All-Inclusive Backlink Guide - Link Building Strategies of Tomorrow
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- February 13, 2020
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What’s backlink? A third-party site links to your website. Quite simple!
What do you need to do? Convince the third-party website owners to include your website link on their site. Easy, right?
But the not so simple part is, understanding how to build backlink and how it works!
Over the years, Google algorithms have been updated and so have the SEO practices. So, building quality backlinks now is quite different from before and a challenge indeed.
What worked outstandingly well in the past, may get you penalized at present! So, consider backlink as a trap that can murder your SEO results if handled without knowledge and expertise.
But fortunately, our detailed backlink guide would not let you be the victim of poor backlink building strategy and devasted SEO practice.
This backlink guide is going to help you in every little step with the latest and impending tips and tricks to generate backlinks and witness positive SEO results.
In short, if you want to rank higher in Google SERP, our backlink guide will be the foundation of your success.
Let’s take a look at the topics we’re going to cover in our backlink guide.
Index
Before Building Backlinks (Basics of Backlink)
Before stepping into the advanced guide to build backlinks, the basics of backlinks should be clear to you.
This chapter explains every nut and bolt of backlinks along with every important element and metric associated with this vital aspect of organic SEO. In this chapter, we’ll cover the following materials:
- 1.1 What are Backlinks?
- 1.2 Why Backlink is Important for Ranking
- 1.3 When to Build Backlinks
- 1.4 Anchor Text and Anchor Text Ratios
- 1.5 Dofollow vs. Nofollow Links
- 1.6 Indexed vs. Non-Indexed Pages
What are Backlinks?
Also known as external link or inbound link, backlink, as per the Search Engine Terminology, is a hyperlink that links from a web page to another web page with an intention of referring to better information and resulting in passing the link juice from the linking domain to the linked domain; further providing a trust flow and authority to the page that has managed to get the link!
In simpler words, backlinks are the links your website gets from a third-party domain. When someone else refers to your website or web page, it displays their trust in your site and Google considers this as a huge metric for ranking your site (since you’re trust-worthy).
So, if we assume backlinks as votes, the more vote you manage to gather, better the improvement will be reflected in your search ranking.
Why Backlink is Important for Ranking
We have custom-designed our dashboard which helps our clients make a link purchase, manage their orders, and track them with absolute ease. You will get a robust and functional dashboard that has the best features presented in the simplest way.
In simpler words, backlinks are the links your website gets from a third-party domain. When someone else refers to your website or web page, it displays their trust in your site and Google considers this as a huge metric for ranking your site (since you’re trust-worthy).
So, if we assume backlinks as votes, the more vote you manage to gather, better the improvement will be reflected in your search ranking.
When to Build Backlinks
We have custom-designed our dashboard which helps our clients make a link purchase, manage their orders, and track them with absolute ease. You will get a robust and functional dashboard that has the best features presented in the simplest way.
In simpler words, backlinks are the links your website gets from a third-party domain. When someone else refers to your website or web page, it displays their trust in your site and Google considers this as a huge metric for ranking your site (since you’re trust-worthy).
So, if we assume backlinks as votes, the more vote you manage to gather, better the improvement will be reflected in your search ranking.
Types of Anchor Text & Backlink (with Categories)
Well, you already have read about Anchor Text and we hope, you have a fair idea about it.
Now, it’s the time to let you know the Anchor Text Ratio, Categories, Types of Backlink Anchors, and Natural Backlink Types which are usually associated with each anchor type.
Anchor Texts grab user attention and build trust. So, a must-read chapter for you starts now…
- 2.1 What is Anchor Text Ratio?
- 2.2 Types of Anchor Text by Category
- 2.3 Types of Backlinks (with the Use of Anchor Text)
What is Anchor Text Ratio?
To be very honest, SEO experts consider the Anchor Text Ratio as a grey hat practice. But for many, it’s effective for SEO!
So, what to do!
Let’s know what the thing is and then you can decide which way to go.
Anchor Text Ratio is the ratio of different anchor types like Branded Anchor Text, Naked URL, Keyword Anchor Text, etc.
