Backlinks have been an important factor in determining a website’s ranking for years now. Once upon a time, backlink quantity was the most important factor, but as times have changed, backlinks now have become all about quality over quantity.

A link that comes from a website that has high traffic and a lot of authority in its field is a quality backlink.

Google considers each backlink to be a vote for a website, and it’s important to know that not all websites receive the same number of votes. The website with more votes ranks higher, and thus see’s more visitors and more revenue and visibility for the brand over time.

So, if the two main aspects of backlink quality are authority and relevance, you need to be able to determine these factors to build links to the right websites.

Relevance matters, this is when the websites or pages you link to should be related to the page you’re sharing. If you sell cat products, for instance, you can look for opportunities for backlinking on cat blogs. Additionally, readers of a cat blog are more likely than readers of a gardening blog to click your link.

On the other hand, authority is important as backlinks from high-authority websites are of higher quality and then let you borrow some of this authority yourself. Traffic also has to be considered here, as not all high-authority pages have traffic.

So now that you know what makes a quality link, how do you get them? There are a few different ways to go about it.

1. Work With Link Building Experts
It’s understandable, life’s busy and marketing is complicated. If you’re struggling to stay on top of everything, working with an expert link-building company is a smart way to have peace of mind, and go back to doing what you do best.

2. Ask Guest Blog
High-quality backlinks can come from guest blogging opportunities. This allows your business to build a great backlink profile by inserting links where applicable and relevant.

3. Ask for Credit
Sometimes people mention your business without a link present. Make sure to keep on top of where you’re being mentioned and request them to add a link. This is the most cost-effective way to get some backlinks for free.

4. Create Shareable Content
When you make eye catching visual content such as infographics, or images, there is a likelihood that these will be shared, and along with that share, you may also get a link.

5. Publish Research
Another way in which people can share your content is by publishing original research. This does take a lot of time and effort and requires you to have the capacity to do this, but it is still a great option for some industries.