5 questions about backlinks
Do backlinks still matter? Should you link to other websites? We answer your most frequently asked questions about backlinks and explain why earning high-quality links is so important
Join the WTF is SEO? mentorship program
Express your interest as a mentor or mentee using our mentorship program registration form. Intersted in making a financial contribution to support this work? Email us (seoforjournalism@gmail.com).
Hello, and welcome back. Jessie and Shelby here, back from a rainy-ish weekend in Toronto. Jessie saw The Franklin Electric in concert and played her first softball games of the season (one win, one tie, zero re-injured hip flexors 🙏). Shelby celebrated her best friend’s birthday at a murder mystery dinner party, successfully identifying the murderer. Reading all of those thriller novels really comes in handy.
A HUGE thanks to everyone who joined our spring community call and participated in a very lively chat. Here’s the recording and the link to our mentorship program registration.
This week: Five questions — and answers — about backlinks. We answer some common questions and clarify the importance of acquiring high-quality links.
Let’s get it.
In this issue:
Does backlinking still “work”?
How do I track backlinks?
What to do about broken backlinks?
Should I link out to other sites?
What do I do when I don’t get the link?
THE 101
Does backlinking still “work”?
Short answer: Yes. Google uses links for signals that URLs are worth ranking in search results. Clicks to those pages confirm its value. Therefore, if an article has a lot of links from external sources with strong engagement, Google’s algorithms reward it with a higher ranking.
In news SEO, backlinks are also how Google’s algorithms determine whether an article should get the “Highly Cited” label on search results. This label can be especially valuable for high-profile stories, investigations or scoops, where your publication should be recognized as the original source of the exclusive.
Articles labelled “Highly Cited” are usually ranked in the most prominent position in Top Stories, too, because, well, it’s highly linked.
Backlinks are still trust and authority signals. When Publication A links to a competitor (Publication B), it's because that story is valuable to Publication A and its audience. This tells Google that Publication A is authoritative on the topic in question, and should be ranked higher.
An external site is actively linking to a potential competitor because the content is that valuable to their audience. This displays a level of authority on a topic. Google takes this into consideration to determine if an outlet is authoritative, and rank them higher.
(Barry Adams wrote a great article on Google’s reliance on link and clicks for ranking.)
Focusing on high-quality links is more important than the number of links. In early SEO, buying links was a black-hat tactic to boost ranking. Google's algorithms are smarter now and consider many more factors (including manual reviews). Focus on links from reputable news outlets, educational or government sites or well-regarded blogs.
Join our community of more than 1,300 news SEOs on Slack to chat any time.
THE HOW TO
How do I track backlinks?
Tracking backlinks can be done with almost any SEO tool including Semrush’s backlink audit, Ahrefs’s site explorer, Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider or in Google Search Console.
Using Google Search Console: On the left navigation bar, there is a “Links” section. In here, GSC will show a short summary of external links, internal links, top linking sites and the top linking text. If you click “more” on any of these sections, it will take you to a separate tab where it provides a full breakdown of the information. You can also export this information directly into Google Sheets.
This is super helpful when looking at how people link to you, too. Oftentimes, the top linked anchor text will be your brand, but the words chosen by external websites could indicate what topics where your competitors believe you have authority.
🔥 Pro tip: Ahrefs also has a free version of its backlink checker that gives you very high-level insights if you’re checking a story or page quickly.
Track high-quality links for important stories or pages. Identify the sites and types of content that garner the most links.
Warning: Take the number of backlinks on any tool with a grain of salt, as this includes all links from both high-quality and low-quality sources.
Larger publishers often have a mix of both. While low-quality links can usually be ignored, if the number of those links spikes, it may indicate your site is being shared in the dark corners of the web and may require further attention.
What do I do about broken backlinks?
A broken backlink is a link from another website to yours that no longer works, often leading to a 404 error page. Broken links hurt your SEO efforts as it creates a bad user experience and does not pass any link value to your site.
Broken backlinks occur when a page's destination changes or the link was incorrectly added. Without monitoring, broken backlinks can accumulate over time. This can, in turn, hurt your search rankings.
Email the website in question asking if they can correct the link. If the URL’s destination is changed or removed, provide the corrected link.
Set up a 301 redirect to a page that provides similar value if the original destination is gone. Do this sparingly, and ensure the redirect is a single hop, as multiple hops hinder the link's value.
Ensure a proper 404 page is in place that allows readers to navigate back to your homepage and view other content on your site.
