As we get into 2025, the right kinds of links now become extremely important for anybody who cares about SEO. Links are the absolute basic elements of the internet. They help users get from one page to another, make better site navigation, and help search engines understand your site.

But not all links work the same way. Some will tend to increase their credibility and ranking, while others might be more there for users to locate some information or make your content better. 

In this article, we’ll explore the different types of links, their purpose, and how to use them effectively to improve your website’s performance and SEO.

What Is A Link?

A link (also known as a hyperlink) is a clickable element that connects one web page to another. It allows users to navigate the internet from one page to another and lets search engines crawl, understand, and organize content. Links can be in the form of text, images, or buttons.

17 Types of Links 

Below are the different types of links that play a crucial role in SEO and website navigation.

1) Internal Links

Internal links connect a website’s page to another from the same site. Internal linking helps users navigate and helps the search engines understand your site structure.

• Better Navigation: Guide users to relevant content.
• Boost SEO: Help search engines crawl and index your pages.
• Link Equity: Spread link equity to improve rankings for key pages.

Using internal links strategically ensures visitors find valuable information easily while helping search engines understand your site’s hierarchy.

2) External Links

External links are hyperlinks that connect your website to another website. These links direct users to external resources or pages outside your domain.

• Enhance Credibility: Linking to authoritative sources improves trustworthiness.
• Improve SEO: External links signal relevance and context to search engines, enhancing your SEO links strategy.
• Better User Experience: Provide additional resources or information to your visitors.

External links are an essential part of a balanced link types strategy, supporting both user experience and search engine optimization. Use them wisely to maintain relevance and value for your audience.

3) Image Links

Image links are hyperlinks embedded into images, so clicking on an image will open another page. They are a more visual way of navigating through a website and can even pass link equity if used properly.

• Visual Navigation: Enhance user experience by making navigation more intuitive.
• SEO Benefits: Properly optimized image links contribute to SEO links through alt text and relevance.
• Engagement: Attract user attention and encourage clicks.

To make the most of image links, use descriptive alt text, ensure relevance, and link to high-value pages. This is a great addition to your overall types of links strategy for a user-friendly and SEO-focused website.

4) Backlinks

Backlinks are links coming from other sites to your site. Also, these are known as inbound links or incoming links. These links are very significant for SEO because they help the search engines establish that the content on your site is valuable and credible.

• Boost SEO Rankings: High-quality backlink types, like editorial links, improve your site’s authority.
• Build Credibility: Sites linking to your website indicate trustworthiness and relevance.

Earning good SEO links through manual link building or creating valuable content is key to a strong backlink profile. Backlinks play a major role in connecting sites linking to your website with search engine success.

5) Bookmark Links

Bookmark links help users navigate within a web page. They can really be useful for writing “how-to” lists, tables of contents of very long articles, or simply for fast return to the top of a page.

• Ease of Navigation: Users can jump directly to specific sections of a web page.
• Improved User Experience: Makes long-form content easier to browse and navigate.

To create a bookmark link, you first need to mark the target section using an <h2> tag with an “id” attribute. Then, you create a hyperlink pointing to that specific “id.” For example:

<h2 id=”section1″>Section 1</h2>

<a href=”#section1″>Go to Section 1</a>

Bookmark links are a valuable addition to any website, especially for improving user experience on lengthy pages.

6) Social Media Links

Social media links are hyperlinks that connect your website or content to social media platforms. These links can direct users to your social profiles or allow them to share your content on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Most social media platforms automatically assign the nofollow attribute to these links, meaning they do not pass link equity directly to your site.

• Boost Visibility: Drive traffic to your site through social platforms.
• Improve Engagement: Encourage users to share your content, increasing reach.
• Support SEO: While they are nofollow links and don’t pass link equity, they can indirectly enhance your SEO links strategy by increasing brand awareness and driving traffic.

Using social media links is an essential part of a balanced link types strategy, helping improve your online presence and website traffic.

7) Editorial Backlinks

Editorial backlinks are natural links given by other websites when they find your content valuable or authoritative. These are often considered the gold standard in SEO links because they are earned rather than created manually. For example, a news article or blog post might link to your site as a credible source.

