# Backlink

A link from another site to your site; one of the most important off-page signals in search engine rankings.

**Backlink (Inbound Link / Backlink)** is a link from another website pointing to your site. It is considered one of the strongest Off-Page signals in search engine rankings; each backlink is essentially like a “vote of confidence.”

Not all backlinks are equal. Factors that affect the value of a backlink:

- **Source authority:** Links from high-DA/DR sites are far more valuable
- **Topical relevance:** Links from the same industry are much stronger than those from unrelated industries
- **Anchor text:** The link text used reinforces the topic of the target page
- **Dofollow/Nofollow:** `rel="nofollow"` links historically passed less value; modern Google treats them as a “hint”
- **Link placement:** Links within the content are more valuable than footer or sidebar links
- **Traffic quality:** When real users come through the link, Google reads this as a positive signal

**Tip:** Focus on backlink quality rather than backlink quantity. 5 highly authoritative and topically relevant links are far more valuable than 500 spam links. Spam links can even lead to penalties.