The general rule of the Anchor Text Ratio is:
- 65% branded anchors
- 20% naked URLs (https://samplesite.com)
- 7% keyword-related anchors (all anchor types that are related to a keyword)
- 5% generic anchors (click here, read more)
- 2% “money” keyword [“Apple iPhone XR (Black, 128 GB)” instead of “iPhone”]
- 1% exact match keyword
However, this ratio strategy can ruin your link building strategy and SEO! Simply because this ratio is not natural!
Does it mean I should not follow any Anchor Text Ratio?
Well, you should! But you need to understand that a grocery store is way different than a software development agency. So, every business should have its own unique Anchor Text Ratio to be followed.
See how Google’s anchor text is distributed:
In order to settle down to an authentic yet lucrative strategy, you may evaluate what your high-ranking competitors are doing! However, following them blindly would also not make any sense!
Use your own brain and come up with an anchor text ratio that can manipulate Google algorithms and keep you on the whiter side!
In short, we can say that the anchor text entirely depends on the link type! Said that, let’s take a look at all the backlink types in our next lesson.
Why Backlink is Important for Ranking
We have custom-designed our dashboard which helps our clients make a link purchase, manage their orders, and track them with absolute ease. You will get a robust and functional dashboard that has the best features presented in the simplest way.
In simpler words, backlinks are the links your website gets from a third-party domain. When someone else refers to your website or web page, it displays their trust in your site and Google considers this as a huge metric for ranking your site (since you’re trust-worthy).
So, if we assume backlinks as votes, the more vote you manage to gather, better the improvement will be reflected in your search ranking.
When to Build Backlinks
We have custom-designed our dashboard which helps our clients make a link purchase, manage their orders, and track them with absolute ease. You will get a robust and functional dashboard that has the best features presented in the simplest way.
In simpler words, backlinks are the links your website gets from a third-party domain. When someone else refers to your website or web page, it displays their trust in your site and Google considers this as a huge metric for ranking your site (since you’re trust-worthy).
So, if we assume backlinks as votes, the more vote you manage to gather, better the improvement will be reflected in your search ranking.
Different Backlink Types and Pages They Should Lead to
More than anything else, your success in the ranking, conversion, and sales depends on the type of backlink you are creating and the page where they are leading to.
Many individuals have suffered because of this little but lethal issue!
But we can’t let it happen to you!
Following are the backlink types you should be aware of:
- 3.1 Profile Links, Directory Links, and Citations
- 3.2 Organic and Manually Acquired Contextual Links
- 3.3 Blog Comment Links
- 3.4 Press Release Links
Profile Links, Directory Links, and Citations
While Profile and Citation links are usually Nofollow, Directory Links are Dofollow in most cases.
Can’t differentiate them?
Keep Reading…
A Brief
Citations (Nofollow): Citations may be Nofollow but they help in building authority in your niche and drive traffic to your site. So, quite lucrative!
Profile Links (Usually Nofollow): Profile links won’t help in website ranking but the number of referring domains will be on the rise for sure! Moreover, if you manage to get a Dofollow profile link (a needle in a haystack!), it will round out your anchor ratio and boost branding signals.
Directory Links (Dofollow): Directory links offer a good number of natural backlinks and an opportunity to create basic anchor texts, despite being comparatively less authoritative.
Usual Anchor Texts to Use
- Branded
- Naked URL
- Websitename.com
- Naked URL without HTTPS
Pages to be Linked
When you deal with these specific links, the homepage should be the destination.
People visiting these platforms are looking for websites and brands rather than products or services.
Thus, a homepage link would maintain relevance.
Organic and Manually Acquired Contextual Links
While Profile and Citation links are usually Nofollow, Directory Links are Dofollow in most cases.
Can’t differentiate them?
Keep Reading…
A Brief
Citations (Nofollow): Citations may be Nofollow but they help in building authority in your niche and drive traffic to your site. So, quite lucrative!
Profile Links (Usually Nofollow): Profile links won’t help in website ranking but the number of referring domains will be on the rise for sure! Moreover, if you manage to get a Dofollow profile link (a needle in a haystack!), it will round out your anchor ratio and boost branding signals.
Directory Links (Dofollow): Directory links offer a good number of natural backlinks and an opportunity to create basic anchor texts, despite being comparatively less authoritative.
Usual Anchor Texts to Use
- Branded
- Naked URL
- Websitename.com
- Naked URL without HTTPS
Pages to be Linked
When you deal with these specific links, the homepage should be the destination.