• Boost SEO: These links tell the search engines that your website is trusted and relevant.
• Increase Authority: They are coming from good quality, relevant websites that will increase your domain authority.
• Drive Traffic: As they’re placed in engaging content, they attract genuine visitors to your site.

Editorial backlinks are an essential type of good SEO link and a powerful part of any manual link building strategy. Focus on creating valuable, shareable content to attract these naturally.

Outreach Monks has successfully secured editorial backlinks from HubSpot.

8) Manual Outreach Links

Manual links are backlinks created through direct efforts like outreach or collaborations. These links are not earned passively; instead, they are built by reaching out to other website owners to feature your content or services. Examples include guest posting, submitting to directories, or requesting links from relevant sites.

• Targeted and Relevant: They come from sites related to your niche, making them valuable for SEO.
• Controlled Placement: You have control over the anchor text and context of the link.
• Boosts Authority: A key part of manual link building, these links help establish credibility.

Including manual links in your strategy supports a strong SEO links profile, improves rankings, and ensures a well-rounded approach to different types of links in your backlink strategy.

9) Natural Links

Natural links are backlinks that other websites give to your content without you asking for them. They are earned because your content is valuable, informative, or engaging.

• High SEO Value: They signal to search engines that your content is trustworthy and relevant, boosting your SEO links strategy.
• Effort-Free: These links don’t require manual outreach or payment, making them a genuine type of backlink.
• Good SEO Practice: Natural links are considered a hallmark of quality content and align with search engine guidelines.

Building natural links comes down to creating great content that attracts attention from sites linking to your website naturally. They are an essential type of link in SEO for long-term success.

10) Dofollow Links

Dofollow links are hyperlinks that pass on link equity (also known as “link juice”) from one website to another. These links signal search engines to follow and count the link as a vote of confidence, helping improve the destination page’s ranking.

• SEO Impact: They contribute directly to your SEO links by improving a page’s authority.
• Building Trust: These links show that the source website vouches for the linked content.
• Backlink Strategy: A strong mix of dofollow links is essential for a good SEO link profile.

<a href=”https://www.example.com” title=”Example Website”>Visit Example</a>

In the above example, the link to “https://www.example.com” is a dofollow link by default because it doesn’t have the rel=”nofollow” attribute.

When building backlinks, focus on earning high-quality types of backlinks through natural or editorial links to maximize the benefits of dofollow links.

11) Nofollow Links

Nofollow links are hyperlinks with a special attribute (rel=”nofollow”) telling the search engines not to pass link equity or “link juice” to the linked page. It is often used in paid links, user-generated content, or other scenarios where the source website doesn’t want to endorse the destination page.

• Transparency: They clearly signal to search engines that the link should not influence rankings.
• Avoid Penalties: Using nofollow for paid links or affiliate links helps comply with search engine guidelines.
• Traffic Generation: Even without passing SEO value, nofollow links can still drive traffic to your website.

In this example, the rel=”nofollow” attribute ensures that search engines don’t count the link as a vote of confidence.

Nofollow links are the most integral part of having a well-balanced SEO links profile. They may not be immediately used to boost rankings, but they can still have a role in driving traffic and saving your site’s reputation.

12) Article Directory Links

Article directory links are backlinks obtained by submitting articles to online directories. These directories publish your content, often including a link back to your website.

• Quick Backlinks: They were once a popular way to build links quickly.
• Limited Value Today: Most search engines now devalue or ignore links from low-quality directories.

For effective SEO links, focus on directories with high authority and relevant topics. While these links can still play a role, they should complement a broader strategy of manual link building and earning natural backlinks.

13) EDU Links

EDU links are backlinks from educational websites with a .edu domain. These links are highly valued in SEO because they often come from authoritative and trusted sources.

• High Authority: Educational websites typically have strong domain authority, which boosts the credibility of sites linking to them.
• SEO Benefits: These links are considered quality backlink types and can improve your site’s rankings in search engines.
• Trust and Reputation: Having links from .edu websites signals trustworthiness to both users and search engines.

To earn EDU links, focus on creating valuable, research-backed content or collaborating with educational institutions. They are an excellent addition to a good SEO link strategy.

14) Email Links

Email links are hyperlinks that allow users to directly email you from your website. These links prompt the user to select an email program if one isn’t already configured, making it easy to start an email conversation.

