How to Get Quality SEO Backlinks (Without Wasting Money on Spam)
The world of SEO backlinks is a minefield, littered with charlatans, bad advice, and expensive shortcuts that lead nowhere.
You’ve probably received the emails: “Get 50 DA 50+ Backlinks for $100!” Delete them.
Most of what people call “link building” is a waste of time and money. It's a frantic chase for metrics that don't matter, orchestrated by people who profit from your confusion.
This isn't another guide on how to “build” links.
This is a guide to stop thinking about link building and focus on the one thing that works: becoming the business that naturally earns links.
- Focus on earning quality backlinks rather than building them through spammy methods to enhance your site's authority.
- Backlinks from relevant, authoritative sources are invaluable; avoid links from spammy or irrelevant sites to maintain credibility.
- Creating exceptional content is essential for attracting organic links; poor-quality link-farming tactics will only harm your SEO efforts.
What Are SEO Backlinks? (And Why Google Still Cares)
A backlink is simply a link from one website to another. Think of your website as a destination. A backlink is a road sign pointing people toward you on someone else's property.
For years, search engines like Google have used these links as a primary signal to determine a site's authority and importance.
A Simple Analogy: The Internet's Voting System
The easiest way to think about backlinks is as votes. If a well-respected, authoritative website (like the BBC) links to your small business website, Google sees that as a decisive vote of confidence. It's a signal that you are a legitimate and valuable resource.
That vote is worthless if a spammy, nonsensical website links to you. If you get thousands of worthless votes, Google will get suspicious. It looks like you're trying to cheat the system.
The Big Shift: From Quantity to Quality (Thanks, Penguin)
In the early days of the internet, SEO was a numbers game. The site with the most backlinks won, regardless of where they came from. People built automated software to post links in thousands of forums and blog comments. It was pure chaos.
Then, in 2012, Google rolled out its “Penguin” algorithm update. This changed everything.
Penguin was designed to penalise websites that buy or acquire links through manipulative schemes. Suddenly, the quality and relevance of a link became far more important than the sheer quantity. That reality holds today. One single, powerful, relevant link is worth more than a thousand spammy ones.
The Anatomy of a Backlink: What Matters
Not all links are created equal. When someone links to you, several factors determine how much (if any) value that link provides. Forget the noise and focus on these four elements.
The ‘Dofollow' vs. ‘Nofollow' Distinction
A “dofollow” link is the standard type. It tells search engines, “This link is a vote of confidence. Feel free to pass authority (or ‘link juice') through it.” This is the type of link that directly helps your SEO.
A “nofollow” link contains a small piece of code (rel=”nofollow”) that tells search engines, “We are linking to this page, but we don't necessarily endorse it. Don't pass any authority.” These are common in blog comments, forum posts, and social media sites.
Agencies like Jeenam, a SaaS link-building agency, help businesses understand when to use nofollow links strategically and how to balance them with dofollow links for better SEO results.
You want dofollow links, but a natural backlink profile will always have a mix of both. Don't obsess over it.
Topical Relevance: The Most Overlooked Factor
This is the most crucial concept to grasp. A backlink is only valuable if it makes sense in context.
If you run a sustainable fashion brand in London and a prominent fashion blogger writes an article about your new line and links to your shop, that is an incredibly relevant and robust link.
If a blog about car parts in another country links to your fashion brand, that link is contextually bizarre. It's irrelevant. Google's algorithm is innovative enough to understand this. At best, that link is ignored. At worst, a pattern of such links looks manipulative.
Anchor Text: The Words People Click On
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. It gives users and search engines context about what they'll find when they click. There are a few common types:
- Branded: The anchor text is your brand name (e.g., “Inkbot Design”).
- Naked URL: The anchor text is the URL itself (e.g., “https://inkbotdesign.com/“).
- Exact Match: The anchor text is the keyword you want to rank for (e.g., “digital marketing services”).
- Generic: The anchor text is a common phrase (e.g., “click here” or “read more”).
A natural backlink profile is a mix of all of these. If every of your backlinks uses the exact anchor text “digital marketing services,” it's a massive red flag for Google. It looks unnatural and manipulative.