People visiting these platforms are looking for websites and brands rather than products or services.
Thus, a homepage link would maintain relevance.
Blog Comment Links
While Profile and Citation links are usually Nofollow, Directory Links are Dofollow in most cases.
Can’t differentiate them?
Keep Reading…
A Brief
Citations (Nofollow): Citations may be Nofollow but they help in building authority in your niche and drive traffic to your site. So, quite lucrative!
Profile Links (Usually Nofollow): Profile links won’t help in website ranking but the number of referring domains will be on the rise for sure! Moreover, if you manage to get a Dofollow profile link (a needle in a haystack!), it will round out your anchor ratio and boost branding signals.
Directory Links (Dofollow): Directory links offer a good number of natural backlinks and an opportunity to create basic anchor texts, despite being comparatively less authoritative.
Usual Anchor Texts to Use
- Branded
- Naked URL
- Websitename.com
- Naked URL without HTTPS
Pages to be Linked
When you deal with these specific links, the homepage should be the destination.
People visiting these platforms are looking for websites and brands rather than products or services.
Thus, a homepage link would maintain relevance.
How to Identify a Good Backlink
Congrats! Now, you know every required information regarding backlinks!
Now, you need to know how to identify a backlink that actually helps in the ranking!
Because there are three types of backlinks –
- One that makes a HUGE difference
- One that makes small difference
- One that hurts your ranking
This chapter will help you recognize the good backlinks that make the most positive impact on your ranking.
Each of our Chapter 4 lessons will explain you the metric to define a good backlink.
- 4.1 They Come from Trusted, Authoritative Websites
- 4.2 The Link Is a “Dofollow” Link
- 4.3 Is the Link Editorially Placed?
- 4.4 Difficult Editorial Standards (GotchSEO)
- 4.5 They Include Your Target Keyword in The Link’s Anchor Text
- 4.6 Position of the Link
- 4.7 The Site (and Page) Linking to You Is Related to Your Niche (relevance from GotchSEO)
- 4.8 Website That Receives Lots of Traffic
- 4.9 The Link Is from a Domain That Hasn’t Linked to You Before
- 4.10 Link Co-Occurrences
They Come from Trusted, Authoritative Websites
No surprise at this point!
You know why authority sites matter! Well, in case you don’t remember, let me repeat once again in a line!
Would you rather take acting advice from Leonardo De Caprio or your actor neighbor?
Obviously, the more popular and established one would be your choice!
Google thinks in the same way as you do!
When it comes to sites, Google relies on Domain Authority to determine its popularity, trust, and authority.
When you are recommended by an authority site (with a backlink), you’re a VIP for Google!
When you get a Dofollow link from an authority site, it will not only help you get a ton of traffic but will also pass the authority on to you!
You can find the Domain Authority of any website on Ahrefs that calls it DR (Domain Rating)
So, a few questions remain:
Are these links hard to get?
Yes!
Are these links worth it?
Very much!
Don’t worry, we’ll share the techniques to get links from authority sites in this backlink guide.
But right now, we’ll move to our second lesson…
The Link Is a “Dofollow” Link
No surprise at this point!
You know why authority sites matter! Well, in case you don’t remember, let me repeat once again in a line!
Would you rather take acting advice from Leonardo De Caprio or your actor neighbor?
Obviously, the more popular and established one would be your choice!
Google thinks in the same way as you do!
When it comes to sites, Google relies on Domain Authority to determine its popularity, trust, and authority.
When you are recommended by an authority site (with a backlink), you’re a VIP for Google!
When you get a Dofollow link from an authority site, it will not only help you get a ton of traffic but will also pass the authority on to you!
You can find the Domain Authority of any website on Ahrefs that calls it DR (Domain Rating)
So, a few questions remain:
Are these links hard to get?
Yes!
Are these links worth it?
Very much!
Don’t worry, we’ll share the techniques to get links from authority sites in this backlink guide.
But right now, we’ll move to our second lesson…
Backlink Building Hacks #1: Creating Link-Friendly Content
Content would always be the cornerstone of a successful link building campaign.
Unless you create high-quality contents that really deserve to be referred by the third-parties, you’relosing the link building game.
Our 6+ years of research and analysis in the world of SEO and content marketing helped us jot down 7 bullet-proof techniques to create such content that generates the most number of backlinks!
