What 15 Types of Backlinks in SEO are Needed Right Now 2025

I trust you’ve read the following advice on marketing blogs, in some form or other types of backlinks in SEO.

“In the changing SEO landscape, you need just to publish high-quality content to earn links. Link building is diminishing in significance.”

It’s not the most practical advice.

Ask any business owner or marketer, and they will always want backlinks. They are such as endorsements that can give your business an edge over your competitors and make your website more credible.

First, backlinks remain a crucial quality ranking signal for search engines. In a study of 27,000 competitive keywords, Moz found that almost all web pages with high page rank had an external, high-quality link pointing at them.

Unfortunately, not all backlinks have a positive impact on a site Only a few businesses can acquire the links that work and place them higher in SERPs for competitive keywords.

Link building is tricky and you need to have a clear understanding of different types of backlinks in SEO to avoid any mistake or penalty.

Table of Contents

What Are Backlinks in SEO?

Backlinks are considered votes for your site compared to other sites. Many votes tell search engines that this content is worth reading, useful, and credible.

As a result, the more votes you have, the higher your website will rank in Google and other search engines. Introducing backlinks in a search engine’s algorithm is an older concept.

The original Google algorithm called PageRank was founded using the backlinks. However, Google made several changes in its algorithm after. Backlinks still flourish and continue to be a crucial ranking factor. Backlinks are still considered one of Google’s three necessary search engine ranking factors, along with ‘rankbrain’ and ‘content’.

Types of backlinks in SEO, All backlinks are not created equal. Quality backlinks are administered to put a top rank in SERPs. A single high-quality backlink can outperform 100 low-quality backlinks. As it turns out, the same characteristics are exhibited by top-quality backlinks.

Why Are Backlinks Important?

Now, you know the answer to the question – What are backlinks in SEO?It is important to understand why they are crucial before incorporating them into your optimization strategy.

Backlinks serve as valuable votes from other sites that tell the search engines that your content is helpful, credible, and useful.

Hence, the toper the number of these “votes” you manage, the topper your website will rank in Google, Bing, and other search engines.

Websites with More Backlinks Rank Top on Google

The concept of using links isn’t fresh. It has since the foundation of Google’s original algorithm, PageRank. Despite many years and innumerable changes made to the algorithm in those years, backlinks continue to hold their significance as a crucial ranking signal.

Google confirms that backlinks are amongst their three most important search engine ranking factors.

When other businesses endorse your content, Google takes notice. When several sites link to a particular webpage/website, search engines get to know that the page/ website is worth linking to and surfacing on a SERP. Hence, earning backlinks can positively affect your site’s ranking or search visibility.

What are Dofollow Backlinks?

Backlinks that move authority or “link juice” from one webpage to another are called do-follow links. It tells search engines to follow the link and consider it a vote of confidence for the linked site.

Dofollow backlinks are the most valuable types of backlinks in SEO because they contribute to a site’s domain authority and increase its search engine rankings.

What are Nofollow Backlinks?

A nofollow backlink is a link that does not pass any link juice or authority from one site to another. The nofollow attribute tells search engines not to follow the link or count it as a vote of confidence for the linked site.

Nofollow links were created to combat spam and low-quality links. While nofollow links do not directly contribute to the SEO of a site, they can still drive traffic and increase visibility.

Now, let’s a look at the different types of backlinks in SEO you must be aware of to create a successful link-building strategy.

15 Best Types of Backlinks in SEO

We have listed 15 types of backlinks in SEO, each with its pros and cons. As you start building links, you must understand each of them clearly.

1. Editorial Backlinks

Editorial descriptions containing links to your website and embedded inside relevant, high-quality material are the perfect backlinks.

As a general rule, editorial backlinks are formed when your content (such as an article or infographic) is mentioned as the source of certain information, a business representative is quoted, or your website is featured in a link roundup on a certain topic.

To acquire editorial backlinks, generate evergreen content that establishes your position as a leader, establishing your website and brand as a go-to destination for interviews and industry expertise. Craft easy-to-read and captivating content that has the potential to go viral.

You can gain these links using services that connect experts and journalists, like HaB2BW and HARO. Your idea must be unique and backed by data so that it can seek a place in leading publications.

2. Guest Post Backlinks

Guest posts are a source of authority backlinks and a core ranking factor in the SEO community. You acquire these links by creating and publishing useful high-quality content on third-party websites within your industry.