• Direct Communication: They provide a simple way for users to reach you.
• Improved User Convenience: No need for users to manually type your email address.
• Encourage Engagement: Great for customer inquiries, feedback, or business communications.

To create an email link, use the <a> tag with the “mailto:” protocol. For example:

<a href=”mailto:example@example.com”>Email Us</a>

Email links are an effective way to connect with users and encourage interaction directly from your website.

15) Guest Post Backlinks

Guest post backlinks are links earned by contributing content to another website in your niche. These links direct readers back to your own website, improving visibility and authority.

• Boost SEO: They are valuable types of backlinks that enhance your site’s authority.
• Drive Traffic: They bring targeted traffic from relevant sites.
• Build Relationships: Guest posting helps establish connections with other websites in your industry.

When done in the context of a manual link-building strategy, it can prove to be one of the most effective means to increase your online presence and enhance the ranking of your site. The best thing about editorial links is that they have to be earned from authoritative sites.

16) Self-Created Links

Self-created links are backlinks that you manually place on external websites. These backlinks are mostly found in blogs, forums, web directories, or a profile on a social networking website. However, these seem like very easy means of getting backlinks; they may well become spam to the search engines.

• Low SEO Value: They usually lack authority and do not pass significant link equity.
• Risky for SEO: Overusing them can harm your website’s credibility and violate search engine guidelines.
• Best Practices: Use self-created links sparingly and focus on earning high-quality, natural backlinks instead.

While self-created links can be part of a broader SEO links strategy, relying on them too much can hurt your site. Focus on ethical practices like manual link building and earning good SEO links for long-term success.

17) Text Links

Text links <span style=”font-weight: 400;”> are clickable words or phrases on a webpage. They act as a guide, directing users to another page. This destination could either be within the same website or an entirely different site.

• Easy Navigation: Helps users move between related content effortlessly.
• Improved Accessibility: Makes information more accessible by providing direct connections to relevant resources.

Text links are an essential part of website navigation and SEO. Using clear, descriptive text ensures users and search engines understand the purpose of the link.

How to Get High-Quality Backlinks

Here are some effective strategies to earn backlinks while keeping your SEO natural and impactful:

1. Broken Link Building: Identify broken links on authoritative websites and offer your content as a replacement. This technique helps you secure valuable backlinks while assisting the website owner in fixing their links.
2. Niche Edits: Collaborate with websites in your niche to add your link to existing content that is relevant to your industry. This ensures that your backlinks are contextual and natural.
3. Guest Posting: Write valuable content for other websites in exchange for a backlink to your site. This strategy supports manual link-building and helps you establish credibility in your industry.
4. Linkable Assets: Create high-quality, shareable content such as infographics, research studies, or guides. These assets naturally attract editorial links and encourage websites to link back to you.
5. Community Engagement: Participate in forums, Q&A platforms, and community discussions related to your niche. Providing helpful insights and resources can lead to natural links from those who value your input.
6. Local Link Building: Collaborate with local businesses, organizations, or directories to earn backlinks. These types of backlinks are particularly valuable for improving local search rankings.

Outreach Monks: Trusted Link Building Professionals Since 2017

Since 2017, Outreach Monks has been a trusted name in the world of link building. With years of experience in securing high-quality backlinks, we specialize in helping businesses grow their online presence through ethical and effective link-building strategies.

Our expertise includes:

• Manual Link Building: Focusing on genuine, relevant links to strengthen your website’s authority.
• Editorial Links: Securing natural, high-value backlinks that align with your content.
• Specialized Link Types: Offering guest posts and link insertions to enhance your SEO with effective backlink strategies.
• Custom Strategies: Tailored plans to earn good SEO links that boost rankings sustainably.

With Outreach Monks, you get more than just links; you get a comprehensive strategy designed to build credibility and long-term success. Let us help you secure the types of links that matter for your website’s growth.

Conclusion: Types of Links

Understanding the types of links is key to building a strong and effective SEO strategy. From internal links to backlinks, each link type plays a role in improving your website’s structure, visibility, and authority. Focus on earning high-quality, natural links and avoid shortcuts like spammy practices to see long-term success.

Start using the right types of links today to boost your rankings and grow your online presence!

FAQs on Types of Links