When your site or article gets a backlink, it is like a vote of support. Search engines rate backlinks very highly, especially Google and their 'PageRank' system of rating sites. There are many factors that go into a site being positioned high in Search Engine ranking, but no one single factor is more important than a backlink from a highly-ranked site! Achieving a high rank for your site is not possible without good incoming links, preferably from sites that are related in topic to yours.

How Many Backlinks or Inbound Links are Enough?

"You can never have too many incoming links" is the general contention but all backlinks are not created equal. Having sites that are related to your topic reference your article with a backlink are the best. Sites with a higher PageRank that give a backlink to your article provide more value.

One would probably never refuse any incoming link (unless it comes from a really sleazy site known for being host to virus and malware,) so basically, it's all good. Reciprocal links between articles in the same domain are fine and valid, but it rates even better to have the inbound link emanate from another domain. A return, outbound or reciprocal link is like a handshake between the two.

Here on Factoidz it is helpful when a writer links their article inline to another related article of their own that is also hosted on Factoidz, but a link from another site in another domain is worth more. A mention and link from say CNN or The New York Times would bring far more PageRank value to you.

What About 'PageRank?'

'PageRank' is Google's proprietary system of rating a site's relative importance, ranging numerically from 0-10. Measuring the relative importance within sets of other hyperlinked sites, a higher PageRank can be attained even with fewer inbound and reciprocal hyperlinks if those links point to your from a higher-rated site. A dozen inbound links from mediocre or low-rated sites may not be quite as important as just one or two links from a site that holds a higher PageRank.

Personally, I think that Google's 'PageRank' system is overvalued. Even Google has said similar things about their own PageRank scoring despite they being the ones touting its value. Sometimes, good content has just not been found yet so don't be upset that a low PageRank site gave you a backlink. As their rank increases, so does the value of the backlinks they offer. Good SEO and a steady stream of visitors will eventually get an article or site noticed and more votes (in the form of backlinks) can result.

Perhaps the 'staying power' of a site, that 'evergreen' quality that keeps an article high in the ranks for months or years is the logical result of ever increasing 'good backlinks.' In the meantime, don't forget to use good inline-links within your articles too.

What are "Inline-Links"

An 'inline-link' is a hyperlink that is constructed 'within' (or 'inline' with) a sentence or paragraph. For instance, if a hyperlink were used here to reference an article about bad writing style, It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: A Study in Purple Prose, this is an example of an inline link. It occurs 'within' the sentence and it contains keywords used in the article itself, which is a bonus. This type of article linking is highly favored by Search Engines, moreso than if it stands alone as in the next line:

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: A Study in Purple Prose

Here the 'stand alone' link is no longer surrounded by relevant text. A Search Engine may not know how to correctly and effectively index a freestanding link such as this. It has some value, but less than when used 'inline' within a sentence. The first link is mentioned as being of a 'bad writing' style while the second link could be about anything. It could be under a heading of "More articles by author" which still is rather meaningless to a Search Engine.

Never use the ubiquitous 'Click Here' or anything similar as the hyperlink text. This is meaningless to search engines. Think of it this way: nobody searches for "Click Here" so why would anyone want to make a hyperlink that uses this keyword phrase?

If "Click Here" were linked and pointed to the It Was a Dark and Stormy Night article, it would for the most part make the link value-neutral to any Search Engines that 'parsed' (analyzed the semantic structure of~) the content and the hyperlink itself. That link would be of no help to this article or the article referanced in terms of SEO, even if visitors did occasionally click and visit the mystery article at "Click Here.'

Using keywords in the hyperlink text, preferably unique and specific ones, is always the first best course. Be specific, be explicit. Say what the link is. A link to "Hand-crafted Hardwood Kitchen Tables & Chairs" is more specific and meaningful than a link merely to "Furniture." A good semantic inline-link should contain at least 3 or 4 keywords. In this case, our keywords would be "Hardwood," "Kitchen Tables & Chairs," and possibly "Hand-crafted" which could arouse user interest and possibly be part of a relevant search parameter.

The main tenet of using relevant keywords in hyperlinks is to impart semantic value to the element. You are telling the Search Engine that this hyperlink is important. You invite indexing and higher ranking with good hyperlinking and keyword inclusion in this text, and your page will surely come up oftener in Search Engine Results Page (SERP) as a result.

Good backlinks and regular systematic use of semantic inline-links within your articles are both very important in today's world of highly competitive Search Engine Optimization. Getting these and other factors right in your articles can greatly improve your traffic and make your article 'evergreen' whereby it can be found higher up in the SERP for months or years to come.