Backlink analysis is fundamental to any link building campaign. This makes it one of the most important aspects of building organic website traffic through SEO.
Many website owners know very little about backlink analysis, and we will explain what it means and why it is important right here.
What Is Backlink Analysis?
Backlink analysis refers to the process of assessing all inbound links to your website with the goal of evaluating their effects on your ranking in search engines. Inbound links are the backlinks pointing from other websites to your site.
The objective of the analysis is primarily to establish and understand the current quality of the domains and links that point towards your websites.
Through link building analysis, you will get to see the links search engines are taking into consideration and have a better understanding of what can make your site rank better in these results.
Links from authority websites are mostly considered effective, but a link analysis will help you understand better and make informed decisions.
Understanding the Metrics of Backlink Analysis
Depending on the tool you use for the analysis, you will find a lot of metrics that describe the quality of the links you are analyzing. Understanding these metrics is very important, and here are brief descriptions of the most critical ones:
Date Added – this is the particular date the link was added to your backlink portfolio.
Status – this describes whether the link can be reached by search engines (OK) or if there is an issue making it unreachable.
Landing Page – this is the page in your website the link is pointing to.
Anchor – this is the clickable text that is displayed on the website.
Google Index – this will indicate whether the source page is indexed by Google or not. It is indicated with three different colors: green, orange, and red.
- Green means the page is indexed.
- Orange means the page is not indexed, but the host domain is indexed. This happens with new or low-quality pages. If the page is good quality, it will be indexed with time.
- Red means the domain is non-indexed by Google, which implies that links from it can be detrimental to your ranking.
Rel Attribute – this can appear as Do-Follow (DF) or No-Follow (NF). While links with the former attribute count towards your page rank score, the latter attribute doesn’t.
There are a few other metrics you can consider, depending on how the analysis was performed and the tools used.
Importance of Backlink Analysis
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Search engines view quality backlinks as indications of site authority. The implication is that proper analysis is instrumental in any link building strategy.
The quality of each individual link matters, which is why proper analysis is important. When conducted regularly, it will enhance your chances of ranking on your preferred keywords. Here are specific reasons why such analysis is important:
Link Audit
You can get relevant data to perform a link or SEO audit from backlink analysis. This way, you will be able to identify and remove harmful backlinks.
A link audit will also help you avoid over-optimization and the penalties that come with that. Performing a routine link audit will ensure that you keep up with the latest SEO standards and avoid penalties.
A link audit is necessary when you feel you have been hit by a Google penalty. Perform an audit to identify links from websites with a poor reputation.
An audit should involve scrutinizing such metrics as link source, domains, regions, anchor text, and more. You will need to disavow bad links or even remove them.
Competitor Analysis
Another reason why backlink analysis is important is that it helps with competitor analysis. By conducting a backlink analysis of your competitors, you can gain relevant insight into your industry or niche.
You can also get useful information that will help improve your website, even if it means implementing similar strategies.
Competitor analysis is more helpful than most people believe. The fact is that it can give you an edge over your competitors. You should also know that most of your competitors are doing it and can easily move ahead of you when you don’t stay competitive in backlink analysis and overall link building.
Link Prospecting
Finding out where your competitors are acquiring their backlinks is another exciting and rewarding way to use the data from the analysis. This is related to competitor analysis but is more practical in nature.
It is also a highly rewarding strategy for link building and can lead you to the right entities to contact within your niche or industry.
The primary objective of link prospecting is to find possible sources for link building. In some instances, you will be lucky to identify a contact that will do more than just provide backlinks to your side. You can identify opportunities to work with real influencers in your niche.
Reclamation of 404 Pages
The numerous benefits associated with reclaiming broken links is another major reason to conduct the analysis. It is most useful for your web design, when a website has been redesigned, or when pages have been moved. The information from the analysis can assist you in link reclamation of 404 pages, which is very important.
The benefits of link reclamation are enormous. For a start, it improves user experience and enhances online reputation. The source of the link will always find it as a favor. Reclaiming 404 pages can be done with 302 redirects, or you can contact the webmasters directly.
Important Goals
While running backlink analysis, there are a few goals you should keep in mind, including the following:
- Discover lost or broken backlinks.
- Identify the best backlinks that you don’t have in common with your competition.
- Identify the anchor texts that are not serving you well.
- Find and remove PBN links.
- Discover and remove bad backlinks.
Endnote
Backlinks are important for your website, but you need to be sure that each link in your site is of the right quality.
This is what backlink analysis can help you achieve, and the benefits are enormous in link building. With the right link building techniques, you can improve your SEO endeavors, drive more traffic to your website, boost conversion, and sales.
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