The Mythical “Authority” and the DA/DR Cult
People will talk endlessly about Domain Authority (DA) from Moz or Domain Rating (DR) from Ahrefs. These are metrics created by private SEO software companies to estimate a website's authority on a scale of 0-100.
Let me be crystal clear: Google does not use DA or DR.
These scores are, at best, a rough third-party guess. They can be helpful for quickly comparing two sites, but they are not the goal. One of my biggest pet peeves is watching business owners fixate on raising their DA score. It’s a pointless distraction.
Chasing high-DA links often makes people pay for guest posts on irrelevant websites. A topically relevant link from a DR 25 blog that your actual customers read is infinitely more valuable than a paid, irrelevant link from a DR 70 “general news” site that has no real audience.
The Good, The Bad, and The Utterly Toxic: A Backlink Spectrum
Think of backlinks existing on a spectrum of quality.
The Good: Genuinely Earned Links
These are the holy grail. They are links you didn't ask for, placed by someone because your business, product, or content is excellent.
- A national newspaper featuring your company in a story.
- A respected industry blogger reviewing your product.
- A university is adding your website to a list of recommended resources.
- Another local business is mentioning you on their partners' page.
These links are hard to get. They require having a business worth talking about. They are also the most powerful links you can acquire.
The Bad: Useless, Low-Value Links
These links won't hurt your site, but certainly won't help it. They are digital noise. Spending any time or money acquiring them is a complete waste.
- Automated blog comments.
- Links in forum signatures from 2005.
- Listings in thousands of low-quality, generic business directories.
- Any link that comes from a page with no real human visitors.
The Toxic: Links That Actively Harm You
These are links from websites designed purely to manipulate search engine rankings. Acquiring these links directly violates Google's quality guidelines and can lead to a penalty, which means your site's visibility gets crushed.
- PBNs (Private Blog Networks): Networks of fake websites created solely to link to other sites.
- Link Farms: Pages with nothing but long lists of unrelated links.
- Hacked Sites: Links are injected into other legitimate websites without the owner's knowledge.
Buying cheap “backlink packages” online is the number one way to get your site tangled up with toxic links. Avoid it like the plague.
Stop “Building” Links. Start Earning Them. (The Only Strategy That Works)
The entire mindset of “building” links is flawed. This implies that you can construct them just like LEGO bricks. A better approach is to create the conditions that attract links naturally.
The Foundation: First, Be Link-Worthy
You cannot earn links if you have nothing worth linking to. A “link-worthy asset” is something on your website that provides so much value that other people willingly reference it.
Examples of link-worthy assets include:
- Original Research: A study or survey you conducted about your industry.
- A Free Tool: A helpful calculator, generator, or widget.
- The Definitive Guide: The most comprehensive, well-designed resource on a specific topic.
- A Controversial Opinion: A well-argued article that goes against the grain.
- Stunning Case Studies: Showing off incredible results you've achieved for clients.
Before you spend a single pound on “link building,” invest in creating something worth linking to. A great website with excellent content is the foundation of any successful [digital marketing] strategy.
Three Practical, Non-Spammy Ways to Get Noticed
Once you have something link-worthy, you can give it a nudge to get it in front of the right people.
1. Digital PR: Become the Expert Source. Instead of begging for links, offer your expertise to journalists, bloggers, and reporters already writing stories. Services like Help a Reporter Out (HARO) send daily emails with queries from journalists looking for sources. Respond to relevant queries in your industry, provide genuine value, and you can earn high-authority links from major news publications.
2. Strategic Guest Posting (The Right Way) Forget paying $200 for a post on a site you've never heard of. That's not guest posting; it's just buying a bad advert.
Real guest posting is about writing a genuinely valuable article for another website's audience in your niche. The goal is to provide value to their readers and establish your authority. The link back to your site should be a natural citation, not a forced keyword-stuffed anchor. Ask yourself: “Would I want to write for this site even if I didn't get a link?” If the answer is no, walk away.
