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What Is Backlink?
SEO
Updated 18 September 2026
Quick Answer
A backlink is a link from another website pointing to yours — treated by Google as a vote of confidence, since a site linking to you is effectively vouching for your content.
Backlink vs. Internal Link — What's the Difference?
| Backlink | Internal Link | |
|---|---|---|
| Points from | Another website | A page on your own site |
| Main value | Off-page authority signal | Site structure & navigation |
Why It Matters
- Backlinks remain one of the strongest off-page SEO ranking factors — more trustworthy sites linking to you signals credibility to Google.
- A handful of relevant, high-quality backlinks outperform hundreds of low-quality ones.
How It Works
- Another site publishes a link to a page on your site.
- Google's crawler follows that link and records it as a signal.
- The linking site's own authority partly transfers to you — a link from a well-established site counts for more than one from an obscure one.
Key Takeaways
- A backlink is a link from another site to yours, read as a trust signal.
- Quality and relevance matter far more than raw quantity.
- Buying links is risky and can backfire.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many backlinks do I need?
There's no fixed number — quality and relevance matter far more than volume. A handful of genuinely relevant links can outperform hundreds of weak ones.
Can I buy backlinks?
It's risky — Google can penalize sites for manipulative link schemes, and purchased low-quality links often do more harm than good.
What's a realistic way to earn backlinks as a small business?
Local directory listings, partnerships, guest content, and genuinely useful content others want to reference are all realistic starting points.