Ready to start your chapter 5?
Here’re the lessons to learn for creating link-friendly content
- 5.1 Visual Content
- 5.2 List Posts
- 5.3 Mega Guides (Linkable Assets)
- 5.4 Primary Research
- 5.4 Trending Topics
- 5.4 Lacking Information from Other Sources
- 5.4 Blending Technique
Visual Content
The best way to impress the web traffic (most of which don’t like to waste time in thinking), you need to serve something that offers a solution right away!
Needless to say, if you can create such content that reduces users’ stress by minimizing the time to think, that content would be successful.
And as you can already assume from the title of this point, we’re talking about the visual content!
Well, why shouldn’t we?
Visual contents like charts, infographics, graphs, and diagrams are exceptionally effective in explaining complex matters in the easiest way!
Users love the digestible and appealing approach of the visual contents.
As a result, they get more clicks, comments, shares!
What’s your benefit?
You can simply embed a code which would ensure that whenever somebody shares your visual content on their site, you get a backlink from that!
Visual Content
The best way to impress the web traffic (most of which don’t like to waste time in thinking), you need to serve something that offers a solution right away!
Needless to say, if you can create such content that reduces users’ stress by minimizing the time to think, that content would be successful.
And as you can already assume from the title of this point, we’re talking about the visual content!
Well, why shouldn’t we?
Visual contents like charts, infographics, graphs, and diagrams are exceptionally effective in explaining complex matters in the easiest way!
Users love the digestible and appealing approach of the visual contents.
As a result, they get more clicks, comments, shares!
What’s your benefit?
You can simply embed a code which would ensure that whenever somebody shares your visual content on their site, you get a backlink from that!
Backlink Building Hacks #2: Transforming Content into Backlinks
It’s true that you need great content to build white hat links. And you learned that in the previous chapter!
But unless you know how to transform those contents into backlinks, you’re missing the part where you get results.That’s why we have 6 lessons that will explain to you 6
different techniques of turning your contents into high-quality, rank-driven backlinks!
- 6.1 Link Roundups
- 6.2 Renovation Method
- 6.3 “Best List” Blog Posts
- 6.4 Infographic Link Building
- 6.4 Guest Posting
Link Roundups
What if articles were published only to link to the quality contents (like the ones you publish on your site)?
It’s a Utopia every content marketing expert would want to live in.
What if we say, it’s a real thing!?
Don’t believe us? Learn about Link Roundups first.
Here’s an image that’ll help you understand better.
When you get a Dofollow link from an authority site, it will not only help you get a ton of traffic but will also pass the authority on to you!
You can find the Domain Authority of any website on Ahrefs that calls it DR (Domain Rating)
Now, we assume, you’re dying to ask, what Link Roundup actually is!
In a single line, link roundups are the blog posts that get published on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis with an intention to link to the quality contents on the internet. Sounds awesome?
But before getting into the Link Roundup game, you need to know the right process!
Don’t worry! We’re here to guide.
How to Find Link Roundups in Your Niche?
You need to realize a simple fact – there are endless business domains and niches!
Finding roundups for your niche should be your first concern.
We have gathered some greatly working search strings that can deliver you the creme de la crème link roundup sources.
- “Keyword” + “link roundup”
- “Keyword” + roundup
- “Keyword” + “best of”
- “Keyword” + this week
Search with these strings and start building backlinks for your site.
Personal Pitching
So, you found the roundup but now, the real job begins: pitching the owner to link your article.
Some Link Roundups are small and some are large!
And it’s evident thatthe number of backlink requests will be way higher for the established Link Roundup sources.
While the small ones would easily recognize your email, the larger ones may easily overlook.
The way out:
You should make a great pitch that stands out.
Here’s a sample email pitch for Link Roundup that mostly gets a nod from the owners:
Hey [SITE OWNER’S NAME],
I just came across your [January Roundup]. It’s awesome and I thoroughly liked it!
I’m emailing you because I recently published an article on [TOPIC] which, I think, would be a great fit for your Roundup!
Anyways, I’ll stay tuned to your roundup. Keep up the awesome work.
Thanks,
[SENDER’S NAME]
Do you see the trick?
Firstly, don’t beat around the bush. Nobody has time to read hundreds of words (especially, when they know what’s coming!)
