Search engine optimization forms an integral part of digital marketing. And a considerable slice of SEO success depends on the strength of the SEO strategy executed. Strategies for implementing SEO vision are constantly evolving. The only way to judge their efficacy and return on investment is to gauge them against metrics like organic traffic and search engine rankings for the target keywords. One metric that counts substantially in determining the robustness of SEO strategies is what is known as a backlink profile. What’s it all about? How does it affect SEO? How do you create profile backlinks? We will answer this and more:

What is a backlink profile?

A backlink profile is a term that refers to the number and quality of links that point to a website. The backlink profile affects search engine rankings. Google’s robots are constantly crawling through the internet, assessing the quality and quantity of backlinks to determine the popularity and authoritativeness of a website.

Backlink profile considers other link characteristics like anchor text, domain quality, relevance, and the types of links. Analyzing backlink profiles should constitute a significant part of any successful link-building strategy since a high backlink profile equates to higher rankings and, consequently, more referral traffic to a website.

How does a website gain from a strong backlink profile?

Backlinks offer incredible marketing and branding advantages to websites. Some of the lauded benefits of executing a robust link-building strategy and growing backlink profile are:

• Better ranking in search engine results pages.
• Increased organic and referral traffic to a website.
• Brand reputational growth.
• Better relationships with other sites and content creators.
• Increased visibility for websites.
• Introduction of your brand name to new audiences and potential customers.

What makes for a strong backlink profile?

When embarking on a link-building journey, it is crucial to know how to measure the strength of your backlink profile. Understanding the signs of a strong backlink profile helps you know what to look out for in your backlinks. A strong backlink profile is one with:

• Relevant & authority backlinks that are littered with spammy anchor texts.
• Majority of high authority, organic profile backlinks.
• Backlinks originate from websites relevant to a site’s niche, industry, and subject matter.
• Few low-authority and low-quality links.
• Diverse backlinks. A backlink profile is determined by more than just the number of backlinks. The quality of the links is also a significant factor. Unsavory tricks and black-hat SEO strategies do nothing but raise red flags and increase the risk of getting damaging penalties from Google. Disavow any low-quality spammy links pointing to your site so that they do not harm your search engine rankings or result in penalties.

What is a healthy anchor text ratio?

Anchor text ratio refers to how the anchor texts are distributed in the backlink profile. A favorable anchor text ratio signifies that the link-building efforts for a website bear fruits. Ideally, a healthy anchor text ratio is one with more than 80 percent of branded, natural, or URL anchor text, 5 percent exact match keywords, and 10 percent with keywords mixed with the anchor text.

These values reflect an acceptable healthy ratio for the homepage. A good ratio for the inner pages of websites includes 35-45 percent branded, URL anchor text, or natural, 50-60 percent with the keyword phrase mixed with the anchor, and 10 percent matching the exact keywords in the backlink.

Types of anchor texts for backlinks

• Naked URL

Naked URLs are links that hyperlink the URL itself rather than anchor text. These URLs may seem unnatural but can come in handy when used correctly. Naked URLs offer a much-needed diversification that helps the backlink profile. They help dilute the backlinks so that they do not seem too aggressive. They make the backlink look organic rather than spammy.

• Branded Anchor Text

These links use the brand as the anchor text. This backlinking strategy works best if the traffic recognizes your brand. The incoming traffic knows about your site and has no qualms visiting your site. Branded URLs cement a brand and also offer great profile diversification. That said, they do little to attract new audiences and bring new traffic to a website.

• Keyword Anchor

These anchor texts use the keywords that a page is targeting as the anchor links. Keyword anchors have the capacity to create a robust backlink profile and draw more traffic to a site. That said, Google could flag them as spammy. The search engine giant could view it as an attempt to inflate the rankings.

Backlinks from other websites and how they affect your link profile when doing SEO

Backlinks from trusted websites cement your credibility and build your reputation. They are more or fewer popularity votes that Google uses to determine which sites are worth recommending to its users. A robust backlink profile is the stamp of approval that search engines look at to determine the rankings on search engine results pages. Building a reputable backlink profile is no easy feat. And that is because getting links from trusted websites requires significant effort. It may be difficult, but not impossible. Here are some ways to obtain links from other websites that will boost your SEO:

1. Organically gaining backlinks

Gaining backlinks organically requires that your website be informative, appealing, and more trustworthy compared to others in existence. That should compel other sites to view yours as an authority site they can link to in their content. Google rewards websites seen to be reputable by ranking them higher on search engine results pages. High rankings translate to more traffic and conversions.

    2. Building networks

Another incredible way to grow your backlink profile is to build relationships with other website owners. Asking other website owners to link to your site or offering to create mutually beneficial content for their websites is a sure way to build your backlink profile with trusted websites.

     3. Buying backlinks

Buying backlinks will no doubt boost your rankings and backlink profile. However, it is a high-risk strategy since it runs the risk of Google penalties that can set your site back further.

     4. Diversify, diversify, diversify

Diversity is equally crucial when building backlinks from other sites. You have a better chance of growing a mighty backlink profile if your backlinks are not too similar. Backlinks from a diverse pool of trusted websites will boost your backlink profile.

Final Words

In a nutshell, building a healthy backlink profile is an SEO strategy that promises a substantial ROI. Using profile backlinks with other SEO elements is a sure way to boost search engine rankings and increase conversions.

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