Imagine you are looking for a new restaurant in your city. If five of your friends tell you that a specific burger place is amazing, you are going to trust their opinion. You will probably go there to eat.

In the world of digital marketing, search engines like Google work the exact same way. Google wants to know which websites are the best. They look for recommendations. In the language of the internet, these recommendations are called backlinks.

At VH-info, we spend every day helping SaaS companies get these recommendations. We know that understanding why backlinks are important is the first step to growing your business online. If you want your website to show up at the top of search results, you cannot ignore links. This article is your guide. We will explain why backlinks are important in SEO and how they act as a vote of confidence for your site.

We will keep it simple and clear, just like we do for our clients.

What Are Backlinks?

Before we dive deep, let’s answer the question: What is a backlink in SEO?

A backlink is simply a link from one website to another. If Website A puts a link on its page that points to Website B, that is a backlink for Website B. You might also hear people call them inbound links, incoming links, or external links. They all mean the same thing.

Here is an example of what backlinks are in SEO: Imagine a popular tech blog writes a review about the best project management software. In that article, they mention your software and put a blue clickable link that takes readers to your homepage. That link is a backlink.

Search engines view these links as votes. If many reputable sites link to you, Google thinks, “This website must have quality content because everyone is pointing to it.” This is the core of link building.

Why Backlinks Are Important?

You might ask, “Why do I need to worry about links?” The short answer is that they are one of the biggest factors for seo success. Without them, it is very hard to get organic traffic. Here is exactly why backlinks are important:

Help Search Engines Determine Relevance and Authority

Search engines use bots to read websites. When they see a link, they follow it. If authoritative websites (sites that Google trusts) link to your site, some of that trust passes to you. This is often called link equity or link juice.

Think of it like high school. If the most popular kid in school hangs out with you, you become popular too. When high-quality sites link to your web pages, Google sees your site as relevant and trustworthy. This boosts your domain authority.

Improve Your Rankings

Everyone wants to be number one on Google.

Backlinks are a major ranking factor. Google has confirmed many times that links are part of their algorithm.

When you have a strong backlink profile with many quality backlinks, your search engine rankings improve. If you have better links than your competitors, you will likely rank higher than them in the search engine results. This is the main goal of search engine optimization.

Earn Referral Traffic

Not all traffic comes from Google search. Sometimes, people click links on other websites. This is called referral traffic.

If a popular news site mentions your business and links to you, its readers might click that link. This brings new visitors to your site without them searching for you. These visitors are valuable because they were already reading about a particular topic related to your business.

Build Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a score that predicts how well a website will rank. While it is not a direct Google metric, it is very useful.

Building links from authoritative sites increases your DA. A higher DA makes it easier for all your pages, including new blog post content, to rank high in search rankings. It lifts your whole website up.

Improve Search Engine Crawling and Indexing

Search engine bots (crawlers) use links to find new pages. They travel through website links to discover content.

If you have a new website or a new page, it might take time for Google to find it. However, if a popular site links to your new page, the Google bot will follow that link and find your content much faster. This helps your page get into the search results quicker.

Improve Competitive Intelligence

By analyzing your competitors’ backlinks, you can learn a lot. You can see who links to them and why. This helps you build a better seo strategy. If a website links to your competitor, they might also link to you if you ask them. This is a smart way to find new opportunities.

What Affects the Value Of A Backlink in SEO?

Not all links are the same. Some are powerful, and some can actually hurt your website. At VH-info, we focus on getting the best backlinks for our clients. Here is what changes the value of a link:

Follow Status

There are two main types of links regarding value: dofollow links and nofollow links.

• Dofollow links: These tell search engines to follow the link and pass link authority. These are the best for SEO.
• Nofollow links: These tell search engines, “I am linking to this, but I don’t want to pass a vote.” These are common in blog comments or social media. They do not help your rankings as much, but they can still bring traffic.

Domain and Page Authority

A link from a huge site like The New York Times is worth much more than a link from a brand-new blog nobody reads. The domain authority of the referring domains matters a lot. You want links from sites that Google already trusts.

Topical Relevance

This is very important. If you sell dog food, a link from a pet care blog is great. It has high topical relevance.

However, if you sell dog food and get a link from a car repair shop website, it looks weird. Google might ignore it because the subject matter does not match. You want links from relevant sites.

The Likelihood of the Link Being Clicked

A link hidden in the footer of a page is not very valuable. A link placed right in the middle of a great article is much better. Google knows if a link is in a place where people will actually click it. Links that send real visitors are worth more.