3. Broken Link Building: The Sniper Approach. This is more technical but highly effective. You find resource pages on authoritative websites in your niche, scan them for broken links (which lead to a 404 error page), and then email the site owner. You politely inform them about the dead link and suggest your own (hopefully superior) resource as a replacement. It's a win-win: they fix a broken part of their site, and you get a relevant link.
How to Analyse Your Backlink Profile (Without an Expensive Subscription)
You don't need to pay hundreds per month to monitor your links. You can use tools like Ahrefs' Free Backlink Checker to get a snapshot of who is linking to you.
Using Free Tools to Spot Red Flags
When you look at your backlink profile, look for patterns that don't make sense:
- Irrelevant Links: Are you getting a lot of links from casino sites, foreign language sites, or topics completely unrelated to your business?
- Weird Anchor Text: Is your anchor text profile complete of spammy, over-optimised keywords you didn't ask for?
- Sudden Spikes: Did you suddenly get 10,000 new links overnight? That's almost always a sign of a negative SEO attack or an awful link purchase.
A Word on the Disavow Tool: Don't Touch It
Google has a “Disavow Tool” that allows you to tell it to ignore certain links pointing to your site. For 99% of small businesses, you should never use this tool. Google's algorithm is now very good at simply ignoring bad links on its own. Using the disavow tool incorrectly can do more harm than good. Leave it alone unless you have received a manual action penalty from Google (which is rare).
The Inconvenient Truth About SEO Backlinks
Earning good backlinks is slow. It results from doing everything else right: having a great product, producing valuable content, and building genuine relationships.
There are no sustainable shortcuts. Anyone selling you a quick fix is selling you a fantasy.
Your time and energy are finite. Spend them making your business so remarkable that people can't help but talk about you and link to you. A powerful brand always attracts more valuable links than any short-term SEO tactic.
FAQs about SEO Backlinks
How many backlinks do I need to rank?
There is no magic number. It depends on your industry's competitiveness. Focus on the quality and relevance of your links, not the quantity. One great link beats a hundred poor ones.
How long does it take for backlinks to work?
It can take a few weeks to several months for Google to discover, crawl, and factor in a new backlink. SEO is a long-term game.
Is it okay to buy backlinks?
No. Buying backlinks intended to manipulate search rankings directly violates Google's guidelines and can lead to a penalty. Investing in Digital PR or content creation, which may result in links, is a different and acceptable practice.
What is the difference between a backlink and an internal link?
A backlink (or external link) comes from another website to your website. An internal link connects one page on your website to another page on the same website. Both are important for SEO.
Are social media links good for SEO?
Links from social media profiles and posts are typically “nofollow.” They don't directly pass SEO authority, but they are great for driving traffic and building brand awareness, which can indirectly lead to people discovering and linking to your content.
What is a “toxic” backlink?
A toxic backlink comes from a spammy, low-quality, or penalised website. These are often from PBNs, link farms, or sites with irrelevant content.
Should I hire a link-building agency?
Be extremely cautious. Many agencies use outdated or risky tactics. If you are considering hiring someone, vet them thoroughly. Ask for case studies and a clear explanation of their methods. It is if it sounds too good to be true (e.g., “50 DA 50 links in a month”).
Is guest blogging still effective for backlinks?
Yes, but only when done correctly. Strategic guest blogging involves writing high-quality, genuinely helpful content for respected and relevant websites in your niche. Paying for low-quality “guest post farms” placement is spam and should be avoided.
How do I check my competitors' backlinks?
What's more important: content or backlinks?
They are two sides of the same coin. You need excellent content to have something worth linking to. You need backlinks to signal to Google that your content is authoritative. You can't succeed long-term without both.
Understanding the principles of SEO backlinks is a crucial piece of the puzzle. But it's just one piece. A truly effective online presence is built on a coherent brand and a comprehensive strategy, not just a collection of links.
If you’re focused on building a brand that people want to talk about, that’s where powerful marketing begins.
Look at Inkbot Design's digital marketing services to see how a holistic strategy can build genuine authority, or request a quote if you're ready to make a brand that earns attention.
Visit our site at https://inkbotdesign.com/ to see our whole portfolio.
