "good" backlink is where the concept gets more complicated.
      
      But, again super basic, "organic" backlinks are best. An organic backlink example would be where someone found your article on some topic or another and liked it so much they put it in their blog or something. Maybe even wrote it up, saying, "Here's a really good article on such-and-such."
      
      Every backlink has a certain value for SEO reasons. There are tons and tons of caveats and subtleties and those change all the time. People just wanting to make money off articles based on keywords (search terms) spend lots of time figuring out how it all works technically and devise strategies to capitalize on however the search engines function mechanically during any given span of months. People who seek to build a readership and reputation over the long haul focus on quality and getting their work seen by readers, expecting a backlink payoff for truly meaningful content. In between those is a lot of gray area.
      
      Hope this helps.

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      1. 71

         JT Waltersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         So everytime I post my links to Facebook and Twiiter I am creating backlinks?
         
         And yes Shadesbreath you have given an excellent defintion. I would imagine SEO change over time and therefore are useless except in the immediate future.
         
         Thank you so much!!
         
         JT

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         1. 77

            Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, your Facebook and Twitter links are backlinks. They are not the super greatest ones, but they do qualify. From here comes a whole conversation about "no follow" and "do follow," that I only mostly understand myself, but one thing at a time, eh?

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            1. 71

               JT Waltersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               You will write a hub on it won't you?  Share your pearls of wisdom with the newbies?
               
               And I don't think I am getting plus one at all on Google.  And I don't how to make that happen.  What I fear is that I can see where one could completely game the system and generate their own ratings. I want to be a good writer.  I am working on that everyday but I would also like to be commerical. 
               
               So a hub for the newbies? I would be the best student!!
               
               I'd give you an apple!!
               
               Thanks you really have helped me.
               
               JT

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               1. 77

                  Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  LOL, maybe that would be a good one for me to do. There are lots of really good hubs that hit this stuff already though, by people way more clever at it than I.
                  
                  As for Google plus and all that... don't sweat that. For starters, Google + is going to take awhile to matter (regardless of what Google wants you to think), because the mass of humanity is on Facebook still. As cool as Google + is (and might become), right now, Facebook is an awesome platform for promoting your stuff. If you don't have it mastered, don't worry about Google + yet. Let the spammy advertisers rake it over the greed coals and figure out how to make it pay first, because it won't pay for you right now. It's not "there" yet.
                  
                  Write well. Use good keywords in your titles. Include good links and quality images and videos. Care about what you write. I'm telling you, the rest will show up on its own if you are patient.

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                  1. 71

                     JT Waltersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks Shadesbreath,
                     
                     You are too coll.
                     
                     JT

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                  2. 91

                     Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Oh, I disagree SO much about G+.
                     
                     It's "there" with the most knowledgeable people on the Internet.  If you are writing for intelligent people, you want to be on G+.

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               2. 91

                  Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  I have a hub that explains dofollow and nofollow.  It's called "Understanding web page linking - links, backlinks, nofollow and all that"
                  
                  I think you'll probably get what you need from Wrylit's hub, but if not, read mine too and if you are still confused, just come back here and ask questions.

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                  1. 71

                     JT Waltersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     I'll check it out after this week thanks.
                     
                     JT

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2. 78

   QuestionMasterposted 12 years ago

   Guide to backlinks and all the nitty gritty involved: http://wrylilt.hubpages.com/hub/What-is … eb-address

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   1. 71

      JT Waltersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you I will check it out.
      
      JT

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   2. 87

      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Nobody else would get away with so much self-promotion!!

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      1. 71

         JT Waltersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I have a few goals before I will be able to even think about backlinking. I just wanted to know what it was.  They will make god references later.
         
         Take care my friend.
         
         JT

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3. 31

   Writer Foxposted 12 years ago

   There's a quick way to identify whether a link is NoFollow or Followed.  (Of course, you could wade through the source code - but that's a pain.)  There's an extension for the Firefox browser that highlights every link on a site:  pink for NoFollow and Blue for Follow.  Just do a search on Google for: "NoDoFollow Firefox Add-on."
   
   When you are searching for good potential backlinks, this handy tool will tell you immediately if you're wasting your time.  NoFollow links are worthless and can even damage you're site, for instance: If you have a thousand NoFollow links from blog comments, you are really spamming yourself.

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   1. 71

      JT Waltersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks these are really great tips and i appreciate them so much.
      
      JT

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