{"id":2814,"date":"2026-07-15T12:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T12:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grp-digital.com\/nl\/?p=2814"},"modified":"2026-11-02T11:44:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T10:44:52","slug":"wat-zijn-backlinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grp-digital.com\/en\/kennisbank\/seo-basics\/wat-zijn-backlinks\/","title":{"rendered":"What are backlinks and why do they matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Een
A backlink from another site works like a recommendation to Google.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

A backlink is a link from another website to your website. For search engines, a link like that can be a signal that your page is relevant, useful or trustworthy enough to point to. Their quality, their context and how natural they are count for more than the number of links.<\/p>\n\n\n

Short answer: what is a backlink?<\/h2>\n\n\n

A backlink is an incoming link from an external website to your page. Think of it as a digital referral: another site is more or less saying your content is worth a look.<\/p>\n\n\n

That\u2019s why backlinks matter for SEO. They help search engines better understand how your page relates to other sources on the web.<\/p>\n\n\n

Backlink meaning in plain language<\/h2>\n\n\n

In plain language, a backlink is a recommendation with a link attached. Not every recommendation carries the same weight, but the idea is simple: someone links to your website because it adds something.<\/p>\n\n\n

Think of a restaurant guide. If a local newspaper mentions your place and links to your menu, that\u2019s usually worth more than a random site with no connection to your subject. The analogy also shows straight away the difference between a stray link and a relevant backlink.<\/p>\n\n\n

So a backlink isn\u2019t just a technical element. It\u2019s also a signal of context, reputation and coherence.<\/p>\n\n\n

The difference between backlinks, internal links and external links<\/h2>\n\n\n

Links look alike, but the direction is what makes the difference. And that\u2019s exactly where things often go wrong. It starts with logic in your own site and in the links pointing to it.<\/p>\n\n\n

Link type<\/th>Direction<\/th>Example<\/th>Main function<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Backlink<\/td>From another site to your site<\/td>An industry blog links to your article<\/td>Authority, discovery, relevance<\/td><\/tr>
Internal link<\/td>From your page to another page on your site<\/td>From a blog post to the contact page<\/td>Structure, navigation, context<\/td><\/tr>
External link<\/td>From your site to another site<\/td>You link to a source<\/td>Source attribution, context, trust<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n

So a backlink is always incoming. An external link is outgoing, and an internal link stays within your own domain.<\/p>\n\n\n

Why backlinks matter for SEO<\/h2>\n\n\n

Backlinks matter, but not as a standalone project. They\u2019re part of the foundation of SEO<\/a>, just like content, technical SEO and structure. Treating backlinks as a hype of their own is too narrow an approach. If you\u2019re new to this, start with the SEO basics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Giacomo Perticara puts it clearly: \u201cSEO is not dead. But you\u2019ll have to use it differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

Backlinks as a recommendation signal<\/h3>\n\n\n

Search engines use backlinks as an external signal. When several relevant websites link to the same page, that can indicate the page adds something.<\/p>\n\n\n

That doesn\u2019t mean every link moves you forward straight away. One link from a strong, relevant source usually says more than ten links from pages with no editorial value. Not every signal is strong, and not every link is a recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\n

The link with E-E-A-T<\/h3>\n\n\n

Backlinks mainly touch on authority and trust within E-E-A-T<\/a>. That framework centres on experience, expertise, authority and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n

A backlink doesn\u2019t automatically prove your content is good. But when trade media, industry platforms or sites in your subject area link to you, that does count as a form of external validation. You build authority with content and a reputation that earn links.<\/p>\n\n\n

What makes a backlink high quality?<\/h2>\n\n\n

A high-quality backlink fits your subject, comes from a trustworthy source and sits in a natural context. That\u2019s the core of it.<\/p>\n\n\n

Giacomo Perticara puts it like this: \u201cWe don’t build pages, we build logic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

Relevance and context<\/h3>\n\n\n

A good backlink comes from a page whose content ties in with your subject. If you write about technical SEO, a link from a marketing or development platform makes more sense than one from a random recipe blog.<\/p>\n\n\n

The text around the link counts too. If your link sits in a substantive paragraph that genuinely explains something, that\u2019s usually stronger than a link in a stray list at the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n\n\n

Authority and trustworthiness of the referring site<\/h3>\n\n\n

Not every site has the same value. A referring website with a visible editorial team, real expertise and a subject that makes sense usually carries more weight than a thin site full of generic articles.<\/p>\n\n\n

Look for signals such as:<\/p>\n\n\n