Anchor Text

Anchor text is the clickable text in a link. For example, if the text says “best pizza recipes,” that is the anchor text. It tells Google what the linked page is about. However, you have to be careful. If all your links use the same keywords, it looks fake. It needs to be natural.

Link Schemes

Be careful of link schemes. These are bad tricks, like buying thousands of links or using software to create spam. Spammy backlinks can get your site penalized. Google will remove you from the results. Always focus on honest, white hat methods.

How to Build Valuable Backlinks For SEO?

Now you know the importance, but how do you get them? This process is called backlink building.

Here are some effective strategies we recommend:

Create Useful Resources

The best way to get links is to earn them.

Create valuable content that people want to share. This could be a detailed guide, a study with new data, or a free tool. When you have quality content, other website owners will link to it because it helps their readers. This is the most natural way to build a link profile.

Try Broken Link Building

This is a clever strategy. You look for a broken link on someone else’s website.

This is a link that leads to a 404 error page (the page is gone).

You contact the website owner and say, “Hey, I saw this link is broken. I have a similar article on my site. You can link to me instead.” It helps them fix their site, and you get a backlink. It is a win-win for broken link building.

Answer Relevant Media Requests

Journalists are always looking for experts to quote. Platforms like HARO (Help A Reporter Out) connect reporters with sources. If you answer their questions well, they will mention you in their article and give you a backlink.

This is a great way to get editorial backlinks from big news sites.

Replicate Your Competitors’ Backlinks

Look at the backlinks pointing to your competitors. Use tools to see their list. If a blog wrote a “Top 10” list and included your competitor, you can ask them to include you too. You already know they write about your topic, so they are a good target.

Capitalize on Business Relationships

Do you have suppliers, partners, or loyal customers? Ask them for a link. If you work with a software company, ask if they have a “Partners” page. These are easy wins because you already have a relationship.

Note: Building links takes a lot of time and effort. This is why many SaaS companies hire VH-info. We handle the hard work so you can focus on your product.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Building Backlinks

Even smart people make mistakes with SEO efforts. Here is what to watch out for:

1. Buying Links: Never pay for links on low-quality sites. It is against Google’s rules.
2. Ignoring Content Quality: No one wants to link to a bad article. Make your content amazing first.
3. Using the Same Anchor Text: Do not use the same keyword for every link. Mix it up.
4. Forgetting Internal Links: Internal linking (linking your own pages to each other) is also important. It helps spread link equity around your site.
5. Focusing Only on Quantity: One link from a great site is better than 100 links from bad sites. Quality of backlinks matters more than the number of backlinks.

What Makes A Good Backlink?

To summarize, a good backlink has these traits:

1. Relevance: It comes from a site that writes about your industry.
2. Authority: The site has high trust and traffic.
3. Placement: The link is in the main body of the text, not hidden.
4. Follow Status: It is a dofollow link (though nofollow has some value too).
5. Anchor Text: The text is natural and descriptive.

How to Audit and Maintain A Healthy Backlink Profile?

You need to keep an eye on your links. A bad backlink profile can hurt your traffic.

1. Get the Backlink Data: You cannot fix what you cannot see. You need to use tools to see all the external websites linking to you.
2. Identify and Disavow Toxic Backlinks: Sometimes, spam sites will link to you. If you see many links from gambling or adult sites, these are toxic backlinks. You can tell Google to ignore them using a “disavow” tool.
3. Fixing Broken Backlinks: Sometimes, you might move or delete a page on your site. If other sites were linking to that old page, those links are now broken. You lose that link juice. You should set up a redirect so the old link goes to a new, relevant page.
4. Track New Backlinks: Monitor your number of links. If you lose a good link, you might want to email the site owner and ask why. Keeping track helps you understand if your content marketing is working.

How to See the Backlinks Pointing to Your Website?

You cannot fix or improve what you do not measure.

To build a strong backlink profile, you need to see who is linking to you. Since you cannot see this with just your eyes, you need software to help you. These tools crawl the web just like search engines do to find every link. Here are the best ones to use for your SEO efforts:

Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console is the most important tool because the data comes straight from Google. It is completely free and tells you exactly how Google sees your website links. Inside the tool, there is a section called “Links” that shows you your external links (links from other sites) and your internal links (links between your own pages). It shows you the top linking sites and the anchor text they use.

While it does not give you a score for domain authority, it is the most accurate way to see if your web pages are being indexed.

It is also the only place where you can upload a “disavow file” to tell Google to ignore spammy backlinks. Every website owner should use this to monitor their search engine optimization health. It is the first step to knowing if your link building is working.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a favorite tool for many SEO experts because it has a massive database of live links.

