Types of Backlinks: The Must-Knows and The Nice-to-Haves

Backlinks play a major role in SEO, but not all links offer the same value. Some are essential for strong rankings, while others provide indirect benefits or minimal impact.

Editorial and contextual backlinks from high-authority sources have the most influence, while social signals, directory listings, and brand mentions can support visibility and engagement. On the other hand, low-quality or manipulative links, such as link farms and spammy profiles, can harm rankings.

A well-balanced backlink strategy focuses on earning natural, high-quality links that search engines trust. Understanding which backlinks matter most will help you build a stronger, penalty-free SEO foundation.

What are backlinks and why are they critical for SEO success?

Backlinks are hyperlinks pointing from one website to another. These incoming links demonstrate that other websites consider your content valuable enough to reference, which influences your domain authority and search rankings.

High-quality backlinks from authoritative websites transfer ranking power and credibility, while low-quality links from suspicious sources can negatively impact SEO performance.

How do search engines use backlinks to determine rankings?

Search engines analyze multiple backlink characteristics including the linking domain’s trustworthiness, content relationship, anchor text optimization, and contextual placement.

Links from high-authority and niche-relevant sites carry more weight, while poor-quality links can harm rankings. Contextual placement within content, natural anchor text distribution, and steady link acquisition signal credibility.

Dofollow links pass ranking power, whereas nofollow links provide indirect benefits. Search engines also consider user engagement, social signals, and referral traffic to assess link value.

What mix of backlink types should you aim for?

A well-balanced backlink profile should include a mix of editorial links, guest posts, social signals, directory listings, and brand mentions.

Editorial links are the most valuable as they come from authoritative sources and signal credibility to search engines. Guest posts allow for strategic backlink placement on niche-relevant sites, helping to build authority.

Social signals drive engagement and referral traffic to your website, indirectly influencing rankings. Directory listings enhance local SEO and provide foundational backlinks. Brand mentions increase awareness and trust, with the potential to be converted into active links over time.

The recommended mix includes:

Signal Boy’s ‘Viral Traffic’ service can help you enhance social signals by generating real social engagement, directing traffic to your website in large volume which increases the chance of getting quality backlinks.

How frequently should you acquire new backlinks?

Most websites benefit from gaining 2-5 quality backlinks monthly. When acquiring new backlinks, you should prioritize quality over quantity, focusing on getting high-authority links.

For a natural and sustainable SEO strategy, gradually acquire backlinks over an extended period, such as weeks or months, and align this process with your ongoing content creation efforts.

Signal Boy’s drip-fed social signal delivery across 3-5 days supports natural growth while increasing visibility through real user engagement.

What are types of backlinks?

Backlinks exist in several distinct categories including dofollow links that transfer ranking authority, nofollow links that drive referral traffic, editorial links earned through valuable content, and non-editorial links from directories and social platforms.

Understanding these variations enables creation of a balanced link building strategy utilizing multiple acquisition methods.

How do dofollow and nofollow backlinks work?

Dofollow links pass PageRank and authority, directly improving search rankings. They are commonly found in editorial content, resource pages, and guest posts. These links help search engines recognize the credibility of the destination page.

Nofollow links do not pass ranking power but still drive referral traffic and enhance brand visibility. They are often used in paid ads, blog comments, forums, and social media links to prevent spam.

Differences between the two are:

What’s the difference between natural and artificial backlinks?

Natural backlinks are earned organically when websites voluntarily link to valuable content. They develop through content excellence and genuine user interest, creating sustainable ranking signals that search engines favor.

Artificial backlinks result from intentional link-building efforts like guest posting and outreach. While some artificial links are beneficial, excessive use of spammy tactics can lead to penalties.

Key differentiating factors are:

How do editorial and non-editorial backlinks compare?

Editorial backlinks represent voluntary citations from content publishers who independently choose to reference a website, while non-editorial backlinks come from automated or self-created sources.

Editorial backlinks provide strong SEO value, diverse anchor text, and are embedded within relevant content. Non-editorial backlinks are self-created through strategies like guest posting, directories, or forums. While some can be beneficial, overuse of low-quality sources may trigger search engine penalties.

Distinguishing characteristics include:

Which backlink types deliver the most SEO value?

A well-balanced backlink strategy incorporates authoritative, niche-relevant, and naturally earned links to maximize search engine trust.

High-value backlinks, such as editorial and contextual links, contribute significantly to search rankings, while social signals and resource page links enhance visibility and credibility.

1. Editorial backlinks from authority websites

Editorial backlinks are the most powerful because they are earned naturally from high-authority websites. These links come from trusted publishers, blogs, or industry-leading platforms that reference your content without solicitation.

Why editorial backlinks matter:

• Earned naturally, providing maximum SEO value.
• Come from trusted, high-authority domains.
• Indicate content quality and credibility to search engines.

2. Contextual backlinks within relevant content

Contextual backlinks appear within the body of relevant, high-quality content. These links provide clear topical relevance and help search engines establish content relationships.

Why contextual backlinks matter:

• Naturally blend into relevant content, improving SEO value.
• Search engines recognize the surrounding text for context.
• Higher click-through rates (CTR) from engaged users.

3. Social signals and viral traffic backlinks

Social signals, such as shares, likes, and mentions, help validate content quality. While these links do not directly pass PageRank, these social engagement bring referral traffic to the target website hence getting the attention of the search engines indirectly.

Why social signals matter:

• Drive referral traffic and engagement.
• Improve content visibility, leading to more organic backlinks.
• Build brand authority and credibility.

Signal Boy can enhance your SEO efforts by delivering real social signals through manually generated organic traffic.

4. Resource page backlinks

Resource pages curate useful industry-specific links, making them highly trusted by search engines. A link from a well-maintained resource page enhances domain authority.

Why resource page backlinks matter:

• Found on high-authority, topic-focused pages.
• Provide long-term link stability.
• Often updated, ensuring relevance and trust.

5. Guest post backlinks

Guest posts allow strategic link placement on high-quality sites within the same niche. While manually built, these links add value when done properly.

Why guest post backlinks matter:

• Allow authoritative placements within industry-related content.
• Help establish subject matter expertise.
• Strengthen brand visibility and credibility.

What backlink types should you avoid?

Harmful backlink types include automated link schemes, low-quality networks, and manipulative tactics that violate search engine guidelines. These toxic backlinks risk algorithmic penalties and manual actions that can severely impact search visibility.

How can you identify toxic backlinks?

Toxic backlinks can be identified as:

• Spammy, low-quality, or irrelevant websites should be avoided.
• Paid links and link farms violate search engine guidelines and often result in penalties.
• Over-optimized anchor text links with excessive keywords appear unnatural and may be devalued.
• Forum, blog comment, and profile links carry minimal SEO value and are frequently flagged as spam.
• Foreign or irrelevant backlinks weaken topical relevance.

Do search engines penalize bad backlinks?

Search engines penalize bad backlinks when they detect spammy, manipulative, or unnatural link patterns

These penalties come in the form of:

• Algorithmic penalties (Google Penguin) automatically devalue unnatural links, reducing rankings.
• Manual penalties are issued when Google’s review team detects link violations, such as paid links, link farms, and PBNs.

What are proven strategies for earning quality backlinks?

Proven strategies for earning quality backlinks involve producing high-value content, forming relationships with reputable publishers, leveraging social platforms for increased visibility, and consistently engaging in targeted outreach.

Our guideline to get the optimal backlinks for your website is summarised below: