A backlink is a hyperlink from one website to another. When site A links to site B, that's a backlink for site B. Search engines treat each backlink as a vote of confidence - Google's original PageRank algorithm ranked pages largely by who linked to them.
Backlinks still matter in 2026, but they matter less than they did and they matter differently than most SEO advice claims. This guide covers what they actually do, what makes a good one, and how to get them as a founder without falling into the spam ecosystem.
Why backlinks matter
Three things backlinks do for SEO:
1. Pass authority signals. A link from the New York Times tells Google "this site is credible enough that NYT pointed to it." A link from a random low-quality blog passes much less. The authority of the linking site (its own domain rating) determines how much "vote" the link carries.
2. Help with discovery. Bots find new pages by following links. A site with no backlinks at all takes longer to get indexed.
3. Drive referral traffic. Sometimes ignored, but the best backlinks deliver real visitors who click the link. A link in a popular newsletter or a top podcast's show notes drives traffic regardless of SEO impact.
For new sites, the third effect (referral traffic) often beats the first (SEO authority) in the first year. A backlink from a relevant niche newsletter sends real prospects, not just an SEO boost.
What makes a good backlink
The vast majority of backlinks have near-zero SEO value. The good ones have most of these properties:
Relevance. A backlink from a site about your topic is worth more than one from an unrelated site. A SaaS-focused publication linking to your SaaS is gold. A general directory linking to your SaaS is meh.
Authority of the linking site. Higher domain rating = stronger vote. The backlink checker shows you any domain's rating.
Editorial vs. submitted. A link earned through editorial coverage (someone wrote about you) is worth more than a link from a directory submission you filled out.
dofollow vs nofollow. "Nofollow" links don't pass SEO authority directly, though they still drive referral traffic and signal interest. Most legitimate links from reputable sites are dofollow by default; nofollow is common in user-generated content (comments, forums).
Anchor text. The clickable text of the link. Descriptive anchor text ("the leading CRM for solo consultants") is worth more than generic ("click here"). Over-optimization (every backlink uses your exact target keyword) is a red flag.
Position on the page. Links in the main content body are worth more than links in footers or sidebars.
The honest version: most backlinks check 1-2 of these boxes and contribute marginally. The links that move rankings check 4-5.
How many backlinks do you need to rank?
Depends on the keyword's difficulty. Rough guidelines:
- Long-tail keywords (10-100 monthly searches): 0-5 backlinks. Most indie SaaS SEO targets this range - backlinks barely matter here.
- Mid-volume keywords (500-5,000 monthly searches): 20-50 referring domains.
- High-volume keywords (10K+ monthly searches): 100+ referring domains.
- Competitive head terms: hundreds of referring domains, plus content depth, plus topical authority.
For most indie sites, the strategy is to target long-tail keywords first (where backlinks matter least), build authority gradually, then take on mid-volume keywords once the domain has 50-100 referring domains.
What to do (and not do) to get backlinks
Things that work
Build linkable assets. Free tools, original research, calculators, definitive guides. Things journalists, bloggers, and users naturally cite. Our free SEO tools exist partly for this reason - they earn backlinks because they're useful.
Show up where your audience is. Podcasts, conferences, communities. Most podcasts add the guest's site to show notes - that's a real backlink that also drives traffic.
Be useful in public. Detailed tutorials, public learnings, "how I built X" posts. People share them voluntarily.
Get cited in industry publications. If you have an opinion on your industry, pitch journalists. The "smart take on a niche topic" beat is one of the easiest ways to earn editorial coverage.
Update broken links. Find pages on relevant sites that link to dead URLs, suggest your relevant page as a replacement. Tedious but effective.
Build a tool other sites integrate with. A free embed (calculator, badge, widget) generates links every time it's installed. Long-term play but compounds.
Things to avoid
Buying backlinks. Bought-link networks are the #1 way sites get manually penalized by Google. The savings vs. legitimate outreach aren't worth the risk.
Guest posting on link farms. Cheap "we'll publish your post for $99" sites are usually flagged. Real guest posting on quality sites is fine; mass-paid placement isn't.
PBNs (private blog networks). Buying expired domains, putting up minimal content, linking to your money site. Used to work; now is a near-guaranteed manual action.
Comment spam. Posting "great article!" comments on blogs with your URL. Worthless and obvious.
Reciprocal link schemes. "I'll link to you if you link to me." Google explicitly bans excessive link exchanges.
Article submission directories. 90% of these are penalized or worthless. The ones that aren't are usually big news sites with editorial gatekeeping.
How to check your backlinks
Use the backlink checker to see total backlinks, referring domains, and spam score for any domain. The anchor text analyzer shows the most common anchor texts pointing at a domain - useful for spotting over-optimization.
For competitor analysis, look at where competitors are getting links from. Sites that link to multiple competitors in your space are likely candidates to also link to you. The link gap finder automates this.
Toxic backlinks: when to disavow
Sometimes you'll find your site has hundreds of links from spammy or low-quality sites - usually because someone tried to mess with you, or you've been listed on auto-aggregators.
When to disavow:
- 50+ links from the same low-quality network
- Sudden surge of links from unrelated industries
- Pattern of exact-match keyword anchors from random sites
- Manual action from Google citing unnatural links
When NOT to disavow:
- Random low-quality link here and there (Google ignores them automatically)
- Links from foreign-language sites (often legitimate)
- Old directories you don't remember submitting to (usually fine)
Most sites never need to disavow. If you do, Google's Disavow Tool in Search Console is the way.
How to think about backlinks as a founder
A useful mental model: don't optimize for backlinks. Optimize for things that naturally generate backlinks.
Build a free tool people use → backlinks happen. Write something insightful → other writers cite it. Be on a podcast → show notes link to you. Have a strong opinion → people argue about it on their blogs.
The founders who do well at backlinks long-term aren't the ones with link-building OKRs. They're the ones doing genuinely interesting work in public.
When to hire help
Backlinks are usually the last SEO problem worth hiring for. Order of operations: get on-page right, ship content, build domain authority through relevance, then worry about scaling backlinks past 100 referring domains.
If you're at that stage and want help, our consulting starts at $400 per project for backlink-heavy work. Book a 15-min call to scope.
What to do next
If you're earlier in SEO, What is SEO? is the broader entry point. If you're trying to figure out the SaaS-specific playbook, SaaS SEO strategy. If your topic fits programmatic SEO, What is programmatic SEO? covers the highest-compound move.