It is very fast at finding new links. When you put a domain into its “Site Explorer,” you can see the total number of backlinks and the number of referring domains. It also gives a “Domain Rating” (DR), which helps you guess the authority of a site.

This tool is excellent for competitive intelligence. You can look at your competitor’s site to see where they got their editorial backlinks.

This helps you find opportunities for guest blogging or broken link building. It also shows you if you have any broken links that need fixing. If you want to build a serious SEO strategy and find high-quality partners, Ahrefs provides the deep data you need to succeed in search rankings.

SEMrush

SEMrush is an all-in-one tool that is great for checking both your search engine rankings and your links.

Its “Backlink Analytics” tool allows you to compare your website directly against your competitors. You can see the types of backlinks they have, such as text links or image links, and check if they are dofollow links or nofollow links.

It also has a great feature called “Backlink Audit.” This feature scans your profile to find toxic backlinks that might hurt your reputation with Google. It assigns a toxicity score so you know which links to remove.

By using SEMrush, you can track how your marketing campaigns are performing and see if your quality content is earning the attention it deserves. It helps you keep your link profile clean and healthy so you can keep getting organic traffic.

SE Ranking

SE Ranking is a strong and affordable choice for tracking your digital marketing progress.

It includes a “Backlink Monitor” that lets you import links you have built or found.

You can then track them to make sure they stay live. Sometimes, a linking site might remove your link without telling you. SE Ranking will alert you if a link disappears or if the anchor text changes.

This is very helpful for agencies or businesses that do active guest posting. You can also check the domain trust and page trust scores to see the value of each link. It simplifies the data so you can focus on getting the best backlinks.

It gives you the clear facts you need to understand your off-page SEO without being too complicated or expensive for a smaller team.

Bing Webmaster Tools

Many people forget about Bing, but it is still a major search engine.

Bing Webmaster Tools is free, just like Google Search Console, but it gives you data for Bing and Yahoo search results. It has a “Backlinks” report that is very easy to read. It shows you the domains pointing to you and the specific anchor text used.

Sometimes, Bing finds links that Google misses. By using this tool, you get a second opinion on your backlink profile. It also helps you spot link schemes or spam that might be affecting your performance on Microsoft’s search engine. Using this ensures you are not missing any referral traffic from users who prefer Bing. It is a smart addition to your toolkit to ensure your web pages are visible everywhere.

FAQ’s:

Are Backlinks Still Important For SEO In 2026 and Beyond?

Yes, they remain one of the top-ranking factors for Google. As long as search engines need to measure trust and authority, quality backlinks will be the best way for them to decide which websites deserve to be at the top of the search results.

Is It Illegal to Buy Backlinks?

It is not a crime, but it violates Google’s spam policies. If you buy links to manipulate search rankings, Google may penalize your site, causing you to lose organic traffic. It is always safer to earn links through valuable content and real relationships.

How Many Backlinks Does A Website Need to Rank on Google?

There is no specific number because every topic is different. If your competitors have hundreds of links from authoritative websites, you will likely need a similar amount to compete. Focus on the quality of backlinks rather than just getting a high number.

Are All Backlinks Good For SEO?

No, some links can actually hurt your site. Spammy backlinks from low-quality or irrelevant sites can signal to Google that your site is not trustworthy. You should always aim for links from reputable sites that are relevant to your subject matter.

Do Backlinks Help All Types Of Websites Equally?

Yes, whether you are a local shop or a big SaaS company, links act as a vote of confidence. However, competitive industries might need more link equity to rank. Every website benefits from the referral traffic and authority that links provide.

What’s the Difference Between Nofollow and Dofollow Links?

Dofollow links tell Google to pass authority to your site, which helps your ranking. NoFollow links tell Google not to count the link as a vote, but they are still useful for bringing visitors and making your link profile look natural.

How Do I Remove Bad Backlinks?

First, you should find the website owner and politely ask them to remove the link. If they do not reply, you can use the “Disavow Tool” in Google Search Console. This tells Google to ignore those specific links when calculating your rankings.

Conclusion

Understanding why backlinks are important is the first step to growing your SaaS business.

These links are the foundation of SEO success, helping you build domain authority and drive consistent organic traffic. They prove to search engines that your content quality is high and that you are a trusted expert in your field.

However, getting editorial backlinks from authoritative sites is hard work. It takes time, outreach, and a smart strategy.

That is where VH-info comes in. We are experts at securing the best backlinks for SaaS companies. We handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on your product. If you are ready to climb the search rankings, let us help you build the connections that matter.