Backlinks are one of the most important factors in SEO. A backlink (also called an inbound link) is a link from another website pointing to your site. From Google’s perspective, backlinks act like “votes of confidence” — they help signal which sites are trustworthy, authoritative, and relevant.
However, not all backlinks help your site equally. Some links can strongly improve your rankings, while others may have little impact or even cause issues if they’re low quality or manipulative.
This guide explains what makes a backlink valuable to Google, what best practices to follow, and how you can use Ubersuggest to analyze and improve your backlink profile.
What Makes a Backlink Valuable?
Relevance
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Topical relevance
Google places more value on links that come from websites related to your industry or topic. For example, a backlink from a marketing blog to a digital marketing agency’s website is far more meaningful than a link from an unrelated niche. -
Contextual relevance
Links placed naturally within the main content of a page tend to carry more weight than links in footers, sidebars, or author bio sections. Google looks at how well the surrounding content matches the topic of the page being linked to.
Authority and Trust
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Domain authority
Links from established, authoritative websites (such as well-known publications, educational sites, or trusted industry resources) generally pass more value than links from brand-new or low-quality domains. -
Trust signals
Google also considers whether the linking site appears legitimate and trustworthy. Sites overloaded with ads, thin content, or spammy outbound links tend to pass little value.
Content Quality of the Linking Page
Backlinks coming from pages with useful, well-written, and original content are more valuable. If a page genuinely helps users and earns engagement, Google is more likely to treat links from that page as meaningful endorsements.
A link placed on a low-quality page — even if the domain looks strong — may have limited impact.
Natural Link Profile
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Organic growth over time
Google expects backlinks to grow gradually. Sudden spikes in links, especially from unrelated or low-quality sources, can look unnatural. -
Diverse referring domains
A healthy backlink profile includes links from different types of sites (blogs, news sites, industry resources, etc.), rather than many links coming from the same domain.
Anchor Text
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Descriptive but natural anchors
Anchor text (the clickable text in a link) helps Google understand what the linked page is about. Descriptive anchors are useful, but they should always sound natural within the sentence. -
Avoid over-optimization
Using the same keyword-heavy anchor text repeatedly can look manipulative. A natural mix of branded terms, partial keywords, and neutral anchors is best.
Additional Factors Google Considers
While Google doesn’t publish a fixed checklist, backlinks are also evaluated in context with other signals, such as:
- Whether the link is editorial (earned naturally) rather than placed artificially
- Whether the link appears to be paid or manipulative
- The overall quality and intent of the linking site
- Whether the link is followed or nofollowed (nofollow links may still be useful for visibility, even if they pass limited SEO value)
What About Disavowing Backlinks?
Disavowing backlinks is a way to tell Google to ignore specific links pointing to your site if you believe they’re harmful or unnatural. This is done through Google Search Console, not directly inside Ubersuggest.
That said, it’s important to know that disavowing links is rarely necessary for most websites.
When Should You Consider Disavowing Links?
You should only consider disavowing backlinks if:
- You’ve received a manual action from Google related to unnatural links
- Your site has been affected by clear, large-scale spammy backlinks (for example, mass links from irrelevant or low-quality domains)
- You’re confident the links were created through manipulative tactics (paid links, link schemes, automated spam)
If your site is ranking normally and hasn’t received a manual penalty, Google is usually very good at ignoring low-quality links on its own.
When You Should Not Disavow Links
You generally should not disavow links just because:
- A domain has low authority
- A backlink looks unfamiliar
- A link comes from another country or language
- A tool flags a link as “low quality” without other warning signs
Disavowing links unnecessarily can sometimes do more harm than good by removing links that Google was already ignoring safely.
Best Practices for Building Quality Backlinks
To build backlinks that actually help your site:
- Focus on creating content worth linking to, such as in-depth guides, original research, or clear explanations of complex topics
- Contribute guest content to reputable sites in your niche, prioritizing quality over quantity
- Participate genuinely in communities, forums, or discussions relevant to your industry (without spamming links)
- Avoid buying links, link exchanges, or mass directory submissions — these can harm your site in the long run
- Use directories selectively and only when they’re relevant, moderated, and well-structured
How Ubersuggest Can Help?
Ubersuggest helps you analyze, understand, and improve your backlink strategy, without replacing Google’s own data by using Ubersuggest Backlink Tools
Backlinks Overview
You can view your site’s backlink profile, including:
- Total backlinks
- Referring domains
- New and lost links
This helps you understand how your backlink profile is changing over time.
Competitor Backlink Analysis
By reviewing competitor backlink profiles, you can identify:
- Sites that commonly link to similar businesses
- Content types that attract backlinks in your niche
- Potential outreach or content opportunities
Link Quality Insights
Ubersuggest helps you spot patterns such as:
- Over-reliance on a small number of domains
- Sudden link drops or spikes
- Links that may be low quality or no longer active
For a step-by-step walkthrough, see How to Build Backlinks Using Ubersuggest, which explains how to find opportunities and prioritize the links that matter most.
Final Tips
Use Google Search Console as your source of truth for how Google sees your site, and use Ubersuggest as a strategic tool to spot trends, opportunities, and gaps in your backlink profile.
Have questions or need extra assistance? Just click the ‘Help’ button at the end of this article to reach our support team—we’re happy to help!