Secondly, appreciate the owner and don’t talk about links all around the email. It’s irritating and spammy.
Thirdly, never fail to convey that you’ll stay in touch with the site even if you don’t get a link. It makes you a bigger person.
Best Link Building Strategies That are 10x More Efficient (Our Pick)
Good News : Most of these link building strategies require very less content!
These strategies are tried and tested by us and the SEO experts across the globe.
You’ve come a long way throughout this backlink guide and now is the time to finally settle on some proven strategies since you’ve got the ABCDs of backlinks correctly.
We’ll not waste your time and quickly take a leap to the lessons with the best link building strategies that’ll work on 2020 (and probably, forever!):
- 7.1 Using HARO to Build Links on Quality News Sites
- 7.2 Reverse Image Search
- 7.3 Email Outreach
- 7.4 Link Reclamation (Unlinked Brand Mentions)
- 7.5 Broken Link Building
- 7.6 Link Blast with Podcast
- 7.7 Testimonials
- 7.8 Spy on Your Competitors’ Backlink Strategy
- 7.9 Backlink from Blogger Reviews
- 7.10 Use PBN for Good
- 7.11 Utilizing High-Quality Web Directories (BONUS TRICK)
Using HARO to Build Links on Quality News Sites
Have you heard of HARO? If not, it’s time for you to dig it deeper!
HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out which makes it quite evident that you can build high-quality backlinks on the authority news websites using HARO service.
Don’t be worried! The process is a child’s play! `
- 1 Signup as HARO Resource.
- 2 Once you successfully signup, you’ll get three emails every day from reporters who are looking for sources for some given topics
-
- 3 Pick a topic you’ve expertise in. Reply to them with your tips and credentials.
That’s it! If you can really prove yourself in offering value to the topic, you’ll win a link. But your reply should really be helpful.Well…
You may not get a link at the first attempt but keep trying!
Your continuous attempt would help you learn how things work and you’ll surely manage to get a link.
The question that pops up in everyone’s mind: If it’s so easy, will the backlink quality be poor?
Well, guess what! You can even get links from Entrepreneur, Forbes and other biggies from HARO!
Reverse Image Search
Have you heard of HARO? If not, it’s time for you to dig it deeper!
HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out which makes it quite evident that you can build high-quality backlinks on the authority news websites using HARO service.
Don’t be worried! The process is a child’s play! `
- 1 Signup as HARO Resource.
- 2 Once you successfully signup, you’ll get three emails every day from reporters who are looking for sources for some given topics
-
- 3 Pick a topic you’ve expertise in. Reply to them with your tips and credentials.
That’s it! If you can really prove yourself in offering value to the topic, you’ll win a link. But your reply should really be helpful.Well…
You may not get a link at the first attempt but keep trying!
Your continuous attempt would help you learn how things work and you’ll surely manage to get a link.
The question that pops up in everyone’s mind: If it’s so easy, will the backlink quality be poor?
Well, guess what! You can even get links from Entrepreneur, Forbes and other biggies from HARO!
10 Spammy Link Building Practices That are Better to be Avoided
You are good to go with your link building. But mistakes are inevitable!
Remember, you can step into the trap of intriguing but black hat (and grey hat) link building practices very often without even knowing it’s a violation of Google’s terms.
Fortunately, we have been able to come up with a list of link building practices that are considered spam and would have a reverse impact on your ranking!
- 8.1 PBN Participation
- 8.2 Low-Quality Web Directories
- 8.3 “Best List” Blog PostsLinks Hacking and Hiding in CSS and JavaScript
- 8.4 Advertorials
- 8.4 Link exchanges
- 8.4 Backlinks from foreign language websites
- 8.4 Auto-GeneratedBacklinks
- 8.4 Low distribution of anchor text
- 8.4 Widget backlinks
- 8.4 Paid links that pass PageRank
PBN Participation
You have already read about PBNs and how it violates Google’s algorithms and policies. So, you should better be taking a step back when it comes to creating 15 or 20 sources to give one website the backlink support.
These sorts of blog networking are highly prohibited. And on top of that, it’s already announced fact that Google discourages the blog networking!
Don’t believe us?
Take a look a tweet from Google’s former Search Spam Head, Matt Cutts.
