Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A Brief History and the Role of Backlinks
SEO emerged as a critical factor from the moment search engines were first introduced, quickly becoming indispensable in the early stages of the internet (Google’s History of Search ). It became apparent early on that websites ranking higher in search engine results would attract more traffic, generate more users, and ultimately boost their business prospects.
As we soon learned, that early surge in traffic was crucial for maintaining competitiveness in the market.
However, back then, search engines were much less advanced than they are today. To appreciate how far we’ve come, let’s take a quick journey back in time.
In the early days of SEO, keywords were the cornerstone of optimization. The more keywords a website could incorporate—especially high-quality, relevant ones—the higher its chances of securing a prime spot in search engine rankings. From a modern perspective, this was an easy loophole to exploit. Many marketers used black-hat techniques, like stuffing pages with keywords or even hiding invisible text with keyword-laden nonsense.
This led to a fierce competition between search engines, which wanted to deliver relevant results to users, and website owners, who were desperate to boost their rankings.
The game started to change when a groundbreaking concept called PageRank came into play. This early algorithm, developed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in the late 1990s, sought to offer a more sophisticated way of ranking websites. They recognized that search engines were being abused by black-hat SEO tactics, so they developed PageRank to assess websites based on more than just keyword frequency.
Rather than solely focusing on keywords, Google’s PageRank algorithm introduced the concept of backlinks.
The Role of Backlinks in SEO
Before diving into how backlinks function, let’s first clarify what they are. A backlink is a hyperlink from one website that points to another (Moz’s Beginner’s Guide ). Also known as an inbound link, backlinks serve as a valuable metric for search engine algorithms in determining a website’s authority and relevance within its field. When one site links to another, search engines interpret this as a form of trust—a “vote” for the credibility of the linked page.
For instance, imagine that the BBC publishes a major story. This article quickly spreads across social media, blogs, and other news outlets. These secondary sources will likely cite the BBC article, linking to it as the original and most reliable source.
When you search for information on this story, it’s likely that the BBC’s article will appear at the top of the search results—not just because it’s the first published piece, but because it has garnered numerous backlinks from reputable sources.
How Backlinks Influence Search Rankings?
Think of backlinks as word-of-mouth recommendations, except they come from the internet. Suppose you move to a new town and ask locals for the best burger joint. If everyone recommends Rowdy’s, you’d be confident that their burger is worth trying. In SEO terms, the more websites (or people) that link to Rowdy’s website, the more authoritative it becomes in the eyes of search engines.
This is how backlinks help search engines gauge which websites are “expert, authoritative, and trustworthy”—often referred to as EAT. These three qualities—expertise, authority, and trustworthiness—have become central to the algorithms that determine search rankings.
Your goal as a website owner (or SEO professional) is to meet these EAT standards, and backlinks play a pivotal role in helping you achieve this.
Natural Linking: A Key to Quality SEO
Could backlinks be as easily manipulated as keyword stuffing once was? Perhaps in the past, but today’s search engine algorithms are far more advanced and nuanced. Not all links are equal. A site’s EAT value is determined by far more than just the number of inbound links. High-EAT sites often have more influence because their outbound links (links they provide to other sites) carry greater weight.
Let’s say you publish an incredible cake recipe that catches the attention of the BBC. If they link to your site, the authority of the BBC—thanks to its high EAT rating—will significantly boost your own website’s EAT score. As more sites pick up the story and link back to both the BBC and your recipe, your site’s authority and visibility continue to grow.
Link Juice: Understanding the Weight of Backlinks
In SEO circles, we often refer to “link juice” when discussing the value passed through backlinks (Google’s SEO Starter Guide ). This “juice” isn’t just about the number of backlinks a website has; it’s about the quality of those links. Links from authoritative sources carry more weight and are more likely to boost your site’s ranking.
So, how do you pass link juice? One of the most effective strategies for improving your site’s reputation and search ranking is to encourage natural backlinks. This can be achieved by creating content that others find valuable enough to link to, as well as strategically linking to reputable sites within your own content. When your site links to high-EAT websites, you pass along some of your own link juice, enhancing the credibility of those sites. In turn, when these sites link back to you, it strengthens your web of reputation and boosts your rankings.
Building Your Reputation Web
A strong SEO strategy isn’t just about creating content and waiting for backlinks to come in Ahrefs Blog on Building Backlinks. It’s also about actively engaging with other relevant websites, blogs, and platforms within your industry. This proactive outreach helps establish your site as an authoritative and trusted resource, improving its overall EAT score.
By establishing these connections and nurturing relationships with high-authority sites, you can build a reputation web that will continue to grow and attract more traffic, even as you add new content.
Conclusion: Backlinks as a Fundamental SEO Pillar
Backlinks remain one of the most important factors in SEO, but it’s essential to approach them ethically in accordance with (Google’s Webmasters Guidelines). The focus should be on building high-quality, natural backlinks from reputable sites that are aligned with your content and industry. The goal is to work with search engine algorithms, not to try to outsmart them, by cultivating an ecosystem of trust, authority, and expertise.
In SEO, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness are the key ingredients for building a strong, reputable presence online. And while backlinks will continue to play a central role in this process, ensuring they’re authentic and valuable is what will keep your site competitive in the long term.
