If you have read anything about SEO, you have encountered the word “backlinks.” They are consistently described as one of the most important ranking factors in Google’s algorithm — and that description is accurate. But what backlinks actually are, why they matter, and how to build them legitimately is less clearly explained than the assertion of their importance. This post works through all three.
I am L.K. Monu Borkala, founder of OneCity Technologies in Bangalore. Since 2004, link building has been a component of the SEO work we do for clients across India. The mechanics of what makes a good backlink have changed considerably in that time, but the underlying principle has remained constant.
What a Backlink Is
A backlink is a hyperlink on one website that points to another website. When Website A publishes an article and includes a link to a page on Website B, that link is a backlink for Website B.
The reason backlinks matter to Google is conceptually straightforward: Google treats them as votes of credibility. If a respected, authoritative website links to your page, it is implicitly saying that your page is worth referencing. The more high-quality backlinks a page has, the stronger the signal to Google that the page is worth ranking highly.
This logic — linking as endorsement — has been central to Google’s algorithm since Larry Page developed PageRank in the late 1990s. The formula has become considerably more sophisticated since then, but the core principle persists: links from credible sources signal credibility to search engines.
Not All Backlinks Are Equal
A backlink from a leading national newspaper is worth vastly more than a backlink from a new directory site created last month. Understanding what makes one backlink more valuable than another helps you focus link-building efforts where they will have the most impact.
Domain authority of the linking site matters. A link from an established Indian business publication, a university website, or a government portal carries significantly more weight than a link from a new blog with no readership. Tools like Ahrefs and Moz assign domain authority scores that provide a useful rough guide.
Relevance of the linking site matters. A link to an SEO agency’s website from a marketing blog is more relevant — and therefore more valuable — than a link from an unrelated category like a cooking website. Google has become increasingly sophisticated at assessing topical relevance in link relationships.
Anchor text — the visible, clickable text of the link — provides context to Google about what the linked page is about. A link with anchor text “SEO services Bangalore” pointing to a relevant page signals to Google what that page covers. Natural anchor text variation is important; pages with a suspiciously uniform set of exact-match anchor text links may be penalised.
Link placement within a page affects its value. A link within the main body of a well-written article carries more weight than a link in a footer or sidebar, because it is more likely to be an editorial recommendation rather than a paid or automated placement.
Why Low-Quality Backlinks Cause More Harm Than Good
In the era before Google’s Penguin algorithm updates (2012 onwards), businesses could improve their rankings by acquiring large volumes of low-quality backlinks from link directories, article spinning networks, and paid link schemes. Google has systematically devalued and penalised these tactics.
A website with a backlink profile full of spammy, irrelevant, or artificially created links faces two risks: algorithmic devaluation (the links simply do not help and may drag rankings down) and manual penalty (a Google reviewer identifies the pattern and applies a manual action that can significantly suppress the site’s rankings).
For businesses in Bangalore that have hired low-cost SEO providers in the past, a backlink audit — reviewing the full profile of links pointing to the site — is a worthwhile exercise. Toxic links can be disavowed through Google’s Disavow Tool, though this should be done cautiously and specifically rather than as a broad sweep.
How to Earn Backlinks Legitimately
Legitimate link building is fundamentally about creating something worth linking to, then making sure the right people know it exists.
Original research and data. If your business has access to data that others in your industry do not — customer survey results, transaction patterns, market analysis — publishing it in a well-formatted report creates content that journalists and bloggers reference and link to over years.
detailed guides. A genuinely thorough guide to a topic relevant to your industry — one that goes deeper than anything currently available online — earns links because content creators need to reference authoritative sources. For businesses in Bangalore, a guide that addresses the specific Indian market context will serve a gap that generic Western content does not fill.
Digital PR. Getting your business, your founder, or your research mentioned in Indian business media, industry publications, and regional news creates backlinks as a by-product. Building relationships with journalists and editors who cover your industry is a slower but high-value approach.
Supplier and partner links. Many businesses in Bangalore have relationships with suppliers, distributors, industry associations, and technology partners who have websites. A mutual link arrangement — or simply asking a partner to include a link to your site on their partners page — is one of the most straightforward ways to build relevant, legitimate backlinks.
Local citations. For businesses with a physical presence in Bangalore, listings on authoritative local and national directories (JustDial, Sulekha, IndiaMART) create local citation links that contribute to local search rankings.
How Many Backlinks Does Your Site Need?
There is no universal target. The right number of backlinks for your site depends on what your competitors have. If the pages ranking above you for your target keywords each have 50 referring domains and yours has 10, your link profile is a likely contributing factor to the ranking gap. If you already have more links than your competitors, the issue is probably elsewhere — in content quality, technical SEO, or on-page optimisation.
A backlink gap analysis — comparing your link profile to the top-ranking competitors for your key terms — identifies the most efficient place to focus link-building investment. At OneCity Technologies, this analysis is part of the SEO strategy work we do for clients across Bangalore and India. Contact us at +91 99023 30233 to discuss what your site specifically needs.
Expert insight from L.K. Monu Borkala: Backlinks remain one of Google’s top three ranking signals alongside content and RankBrain — Ahrefs’ analysis of 1 billion pages found that 91% of pages get zero organic traffic from Google, and the primary differentiator between pages that rank and those that do not is the number and quality of referring domains (Ahrefs Search Traffic Study). For Bangalore businesses, acquiring backlinks from Karnataka-based business associations, local news outlets (Deccan Herald, The Hindu Bangalore), and industry directories provides both domain authority and local relevance signals that national links cannot replicate. Google’s own guidance confirms that link building through genuine value creation — case studies, original research, expert quotes — is the only sustainable approach post the March 2024 and August 2025 Spam Updates (Google Search Central — Links and Ranking).