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All lessons in SEO for Beginners Lesson 3.2 of 26

Module 0: Introduction

  1. 0.1What is a search engine?
  2. 0.2How do search engines work?
  3. 0.3What is SEO?
  4. 0.4How to start SEO

Module 1: Keyword Research

  1. 1.1What are keywords in SEO?
  2. 1.2What is search intent?
  3. 1.3How to find keywords for your website
  4. 1.4Keyword difficulty
  5. 1.5Keyword mapping

Module 2: On-Page SEO

  1. 2.1What is on-page SEO?
  2. 2.2How to optimize a page for a keyword
  3. 2.3How to write title tags and meta descriptions
  4. 2.4How to use headings for SEO
  5. 2.5Internal linking for SEO

Module 3: Link Building

  1. 3.1What is link building?
  2. 3.2What makes a good backlink?
  3. 3.3How to get backlinks for beginners
  4. 3.4Blogger outreach

Module 4: Technical SEO Basics

  1. 4.1What is technical SEO?
  2. 4.2How to check if a page is indexed
  3. 4.3How to find broken links on a website
  4. 4.4XML sitemap and robots.txt for beginners
  5. 4.5How to do a basic SEO audit

Module 5: Measuring SEO Results

  1. 5.1How to set up Google Search Console
  2. 5.2Clicks, impressions, CTR, and position explained
  3. 5.3Your SEO action plan

What makes a good backlink?

What we will go through

  • The signs of a high-quality backlink
  • How to spot spammy links
  • Why one good link beats many weak ones

Short answer

A good backlink comes from a real, trusted website that is related to your topic. It sits inside useful content, uses natural anchor text, and sends real visitors. Google and other search engines value relevance and trust over link count. Spammy backlinks come from low-quality, unrelated, or paid sites and can do more harm than good.

  1. Relevant. The linking site covers a topic close to yours. A baking blog linking to a cake shop makes sense. A casino site linking to it does not.
  2. Trusted. The site is real, well known, and has real readers. Think news sites, schools, government offices, industry groups, and respected blogs.
  3. In the content. The link sits inside an article where it helps the reader, not hidden in a footer or a list of hundreds of links.
  4. Natural anchor text. The clickable words describe your page, like “best ensaymada in Pampanga” or simply your brand name.
  5. Sends visitors. People actually click it. A link that brings real traffic is almost always a good link.
Good backlink compared with a spammy backlinkGood link✓ Related topic✓ Real readers✓ Inside an article✓ Sends visitorsSpammy link✗ Unrelated site✗ Link lists only✗ Paid in bulk✗ No visitors
One relevant, trusted link beats a hundred spammy ones.

Dofollow, nofollow, sponsored, and UGC

Links can carry tags that tell search engines how to treat them:

Link typeWhat it meansPasses ranking value?
Normal (often called dofollow)A regular link with no special tagYes, usually
rel=“nofollow”The site does not vouch for the linkUsually not, treated as a hint
rel=“sponsored”The link is paid or an adNo
rel=“ugc”User-generated content, like comments and forumsUsually not

Nofollow links still have value. They can send visitors and build your brand. A natural link profile includes both kinds.

  • The site has no real content, only lists of links
  • The topic has nothing to do with yours
  • The page is in a language or country unrelated to your audience
  • The anchor text is an exact keyword, over and over, across many sites
  • You got it from a cheap bulk link package

If you find many spammy links you did not build, do not panic. Google says it ignores most spam links on its own.

Tap Good link or Bad link for each example.

  • A Philippine news site features your bakery’s anniversary.

  • A site called “free-links-4u” lists your URL with 500 others.

  • A Davao travel blog links to your tour package page.

  • A foreign gambling site links to your clinic.

  • Your local business chamber lists you as a member.

  • You paid ₱300 for 1,000 “high DA backlinks.”

Quick quiz

1. Which matters most in a backlink?
2. What does rel=“sponsored” tell search engines?
3. Are nofollow links useless?

Common mistakes

  • Judging links only by a tool score. Scores like DA or DR are third-party estimates, not search engine ratings.
  • Ignoring relevance. A strong but unrelated site is a weaker link than you think.
  • Using the same keyword anchor everywhere. It looks unnatural.
  • Worrying about every odd link. Focus on earning good links instead.

Your action

Key terms

Link quality
How trusted and relevant a linking site and page are.
Dofollow link
A regular link that can pass ranking value.
Nofollow link
A link tagged so search engines usually do not pass ranking value.
UGC link
A link in user-generated content, like comments.
Link profile
All the backlinks pointing to your site.
Domain Authority (DA)
A third-party score estimating a site’s link strength. Search engines do not use it.

Questions beginners ask

Where can I see my backlinks for free?

In Google Search Console, open the Links report. Bing Webmaster Tools also has a free Backlinks report.

Should I use the disavow tool?

Most sites do not need it. Use it only if you have many bad links you built yourself, or a manual action from Google.

Want someone to handle SEO for your business while you learn? The team at Remar Digital can help.