How to Identify High-Quality Backlinks

Alright, let’s clear something up. What exactly makes a backlink "high-quality"?

It’s not about having just any link pointing to your site. The real value comes from relevant, dofollow links from sites that already have traffic and rank for important keywords.

Why does that matter?

When a trusted site links to you, it signals to Google that your site is worth paying attention to. It's like they’re saying, “This page has something valuable.”

That’s the kind of link you’re after. One that shows Google you’re a reliable resource in your industry. Such backlinks build authority and help you climb the rankings. Without them, you might as well be spinning your wheels.

The more quality links you have, the better your chances of climbing the search results.

However, you can’t just throw your link onto random sites. You need links from trusted, authoritative sources to make a real impact.

Getting these backlinks isn’t always easy, but don’t worry—I’ve got some cool tips lined up to help you identify high-quality links the right way 😉

What Makes a Backlink Quality?

The difference between a high-quality backlink and a random one can have a major impact on your site’s SEO.

So, what exactly makes a backlink “high quality”?

Take a look at a few key factors below.

✅ Authority of the Linking Site

The site that links to you matters—a lot. When a high-authority site vouches for you, Google notices, and that can give your rankings a good lift.

Now, in every industry, there are only a few sites like that, with real authority. I call these foundation links. They’re the ones that make a noticeable difference in your overall backlink profile. If you can snag a backlink from one of them, you’re in great shape.

Take HubSpot, for example.

A backlink from their article "10 Creative (But 100% White Hat!) Ways to Earn Backlinks in 2024" would carry some serious weight.

HubSpot is a trusted name in marketing, so a link from them holds far more value than something from a smaller blog with minimal traffic.

Also, a link from a site like Forbes or TechCrunch can push your site’s SEO up way more than a link from a small, low-traffic blog.

✅ Relevance of the Source

Relevance is always a priority.

In our recent survey of 113 SEO experts, 84.6% said that link relevance is the top factor for judging a backlink’s quality.

A link from a site in your field is way more valuable than one from a completely unrelated site. For example, if you’re writing about SEO, a link from an SEO blog makes sense—unlike a random link from a pet grooming site.

Same thing if you’re running a fitness blog: getting a link from a big health or nutrition site will do more for you than one from a tech blog.

✅ Links Have to Be Earned, Not Bought

Good backlinks aren’t something you can buy—they have to be earned.

Real, high-quality links are built organically through valuable content, not by using shady black-hat tactics. I firmly believe that a genuine backlink is one you get because your content is worth linking to, not because you paid for it.

Getting back to our survey of 100+ top SEO experts. This State of Link Building 2024 report is a valuable resource that helped us earn a quality link from siegemedia.com, an organic growth agency that’s actually our competitor.

That’s the power of linkable assets—content so useful, even your competitors might link to it 😉

💡 Pro tip: Focus on making your content valuable to users. If your content provides real value, backlinks will follow.

✅ Anchor Text

The words that link to your page—known as anchor text—make a big difference in how valuable the backlink is.

When the anchor text is relevant and includes keywords related to your page, it tells Google what your content is about.

For example, if your page is about "link building tools," getting a link from a high-traffic site like HubSpot, with exact match anchor text (or something like "top link building software"), is way more useful than something vague like "click here."

Plus, such a backlink would provide much more value than one from an unknown personal blog with little to no traffic.

Just don’t overdo it with too many keywords—Google might see that as keyword stuffing.

✅ Placement of the Link

Where the link appears on the page also matters.

A backlink that’s naturally embedded within the main content is much more valuable than one stuck in the footer or sidebar. This is because links placed in the core content are more likely to be clicked and seen as more genuine endorsements by Google.

A link to your site within the body of an article is worth more than one at the bottom of the page or in the comments section.

✅ Link Type: Dofollow vs. Nofollow

A dofollow link passes on link juice (or “link equity”) to your site, while a nofollow link does not.

While nofollow links aren’t completely useless (they can still bring in traffic), dofollow links are the ones you need because they directly impact SEO. That’s why I consider them high-quality backlinks.

Here’s an example of a dofollow link:

This link leads to our site from encharge.io, a marketing automation platform for B2B SaaS:

And here’s what the same link looks like in the HTML code:

Basically, a typical dofollow link would look something like this:

<a href="https://website.com/best-link-building-tools/”>link-building tool</a>

Note that there's no "rel='dofollow'" attribute in the code. That’s because it doesn’t really exist at all. However, it's still there by default. And that’s why such a link is rated by Google as a “vote of trust.”

And here’s one from Buzzstream:

A dofollow link from a trusted website within your industry would have a greater impact on your rankings than a nofollow link from the same blog.

How can you tell if a link is dofollow?

By inspecting its code straight on the page. If it’s <a href only and the rel=”nofollow” attribute is not there, it’s a 100% dofollow link.

✅ Links Come From Pages With Traffic

Can a link from a page with no traffic be considered high-quality?

Mostly, nope.

When evaluating a site, you want to make sure it’s getting consistent traffic—not just random spikes, but steady, positive growth. The traffic should also come from the right geographic region (GEO) to be relevant.

A site that gets regular, relevant traffic is a strong signal that it's trusted by users and Google alike.

And what about the page itself, where the link is coming from?

The page needs to be active, meaning it should get its own regular traffic. If it consistently gets visitors, this tells Google the content is truly worth attention.

Take this page from GetProspect, for example:

It links to Editorial.Link and gets 2.3K monthly visitors. That’s the kind of page you want a backlink from—one with real traffic, not a ghost page sitting unnoticed.

✅ Internal Links to the Page

A good backlink that works isn't just about the page itself. It’s also about how connected that page is internally.

This matters a lot because pages with lots of internal links tend to carry more weight. The more connections a page has within the site, the more valuable it looks to Google.

Thus, when you’re chasing a backlink, check if the page it’s coming from is well-connected within the site.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it!

In 2024, just like before, high-quality backlinks come only from trusted, relevant sites that people visit. A link from a well-known, authoritative site in your niche is far more valuable than one from a random blog.

Where the link appears on the page matters, too. A link in the main content is more powerful than one buried in the footer. Also, look for dofollow links—they pass real value to your site.

Finally, make sure the site linking to you has its own solid backlinks and consistent traffic. If nobody’s visiting their page, the link won’t help much.