What is a Backlink Profile? Steps for Backlink Profile Analysis

Trying to get higher search engine rankings without backlinks is like climbing a ladder without actually having one. You may end up getting nowhere. That’s daunting, right?

That’s exactly why you need to build a well-optimized backlink profile.

In this blog, I’ll tell you everything about a backlink profile and how you can analyze it using SEO tools to bolster higher rankings and boost online visibility.

Let’s get started. 

What is a Backlink Profile?

Your backlink profile is a repository of all the backlinks pointing to your website from other external websites. 

Your backlink profile reflects the types of backlinks you’ve built, anchor texts used to build backlinks and the authority and relevance of sites that host your links.

Each link in your backlink profile vouches for the credibility, trustworthiness, and authority of your site in your industry. It signals to search engines like Google that your content is helpful and relevant to users.

As a result, Google, a constant champion of fetching more relevant results for users, will reward your site with higher rankings. This will make it easier for users to discover your site for relevant keyword searches.

However, not all backlinks are equal. While some links strengthen your backlink profile, some others break it. The robustness of your backlink profile depends heavily on the quality of the links it contains.

While a strong backlink profile can boost your rankings, a spammy profile can lead to Google penalties and low rankings.

That said, you need to build a good backlink profile to pull maximum SEO benefits out of your backlink profile.

What Does a Good Backlink Profile Look Like?

A good backlink profile can complement your website’s SEO incredibly. So, what makes a good backlink profile?

• Relevance: Backlinks from websites in your niche are more relevant than the ones from other random sites.
• Authority: Links from high domain authority (DA or DR) sites add more value to your link profile than links from low-DA sites
• Diversity: Links from various sources, such as blogs, news sites, forums and more, make a good link profile.
• Balanced Anchor Text: An optimized link profile features a mix of branded, generic and exact-match anchor texts.

• Natural Growth: Google loves link profiles that showcase consistent growth in alignment with the site’s content production and reach.

• Minimal or No Toxicity: A good link profile keeps low-quality, toxic backlinks to a minimum with regular backlink audits.

Where to Find Your Backlink Profile?

Given the SEO significance of backlinks, it is essential to analyze your backlink profile from time to time to ensure that it’s clean and healthy. The following tools come in handy for comprehensive backlink analysis.

• Ahrefs- Ahrefs provides a snapshot of your referring domains, anchor text distribution, and link quality. With a simple user interface, this tool is ideal for detailed backlink analysis.
• Semrush- Semrush offers insights into domain authority, backlinks and referring domains and helps tap into new or lost backlink opportunities.
• Google Search Console– A free tool to check who links back to your website.

Steps for Backlink Profile Analysis on Ahrefs

Bringing together detailed SEO metrics and a user-friendly interface, Ahrefs is a go-to tool for backlink profile analysis. 

Here’s a look at how you can get a 360-degree view of your link profile using Ahrefs.

Step 1: 

Log in to your Ahrefs and navigate to the Site Explorer tool. 

Enter your website URL to get an overview of your website’s metrics, including Domain Rating (DR), backlinks, referring domains, keywords and more.

Scroll down and switch to the Backlink Profile tab to see the growth trajectory of your backlink profile over time.

To the right, alongside the backlink profile graph, you can see your referring domains and backlinks categorized based on link types, such as Do-Follow, No-Follow, UGC and Sponsored.

Step 2:

From the menu, click the Backlinks option under the Backlink Profile tab to see individual links pointing to your site.

This section highlights your new and lost domains, allowing you to retarget those sites to regain lost backlink opportunities.

Step 3: 

Next, choose the Referring Domains option under the Backlink Profile tab to check the list of websites linking back to you.

This section features your host domains with their detailed metrics, such as Domain Rating, traffic potential, number of Do-Follow linked domains and referring domains etc. Plus, you can pinpoint the number of backlinks you’ve earned from any particular domain.

These insights allow you to get a bigger picture of the SEO benefits your site can get by linking to these domains. Analyze them closely to cut off your associations with low-quality domains.

Step 4:

Navigate to the Anchors tab under Backlink Profile to see how your anchor texts are distributed across various referring domains. You can filter them based on time range, link type and backlink status.

A healthy link profile uses a mix of branded, non-branded exact match anchor texts to create backlinks.

Note: You can export all your Backlink Analysis reports generated by Ahrefs and use them for an in-depth analysis or future reference.

Best Practices for Building a Healthy Link Profile

Here’s a look at the best practices for building and maintaining a healthy link profile.

Diversify Link Types

Relying heavily on a particular link type can make your link profile look unnatural and lead to Google eyeing your website with suspicion.

For example, while do-follow backlinks add more SEO value, a link profile with only do-follow links can make it look pretty plastic, and lead to negative SEO consequences.

Consider investing in different link building types like Do-Follow, No-Follow and UGC. Also ensure that your links come from diverse sources, such as blogs, guest posts, directories, forums, editorial mentions and more.

This way, you ensure that your backlink profile looks organic to the search engine.

Mix Up Anchor Text

Anchor text optimization plays a significant role in determining how search engines perceive your backlinks. 

Overuse of specific keywords as anchor texts can damage the credibility of your link profile and affect your rankings.

So, mix up your anchor texts in alignment with organic link building practices to build a healthy link profile.

Focus on Content Quality

High-quality SEO content is paramount for building contextual backlinks that can strengthen your link profile and drive more referral traffic.

One, featuring high-quality, engaging content on your site based on first-hand experience, including infographics, surveys, case studies, can help earn natural backlinks.

Two, creating high-quality content for other sites, such as guest posting can drive referral traffic and boost engagement for your site.

Use keywords naturally placed in your content to build your backlinks. This will make them more contextual and powerful.

Balance Between Link Quality and Quantity

A strong backlink profile is one that achieves a striking balance between link quality and quantity.

For instance, earning a single link from a high-authority website in your niche is far better than acquiring a bunch of backlinks from low-quality, irrelevant sites.

Google advocates building relevant links. Earning backlinks from trusted and relevant sources can boost your authority and trustworthiness. 

That said, mastering the art of handling link quality and quantity can help trigger significant SEO progress for your website.

Monitor the Ratio of Do-Follow vs. No-Follow Links

Maintaining the ratio of Do-Follow and No-Follow links is critical for building a healthy backlink profile. 

While Do-Follow links pass authority and boost your SEO, No-Follow links, even if they don’t pass SEO value, still add to the diversity and authenticity to your backlink profile.

As I mentioned earlier, a link profile with a high concentration of Do-Follow links will make it look unnatural for Google. That’s why you need a mix of Do-Follow and No-Follow links in your link profile to showcase genuine link building.

While there’s no specific Do-Follow Vs. No-Follow link ratio to adhere to, a ratio of roughly 70: 30 is a good threshold.

Your backlink profile is the touchstone of your link building strategy. A good backlink profile stands up on quality, relevance and authority. 

Analyzing your backlink profile using the right SEO tools and enhancing it with the right link building strategies can help maximize the SEO potential of your backlinks. This can bring you higher rankings, improved visibility and increased conversions.

In short, knowing the what, where, when and how of a backlink profile can potentially reward you with long-term SEO success.

Need more help building a strong backlink profile to get top Google rankings? Contact us at Stan Ventures for expert assistance.