He tweeted in 2014. And as you should already know, things in the world of SEO only get worse!
So, PBN is a big NO!
Low-Quality Web Directories
You have already read about PBNs and how it violates Google’s algorithms and policies. So, you should better be taking a step back when it comes to creating 15 or 20 sources to give one website the backlink support.
These sorts of blog networking are highly prohibited. And on top of that, it’s already announced fact that Google discourages the blog networking!
Don’t believe us?
Take a look a tweet from Google’s former Search Spam Head, Matt Cutts.
He tweeted in 2014. And as you should already know, things in the world of SEO only get worse!
So, PBN is a big NO!
Concluding: Use a Link Building Tool to Ease Your Process
Link Building isn’t easy. You need to invest your time, effort, and knowledge into it.
Also, you need a faster result if you want to get success. Quite naturally, it’s not smart to spend years to see a result that can appear in a quicker time otherwise!
You need to get smart and that’s why link building tools come in handy.
They save your time and give you more accurate result in a faster time period.
We have two of the best link building tools you can use! Let’s get into a brief detail of the tools.
- 9.1 Ahrefs
- 9.2 SEMrush
Ahrefs
Probably, the best all-in-one SEO tool out there, Ahrefs also tops the list when it comes to link building tools.
We’ll discuss the link building features later; but first, let us tell you about the other features of Ahrefs.
The tool comes with everything which includes the following:
-
Content Explorer
You can search for the best contents by keywords or topics) -
Site Explorer
You can find the Domain Rating, URL Rating, Total Number of Backlinks, Keywords, and Traffic Generated by a Whole Website or Any Web Page. -
Keyword Explorer
You can search for any keyword(s) to find its search volume, difficulty, and much more.
Let us tell you, we have not even described 1% of what the tool is really capable of with the above features.
We’ll stick to the link building features of Ahrefs. And here it goes:
Ahrefs Backlink Analysis
Ahrefs is probably the best backlink tool out there with almost 100% accuracy rate. You get to do a lot of digging with the backlink analysis tool of Ahrefs.
Right after entering a domain or URL, you can access the backlink profile of the particular URL you’ve entered.
You can spy on your competitors to know their backlink profiles, backlink sources, and the anchor texts they are using.
Also, the backlink analysis tool will help you know the Domain Authority (DR) and Page Authority (UR) of the linking site.
You get to find the traffic, whether your backlink is lost/removed, whether it had any redirections (301/302) with a handful of filtrations.
LINK INTERSECT TOOL
This one is also included in Ahrefs which has been mentioned before. This is how it looks like:
It’s very much important to find out the best resources from where your top competitors are gaining authority.
In simpler words, Ahrefs helps you with every possible feature that can aid in your link building journey.
SEMrush
Probably, the best all-in-one SEO tool out there, Ahrefs also tops the list when it comes to link building tools.
We’ll discuss the link building features later; but first, let us tell you about the other features of Ahrefs.
The tool comes with everything which includes the following:
-
Content Explorer
You can search for the best contents by keywords or topics) -
Site Explorer
You can find the Domain Rating, URL Rating, Total Number of Backlinks, Keywords, and Traffic Generated by a Whole Website or Any Web Page. -
Keyword Explorer
You can search for any keyword(s) to find its search volume, difficulty, and much more.
Let us tell you, we have not even described 1% of what the tool is really capable of with the above features.
We’ll stick to the link building features of Ahrefs. And here it goes:
Ahrefs Backlink Analysis
Ahrefs is probably the best backlink tool out there with almost 100% accuracy rate. You get to do a lot of digging with the backlink analysis tool of Ahrefs.
Right after entering a domain or URL, you can access the backlink profile of the particular URL you’ve entered.
You can spy on your competitors to know their backlink profiles, backlink sources, and the anchor texts they are using.
Also, the backlink analysis tool will help you know the Domain Authority (DR) and Page Authority (UR) of the linking site.
You get to find the traffic, whether your backlink is lost/removed, whether it had any redirections (301/302) with a handful of filtrations.
LINK INTERSECT TOOL
This one is also included in Ahrefs which has been mentioned before. This is how it looks like:
It’s very much important to find out the best resources from where your top competitors are gaining authority.
In simpler words, Ahrefs helps you with every possible feature that can aid in your link building journey.