Guest posts can be unpaid or paid, depending on the agreement between the site publishing the content and acquiring a link. These links are a reliable and integral part of any link-building strategy because they not only influence your search engine rankings but also drive referral traffic. Moreover, they make your website more credible and relevant within your niche.

Don’t select random websites to increase the number of guest posts and links. Choose only reputable guest posting websites that accept only well-researched content.

3. Organic Backlink

Organic links are placed naturally as somebody finds your content worth linking to. The person may think your content is beneficial for his visitors, including value to their website and offering valuable information to the audience.

Google considers these types of backlinks in SEO as a vote in favor of your post. Hence, these links must be organic and unpaid. Develop informational and quality content to increase the chances of gaining these links.

Search engines prefer organic or natural links, hence ensure you read all the guidelines related to them.

4. Links from Forums and Comments

In forum platforms, people discuss a certain topic and share forum knowledge. Those channels can help you build links, but you must place your links to educate people and offer information as an industry expert. If you focus on increasing the number of links via forums, you will lack quality, which can adversely impact your SEO.

Commenting under blogs and articles is a popular way to build links. They are easy to acquire but are considered irrelevant and low quality. However, search engines don’t consider them while assessing the credibility of a website because they know about comment spam and treat these links with caution.

5. Press Release Backlinks

If you want to pitch news or make an announcement, the press release is a great option. It helps you tell people about your business and the latest updates, like an upcoming event, product launch, or exciting deals.

Along with publishing the news on your website, you post it on the relevant platforms so it reaches wider people faster. Your business can gain exceptional brand exposure and improve your SEO efforts if you use it strategically and wisely.

Many companies prefer these links to inform the target audience about current events or activities and get attention for the brand. Press releases on other websites are a sure-shot way to acquire links from reliable sources, especially from content that is all about your business.

The anchor texts for these links should be branded, CTAs, or natural-looking.

6. Acknowledgment Backlinks

A business can build acknowledgment links by sponsoring an event, making a donation, giving away gifts, or addressing the audience via speech.

These types of link-building in SEO are great for companies that need to interact with the audience directly. To create these links track your competitors to learn about the events they are participating in, seek the source of their links, and create your strategy to make the greatest of every opportunity.

7. Testimonial Backlinks

These links are earned via customer reviews or testimonials about services or products.

Businesses encourage customers to share their experiences and feedback on different platforms and link to their sites or social media profiles. This includes credibility to their brand and boosts sales.

8. Links from Images

As the name suggests, these links are included within images and redirect users to a site or site. Images can be in graphs, infographics, product pictures, maps, or visual examples.

Webpages with images are likely to earn 555% quality backlinks. Find out which pages use your images without giving credit. You can claim your link by contacting the webmaster. You can make pictures more discoverable via image optimization, which involves using quality and original images with descriptive file names and alt tags.

9. Links from Directories

You can acquire directory backlinks by submitting your site to local directories or business listings. Businesses with leader bag stores generally use these types of backlinks in SEO to improve their local SEO effort and drive people to their physical stores.

Google often refrains sites and businesses from mass submission to local directories. Also, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create these links. Focus on linking from top-quality and reputable directories relevant to your business to make links count.

Make sure that your business information, adding the business name, address, and content details, is consistent across all listings as Google is quite strict about this.

10. Influencer-generated Backlinks

Influencers are famous personalities with a large following audience on their social media profiles. The audience trusts them and their recommendations. Your brand can gain popularity and influence buying decisions.

Businesses collaborate with influencers relevant to their industry to get links to their site or social media page. Google considers these links a vote of confidence from a credible and reputed source.

In addition, influence-generated links are aligned with the E-E-A-T algorithm. You can connect with influencers in your industry and request them to review or recommend your brand. They can post an image or video or run a contest on their page and link the post to your website.

11. Footer Links

The footer is the section at the bottom of a site. It is here that businesses place their links, which appear on every web page.

Companies use the footer section to include partner or customer backlinks. These are internal links that are important to the website, enabling visitors to navigate and seek required information without hassle. They can be external links, like including a link to the company’s website that designed your office or website.

Google meticulously evaluates footer links, making sure that sites, prioritize users by providing useful or valuable links. Hence, don’t build these links only for SEO purposes.

12. Paid Links

Paid links are those for you to pay money to a third-party site for a do-follow link. According to a survey, around 74% of sites pay to create links, spending an average of $83 for each link. No matter what the numbers say, paid links are considered a black-hat SEO strategy, hence, Google views them as a violation of search engine policies and can even penalize the website.

