If you’re a marketer who wears many hats, staying plugged into all the algorithm changes can seem impossible, especially in the wake of AI content. SEO can feel like a moving target: quick-win tactics like buying backlinks that worked five or ten years ago may now actually hurt your rankings.
That’s not to say acquiring backlinks is a bad thing, though. It’s actually the opposite, but only when acquired naturally by creating high-quality content worth linking to. SEO is a long game; any attempt to cut corners for fast results will ultimately backfire.
Search engines are smarter today than they were 5-10 years ago and can identify manipulative tactics that once used to game the system. It’s like if you cheat on a test by passing notes and the teacher finds out — now that they know people are cheated and how they did so, they know what to keep an eye out for when proctoring their next exam.
So, what does that mean for backlinks? Backlinks are still important for SEO in 2025, but only if they’re acquired ethically. In this post, we’ll define what a “good” vs. “bad” backlink is and how to prioritize using the former in a comprehensive SEO strategy.
What Backlinks Are and Why They Matter
A backlink is a link from one website to another, and it acts like a digital “vote of confidence.” When another website links to yours, it’s essentially saying, “We think this content is worth checking out.” Search engines, like Google, view these links as endorsements, which help them decide how trustworthy and valuable your website is.
Here’s how/why backlinks carry weight with search engines:
Evidence of Authority and Credibility
Imagine a teacher recommending a book to their students: because the teacher is knowledgeable, their recommendation carries weight. Similarly, when a reputable website links to your site, it signals to search engines that your content is credible, authoritative, and worth sharing.
Trust Through Associations
Search engines trust websites with strong reputations. When those sites link to you, some of that trust “rubs off” on your site. Essentially, it’s like being vouched for by someone trustworthy. This can boost your domain authority and make search engines more confident in recommending your site to users.
Indicators of Relevance
Backlinks also help search engines understand what your site is about. If a website that focuses on mental health links to your blog post about therapy, it reinforces that your site is relevant to mental health topics. This helps search engines match your site to people searching for related terms.
What Makes a “Good” Backlink?
Not all backlinks are created equal. Some can significantly boost your rankings, while others might not help at all or worse, hurt your site’s reputation. A good backlink is earned, not bought, and can bring real traffic to your site from people genuinely interested in your content. This combination of quality, relevance, and authenticity is what makes a backlink valuable.
There are several factors that make a backlink “good” in the eyes of search engines:
- From a high-authority site: Links from websites with a strong reputation (like news outlets or industry leaders) carry more weight than those from low-quality or unknown sites.
- Relevant to your niche: Links from websites or pages related to your industry or topic show search engines that your content is useful in a specific field.
- Earned, not bought: Backlinks that come naturally—because your content is valuable—are more credible than paid or manipulated links.
- Placed in context: A link that appears within the body of a relevant article is more effective than one stuffed in a footer or sidebar.
- Uses descriptive anchor text: The clickable text of the link should be relevant to your content, helping search engines understand what your page is about.
- From a diverse range of sites: It’s better to have links from multiple trusted sites than several links from the same source.
- From a “clean” site: Links from websites that avoid spammy practices or low-quality content help protect your reputation with search engines.
What’s a “Bad” Backlink?
Bad backlinks make your site look untrustworthy or spammy to search engines. If your backlink profile is full of low-quality links, Google might lower your rankings or even penalize your site. Worse, bad backlinks rarely send real traffic, so they don’t help your business grow.
- From low-quality or spammy sites: Links from websites filled with ads, copied content, or minimal value signal to search engines that your site might also be untrustworthy.
- Irrelevant to your niche: Links from unrelated websites confuse search engines and make your content appear less credible. For example, a mental health site linking to a car dealership’s blog doesn’t make sense.
- Paid or artificial links: Backlinks purchased from link farms or built using manipulative schemes (like excessive link exchanges) violate search engine guidelines and can lead to penalties.
- From sites with poor domain authority: Links from websites that barely have an audience or rank poorly themselves don’t provide any meaningful SEO benefit.
- Over-optimized anchor text: If the clickable text is stuffed with exact-match keywords, search engines may view it as an attempt to manipulate rankings.
- Mismatched keyword intent: Using keywords that don’t match the user’s intent can confuse search engines and users, as it doesn’t fit where they are in the funnel.
- From unrelated or random directories: Being listed in low-value directories not relevant to your industry or audience can make your link profile look suspicious.
- From sites flagged by Google: Links from sites that have been penalized or deindexed by Google will hurt your reputation instead of helping.
- Too many links from one source: Having lots of backlinks from the same site looks unnatural and provides diminishing returns for SEO.
How Important Are Backlinks Compared to Other SEO Tasks?
Backlinks are like the icing on the SEO cake. The cake itself is:
- Your content (the most important thing),
- Your website’s performance and structure, and
- Making sure people can find what they need easily.
If you’re already keeping up with these tasks and conducting regular SEO maintenance, then yes, you should spend some time on backlinks. But if you’re stretched thin, focus on improving your site and content first because those efforts will pay off the most in the long run.
How to Prioritize Tactics in Your SEO Strategy
Backlinks are important, but they’re just one part of a larger SEO picture. Content quality, site performance, keyword optimization, and audience engagement all work together to improve your rankings.
If you’re managing SEO on your own, focus on these broader elements first. Once those are in place, consider allocating time to natural backlink-building as a complement to your efforts.
Focus on Creating High-Quality Content
The foundation of good SEO is still creating content that’s valuable and relevant to your audience. Backlinks happen naturally when your content provides something others want to share, like useful tips, original research, or engaging stories. Prioritize quality over quantity when creating content for SEO — in-depth, well-researched pieces that answer common questions or solve problems in your industry, posted on a regular, consistent basis. The better your content, the more likely others will want to link to it.
Optimize Your Website for User Experience
Search engines reward websites that provide a great user experience. Ensure your site is fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate. This doesn’t just help with rankings—it also makes people more likely to trust and link to your site. A polished, professional website is much more likely to attract high-quality backlinks than one that looks outdated or cluttered.
Build Backlinks Naturally as a Bonus
While backlinks aren’t the only factor in SEO anymore, they’re still worth pursuing when you have the time. Share your content on social media, engage with others in your industry, and build relationships with bloggers or influencers who might link to your content. These organic efforts help you earn backlinks and establish your site as a trusted resource within your niche.
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
Aim for quality links from authoritative and relevant websites instead of focusing on how many backlinks you can get. For example, a single link from a respected industry publication can do far more for your rankings than dozens of links from low-quality sites. Think of backlinks as a reflection of your site’s reputation: earning them should be about trust, not numbers.
Take a Holistic Approach to SEO
With so many components to manage in SEO, it can feel like a lot to handle alone. At Astute Communications, we offer full-service SEO support to ensure all aspects of your strategy work together to boost your site’s performance.
From on-page optimization to technical maintenance, we’ll handle it all so you can focus on growing your business. Contact us today to learn more!