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Types of links – what is worth knowing about them and how to use them in SEO?

7 minutes of reading
Types of links – what is worth knowing about them and how to use them in SEO?
Category SEO

Using relevant links in your posts can greatly increase their visibility and discoverability in search engines, allowing you to attract more website traffic from search queries that are relevant to your products or services. But not all links are the same. There are many different types of links, and choosing the right ones can be difficult at first glance. Here’s what you need to know about link building strategies and how to use them in SEO.

Contents:

Link building is the process of acquiring links from other websites to your own. The more links you have pointing to your website, the higher your site will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). There are many different types of links, and each has its own benefits and drawbacks. Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular types of links. But first …

What is link?

A link is a hyperlink that connects one web page to another. When a user clicks on a link, they are taken to the linked page. Search engines use links to crawl the web and understand relationships between pages. The anchor text (the text that is clicked on) of a link is used by search engines to help determine what the linked page is about.

The basics. What is an outbound link?

Outbound links are links that point from your website to another website. They are also called external links. When a website links to another website, it is called an outbound link. Outbound links are important for two reasons:

  • first, they help search engines find new websites;
  • second, they help improve the ranking of the website that is linking to the new website.

So, it is important to choose your outbound links carefully. Here are some tips for using outbound links in your marketing.

  1. Link to people who have linked back to you. It is common courtesy for bloggers and website owners alike to return the favor when they get linked back by others.
  2. Link to sites with similar topics. Don’t link across topics, this will hurt more than help your rankings.
  3. Link to sites with different audiences but a complementary message.
  4. Don’t go too far off-topic. Going too far off-topic will confuse readers, which may lead them away from what you want them focused on. The only exception to this rule is linking back to posts with an extensive about page.
  5. Doing so will keep your readers engaged, while also giving them access to other information that might interest them. Using outbound links in this way allows you to create a web of related material while also allowing readers to explore various aspects of your subject matter at their own pace.

Inbound vs. outbound links

Inbound links are links from other websites to your website. Outbound links are links from your website to other websites. In general, inbound links are more valuable because they show that other websites are linking to your website because they think it is a good resource. Outbound links can also be valuable, but you should be careful not to link to low-quality websites, as this can reflect poorly on your website. When it comes to SEO, it is generally best to focus on getting high-quality inbound links.

Contextual vs. non-contextual links

Contextual links are those that appear within the body of content on a page. They help readers navigate to related information on your site, and they also send signals to search engines about the topic of your page. Additionally, if you want to increase the effectiveness of contextual links, try linking to high quality pages on your site instead of linking only to other sites.

Non-contextual links are links that appear in other places on a page, such as in the footer or sidebar. These links can be helpful for navigation, but they don’t carry as much weight with search engines.

Dofollow vs. nofollow links

Dofollow links are the most common type of link and tell search engines to follow them. If you have an important webpage with lots of great content, make sure that every page includes at least one dofollow link pointing back to it.

Nofollow links, on the other hand, tell search engines not to follow them. You can use both types of links to improve your SEO, but dofollow links are generally more valuable (link juice). If you have a blog post that is popular or has a high PageRank, you may want to ask others to link back to it by adding nofollow tags. The key with this technique is getting other bloggers who have higher PageRanks than you so that their links will be worth more than yours.

Text links vs. graphic links

Text links are created using anchor tags, which are HTML elements that allow you to hyperlink one piece of text to another. Graphic links, on the other hand, are created by embedding an image into a web page and then linking the image to another web page. They’re not as popular as text links because they require extra work to create them, but they may be more likely to capture someone’s attention than plain old text.

The process is similar for both types of links: start with the site you want to link from (the anchor), and choose where you want to link it to (the target). To add a graphic link, copy the URL of your target web page or blog post, paste it into your anchor text, and insert an image on your blog post where you want the graphic link to go.

Make sure you give the image a descriptive title so readers know what it’s for. Remember to also use descriptive alt text – this is what displays when your link can’t be found – so people can tell what the content of your graphic link is about without clicking on it first.

The art of anchor text

Anchor text is the content of the link that appears on the website and is most often distinguished by a color other than regular text. After hovering the mouse over the anchor, the user can see where he will be redirected after clicking on the link. The anchor text is placed between the <a> and </a> tags in the page’s code.

Anchor most often contains a key phrase consistent with the subject of the page to which the embedded link refers. Anchor is also taken into account when evaluating the website by algorithms. Therefore, it is very important to create natural-looking anchors and their accurate selection, tailored to the content on the website. Otherwise, I can ruin our link building plan.

Types

Anchor text can be of several types, depending on your needs. When planning a link building strategy, it is worth using a diverse anchor profile so that the search engine evaluates us more positively. So you can choose from anchors:

  • branded – links of this type contain the name of the company or website in the anchor text;
  • URL – where the entire link to the page is shown;
  • exact match – content describing the positioned phrase;
  • zero match – content prompting the user to act in the form of a call to action.
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Wrapping up

In conclusion, there are three types of links that are important to know about when it comes to SEO: internal, external, and backlinks. Internal links help users navigate your website, while external links take them off your site. Backlinks are created when other websites link to yours, and they’re important for both authority and ranking. Knowing how to use all three types of links can help you create a well-rounded SEO strategy. Make sure you include an appropriate mix of all three types of links on your site to make the most out of your marketing efforts.

Aleksandra Pietrzak
Copywriter
Curator at the National Museum in Poznań, graduate of Art History at the Jagiellonian University and Contemporary Art at the Pedagogical University of Krakow, curator of exhibitions and author of scientific and popular texts. A lover of contemporary art, literature and travel.
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