Glossary

Off-Page SEO & Link Building Terms

54 essential terms for backlinks, link building strategies, domain authority, anchor text optimization, and external ranking factors.

Link Fundamentals Link Metrics & Authority Anchor Text Link Building Strategies Link Quality Factors Negative SEO & Link Risks

10Link Fundamentals

Backlink: A hyperlink from one website to another. Also called inbound links or incoming links. Quality backlinks from authoritative sites are among the strongest ranking factors.
Link Equity (Link Juice): The SEO value passed from one page to another through links. Factors include the linking page's authority, relevance, anchor text, and link position.
Dofollow Link: A standard link that passes link equity to the destination page. Most links are dofollow by default unless specifically marked nofollow.
Nofollow Link: A link with rel="nofollow" attribute that tells search engines not to pass link equity. Still valuable for referral traffic and natural link profiles.
Sponsored Link (rel="sponsored"): A link attribute indicating paid placements or advertisements. Introduced by Google in 2019 to distinguish from organic nofollow links.
UGC Link (rel="ugc"): A link attribute for user-generated content like comments and forum posts. Helps search engines understand link context without penalizing UGC.
Internal Link: A link from one page to another on the same website. Important for site architecture and distributing link equity, but not the same as backlinks.
External Link (Outbound Link): A link from your site to another domain. Linking to authoritative sources can add credibility and context to your content.
Reciprocal Link: When two sites link to each other. Natural reciprocal links are fine; excessive link exchanges can appear manipulative.
One-Way Link: A link where site A links to site B, but B doesn't link back. Generally considered more valuable than reciprocal links.

9Link Metrics & Authority

Domain Authority (DA): Moz's 1-100 score predicting how likely a domain is to rank. Based on link profile, age, and other factors. Useful for comparison, not used by Google.
Domain Rating (DR): Ahrefs' 0-100 metric measuring the strength of a website's backlink profile. Based on the quantity and quality of sites linking to it.
Page Authority (PA): Moz's score predicting the ranking potential of a specific page, as opposed to the entire domain. Useful for evaluating individual link opportunities.
URL Rating (UR): Ahrefs' metric measuring the strength of a specific page's backlink profile on a 0-100 scale.
Trust Flow: Majestic's metric measuring how trustworthy a page is based on the quality of sites linking to it. Higher trust flow indicates links from more reputable sources.
Citation Flow: Majestic's metric measuring how influential a URL is based on how many sites link to it. Quantity-focused counterpart to Trust Flow.
Referring Domain: A unique domain that links to your website. 100 links from 1 domain = 1 referring domain. Diversity of referring domains is crucial.
Link Velocity: The rate at which a site acquires new backlinks over time. Sudden spikes can appear unnatural; gradual growth is safer.
Link Decay: The natural loss of backlinks over time as pages are removed, domains expire, or content is updated.

8Anchor Text

Anchor Text: The clickable text of a hyperlink. Search engines use it to understand what the linked page is about. Over-optimization can trigger penalties.
Exact Match Anchor: Anchor text that exactly matches the target keyword. Example: 'SEO services' linking to an SEO services page. Use sparingly to avoid over-optimization.
Partial Match Anchor: Anchor text containing the target keyword plus other words. Example: 'best SEO services in London'. More natural than exact match.
Branded Anchor: Anchor text using the brand name. Example: 'SEO Engico'. Should be the most common anchor type for a natural profile.
Naked URL Anchor: Using the raw URL as anchor text. Example: 'https://seoengico.com'. Natural and safe for link profiles.
Generic Anchor: Non-descriptive anchor text like 'click here', 'learn more', or 'this website'. Common in natural link profiles.
Image Anchor: When an image is used as a link, the alt text serves as the anchor text. Important for image links to have descriptive alt text.
Anchor Text Distribution: The mix of different anchor text types in your backlink profile. Natural profiles have diverse anchors; over-optimized profiles don't.

12Link Building Strategies

Guest Posting (Guest Blogging): Writing content for other websites in exchange for a backlink. One of the most common white-hat link building tactics.
Niche Edit (Link Insertion): Adding a link to existing, already-indexed content on another website. Can be more valuable than new guest posts due to established page authority.
Broken Link Building: Finding broken links on other sites and suggesting your content as a replacement. Provides value to webmasters while earning links.
Resource Page Link Building: Getting listed on curated resource pages that link to helpful content in a specific niche.
Skyscraper Technique: Creating content significantly better than existing top-ranking content, then reaching out to sites linking to the inferior content.
HARO (Help A Reporter Out): A platform connecting journalists with sources. Responding to queries can earn high-authority media backlinks.
Digital PR: Creating newsworthy content (studies, data, stories) to earn media coverage and backlinks from news sites and publications.
Link Bait: Content specifically designed to attract links naturally through its value, uniqueness, or viral potential.
Ego Bait: Content featuring or mentioning influencers/experts to encourage them to share and link to it.
Scholarship Link Building: Creating scholarships that universities and educational sites link to. Effective but requires actual scholarship funding.
Unlinked Brand Mentions: Finding mentions of your brand that don't include links, then reaching out to request link addition.
Competitor Backlink Analysis: Analyzing competitors' backlink profiles to find link opportunities they've earned that you could replicate.

7Link Quality Factors

Link Relevance: How topically related the linking site/page is to your content. A link from a relevant site carries more weight than an unrelated one.
Link Placement: Where a link appears on a page. Editorial links within main content are more valuable than footer, sidebar, or author bio links.
Link Context: The surrounding text and content near a link. Contextual links with relevant surrounding text are more valuable.
Follow vs Nofollow Ratio: The proportion of dofollow to nofollow links in your profile. Natural profiles have both; 100% dofollow is suspicious.
Link Diversity: Having backlinks from various types of sources (blogs, news, directories, social, forums) rather than just one type.
Topical Authority: A site's established expertise in a specific subject area. Links from topically authoritative sites carry more weight.
Geographic Relevance: For local businesses, links from locally relevant sources (local news, regional directories) can be more valuable.

8Negative SEO & Link Risks

Link Spam: Low-quality, manipulative links designed to game rankings. Can result in manual penalties. Examples: paid links, PBNs, link farms.
PBN (Private Blog Network): A network of websites created specifically to build links to a money site. Violates Google guidelines and risks severe penalties.
Link Farm: A group of websites that all link to each other or to a target site for the sole purpose of artificially inflating link counts.
Negative SEO: Attempting to harm a competitor's rankings, often by building spammy links to their site. Largely ineffective due to Google's ability to ignore bad links.
Disavow Tool: Google Search Console feature to tell Google to ignore specific backlinks. Use sparingly, only for confirmed harmful links.
Link Penalty: A manual action or algorithmic demotion due to unnatural link building practices. Requires cleanup and reconsideration request to recover.
Penguin Algorithm: Google's algorithm update (now part of core) that targets manipulative link building and anchor text spam.
Toxic Backlinks: Links from spammy, low-quality, or penalized sites that could potentially harm your rankings. Often overblown by SEO tools.