In this article, we will explore the issue of inbound links vs backlinks.
If you've ever wondered what the difference is between backlinks and inbound links, this comparison guide has all the answers you need.
Below, you will learn how inbound links and backlinks are used in link building and the effect they have as ranking factors for search engine optimization (SEO) and generating targeted traffic to a website.
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Inbound Links vs Backlinks
The main difference between backlinks and inbound links is the purpose of obtaining links for digital marketing. The term "backlinks" is aimed at improving a website's search engine ranking, while the term "inbound links" refers to getting referral traffic.
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks are incoming links from a website to another website's page. A backlink helps SEO by transferring PageRank value to the target page when it is a Dofollow link and includes two attributes: an anchor text describing the backlink and a target URL.
What Are Inbound Links?
Inbound links are links that arrive on your website from other sites. The goal of inbound links is to send visitors to a specific web page on your site to increase referral traffic. Inbound links also convey PageRank value for SEO when they are Dofollow and not labeled as Nofollow links.
Are Backlinks The Same As Inbound Links?
Backlinks are also known as inbound links because they are both off-page SEO methods for getting links from other websites. As far as search engine optimization is concerned, there is no difference between inbound links and backlinks. Backlinks and inbound links are similar to each other.
As explained above, when someone uses the term backlinks, they are usually focused on improving the individual PageRank value of a target page in order to increase its position in the search engine results pages (SERPs) without worrying about the users who actually click on the link to visit the web page.
On the other hand, if a marketer uses the term "inbound links", they are more concerned with getting referral traffic through these links, with SEO being one of the secondary benefits of backlinks.
So here is a quick way to compare inbound links and backlinks:
- The term backlinks is for SEO purposes.
- The term inbound links is for referring traffic to another site.
Do Inbound Links Help SEO?
Inbound links help SEO because they are one of the most important elements of off-page search engine optimization. Backlinks contribute to SEO by passing on the PageRank value of a website to another website and act as a vote of confidence for the popularity and authority of another website.
The Different Types of Backlinks For SEO
Dofollow links: These are backlinks that contribute directly to SEO by passing on the PageRank authority of the originating site to the destination site.
Nofollow links: These are backlinks that are marked with a machine-readable tag and do not pass on the PageRank authority of the originating website to the destination site.
Why Are Backlinks and Inbound Links Important?
Backlinks and inbound links matter because they represent a vote of confidence from one website to another for SEO value and referral traffic. Backlinks and inbound links signal to search engines like Google and website users that another site finds your content interesting enough to reference it in their own content.
The more high-quality backlinks a web page has, the easier it is to increase SERP ranking positions for specific keywords. A page that acquires a large number of Dofollow links informs search engine crawlers that the content deserves greater visibility in the index.
In addition, when a quality website links to another site in its content, it is a vote of confidence that encourages users to visit the linked content. This leads to more targeted referral traffic that increases a company's organic exposure outside of search engines, social media platforms, and paid advertising.
Essentially, earning more backlinks and inbound links can have a positive effect on a website's ranking positions, overall search engine visibility, and total reach to its target audience. However, you also need to understand the difference between referring domains and backlinks, as they are not the same thing.
Do Internal Links Count As Backlinks?
Internal links are the links you use within your own website to link to other pages, sections, or content. they give your users more content to interact with on your site. They also direct traffic to older published content that is relevant to newer or fresh content, giving it a chance to rank higher.
And just like the World Wide Web, your link structure helps search engines understand why it exists. Everything is connected like a spider's web. Without links, it will be difficult to understand the content of the page.
These internal links make it easier for search engine spiders to crawl, index, and rank your website. They are able to identify related content, which makes your page more relevant.
Internal links help search engines identify canonical pages. For example, if a number of blog posts are about a particular topic and they all link to a "main blog post", search engines identify this as the main or canonical one and give it a place in the search engine results. Since the canonical link contains the bulk of the internal links, users will still be able to find the rest of the content it points to. This way, the content on your page does not compete with each other.
Internal links are not considered backlinks because internal links are links that point from one page to another page of the same website. Backlinks count as inbound links to a website from other websites and direct users to specific pages of the target site as a reference or citation.
A different way of understanding this is to think of backlinks as outbound links from one website to another. Outbound links point to external websites while internal links point to the same domain.
Inbound Links vs Backlinks Summary
As you've discovered, the fundamental difference between backlinks and inbound links is the purpose of links for digital marketing. When comparing backlinks to inbound links, the term backlinks generally refers to the quality and number of inbound links to improve a website's search engine ranking; however, inbound links are more focused on getting referral traffic through these link placements on other websites, with SEO being a secondary benefit.