They are an old and commonly used types of backlinks in SEO digital marketing that might be against Google algorithm. Despite agreeing that paid links are not well, many businesses and marketers pay for guest posts and editorial links. However, some quality links from top sites are worth paying for. For instance, paying for guest posts on a reputable website is acceptable, but you can’t get a link from a private blog.

Many SEO professionals and marketers ruin their backlink profiles by acquiring numerous paid links from irrelevant websites. Hence, it’s always good to check the page and domain authority of a website before you create a link.

13. Badge Backlinks

Badges are symbols of brand appreciation and recognition for industry experts. Getting a badge is a proud moment for business. Badge backlinks are a unique link-building tactic you earn when another website awards you for your work via a digital emblem or badge, linking it back to your website.

These badges can display certifications, achievements, partnerships, or contributions. Whenever you distribute your badge to a site, it will place it on their page. Since badges are a noticeable element on a website, they drive traffic and clicks, bringing more audience to your website. However, it will help you win the trust of people.

14. PBN Backlinks

Private Blog Network backlinks come from an inauthentic network of interlinked blogs or sites owned by a single pillar page.

These links are not used much today because they are completely against Google’s guidelines. Also, some websites still use it with the primary goal of increasing their site’s authority.

PageRank is known to be manipulated by PBN backlinks. So, it is recommended that these links be avoided. If Google discovers such a link, it can penalize your website or never consider it for search engine results.

15. Free Tool Backlinks

When you offer a free tool to anyone in your niche, you can ask them to promote it on their website and include your link. It’s such a recommendation or compliment for your tool. These types of backlinks in off-page SEO can have a good impact on your SEO efforts, spreading the word about your tool and enticing audiences to try it.

To bring more prospects, this free tool must be the basic version of the premium one. Add a CTA to enable visitors to try it and buy the paid version.

How to Analyze Backlinks?

Analyzing backlinks is a crucial aspect of SEO. It helps to identify the quantity and quality of backlinks to a website. Several tools can be used to analyze backlinks, adding AHrefs, SEMrush, and Moz. These tools provide insights into the number of backlinks, the domain authority of the linking sites, and the anchor text used in the backlinks.

What Types of Backlinks in SEO Are Valuable?

Amongst the various types of backlinks in SEO, some hold more value than others. The goal should be to build quality backlinks. One quality backlink is more powerful than thousands of low-quality backlinks. Following are a few examples of types of backlinks in SEO that are valuable:

Backlinks Coming from Trusted, Authoritative Sites

The concept of Domain Authority applies to sites, such that websites with more authority can pass on more valuable links to your website (via a link).

You will be able to notice a boost in your organic search engine traffic once you get a backlink from a higher domain authority site.

However these links are hard to get, but they are worth it.

The link’s Anchor Text adds your Target Keywords

An anchor text is the text part of a link that the readers will read. Hence, links with anchor texts that add your target keyword can be crucial for your growth. According to Aherfs, there is a proper correlation between anchor texts with keywords and top rankings for that keyword.

It is crucial to understand that going overboard with keyword-rich anchor text can stimulate action from the Google filter in Google Penguin. It filters out sites employing black-hat link-building strategies.

A Relevant Website Links to Yours

Google bots are smarter than you can think. Hence, when a site links to another, they check whether the two websites are related. Suppose you published a post about the great universities in the US. Google will put value links from websites about education, universities, and scholarships rather than websites about health diseases, fitness, or fishing.

It is the “Dofollow” Link

Google and other search engines ignore links with the “no follow” tag. While most links have do-follow tags, a few examples of links from the sources that tend to be no-follow are:

Blog comments
Paid advertisements
Press releases

Links From the Domain That Haven’t Previously Linked to You

Consider the case where you receive a link from website A.

Then, let’s repeat website A links to you. Will the second, and third links continue to be as powerful as the first?

No.

The value of links from the same domain diminishes returns. Hence, it is good to get ten links from 10 different websites instead of 100 links from the same site.

Hence, leverage the power of the right backlinks and watch your website grow.

Final Thought: Types of Backlinks in SEO

Backlinks have always been crucial and integral to SEO. However, it’s significant to prioritize quality backlinks rather than acquiring low-quality and irrelevant links from numerous websites. Create a meticulous link-building strategy to gain backlinks from higher websites without compromising quality.