If it’s a toxic backlink, disavow it. These links — often from spammy, or low-quality sites — can negatively affect your search performance. Consult Google’s instructions for how it’s implemented.
Doing nothing is also an option. Consider the potential value of the backlink: if it’s minimal or nonexistent, don't worry about it. Not every “error” needs to be “fixed.”
Should I link out to other sites?
Yes. This is good internet juju.
In journalism, we build on each other’s work all the time. If the CBC has an exclusive, and The Globe and Mail reports off that scoop while adding new details and context for readers, it’s best practice to link back to the CBC article.
Credit other publications (and link to their stories) when you rely on their work. It strengthens your credibility and builds goodwill with other outlets.
Simply put: it’s the right thing to do journalistically.
This also means you should feel entitled to ask for a backlink if a publication writes of your reporting. If the CBC writes off The Globe's scoop and doesn't link back, Globe editors are well positioned to request attribution.
What else should I link out to?
Depending on your newsroom’s guidelines, linking to polls, reports and third-party analysis is best practice. Link to the original source, whether that’s a URL, hosted PDF, image, etc.
Link to any external sources that improve the story. In articles about concert tours, link to an artist's website or tour dates. Link to social media content when it's referenced in a trend story. In a book review, link to the author's site or biography. Ask yourself: Is this link helpful for my readers? If yes, add it.
What do I do when I don’t get the link?
If you're focused on ensuring you get a link every time your site is mentioned, set up notifications from a backlink checker tool.
Once you begin to tackle missing backlinks, here’s what to do:
Verify the site is reputable and relevant. Don’t worry about tracking down backlinks from low-quality or spammy sites. Check that the mention of your site is accurate and fair, and worth claiming.
Identify the appropriate writer and send a polite email requesting the link. Here’s a template to follow:
Hi [reporter name].
Thank you for writing up our story on [insert topic or scoop] in this piece [add link to their story]. I noticed there’s no link back to our story — would you mind adding it so readers can find it easily? Here’s the URL: [inset links].
Thanks!
It can be that simple.
If they don’t reply, move on. Some outlets have guidelines against linking out; it’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do.
Track your efforts. Backlinks — especially high-quality links — are hard to get. Whenever you put in extra work to get a backlink, or a story gets a Highly Cited label, make note of it.
Monitor search results before and after you track down backlinks. Did those efforts result in higher ranking, or the Highly Cited label showing up? Track and report it to your team. This validates the efforts.
And what if you receive such a request? Do the right thing: link to the reporting.
The bottom line: Backlinks are still important in news SEO. Focus on acquiring high-quality links instead of just increasing the number of links. Track your efforts and reach out to external sites that mention, but don't link to, your work. Every effort counts.
#SPONSORED - The Classifieds
Get your company in front of more than 13,000 writers, editors and digital marketers working in news and publishing. Sponsor the WTF is SEO? newsletter!
RECOMMENDED READING
Google news and updates
🤖 Roger Montti: Google’s updated raters guidelines refines the concept of “low quality.”
🤖 Barry Schwartz: Google AI mode is being tested outside of labs (aka in the wild), and there are new features.
🤖 Roger Montti: Google has updated its Gemini/Vertex AI user agent documentation.
🤖 Matt Southern: John Mueller says updating the XML sitemap dates doesn’t help SEO.
🤖 Roger Montti: Google clarifies Googlebot-News crawler documentation.
Even more recommended reading
⭐ Harry Clarkson-Bennett: How to write create great content for search (that delivers).
🔗 Despina Gavoyannis: Semantic SEO and the advanced skill most SEOs pretend to understand.
🤖 Samantha Subin: Meta launches standalone AI app to take on ChatGPT.
🤖 Meta: Introducing Meta AI App, a new way to access your AI assistant.
🔍 Sara Taher: How to audit and optimize your brand in search.
📜 Ryan Law: What is llms.txt and should you care about it?
💻 Tom Capper: How to measure the impact of AI Overviews on site traffic.
🤔 Gianluca Fiorelli & Cindy Krum: Journey optimization, not just keywords: The future of Google Search.
What did you think of this week's newsletter?
(Click to leave feedback.)
Catch up: Last week’s newsletter
Have something you’d like us to discuss? Send us a note on Twitter (Jessie or Shelby) or to our email: seoforjournalism@gmail.com.
Written by Jessie Willms and Shelby Blackley
This piece really clarifies the mindset shift: from chasing quantity to stewarding quality.
We also recently explored some of these complementary tactics, like "How to Get High-quality Backlink for Startups in 2025", from[https://www.cybrinal.com/blog]. It echoes your point that sustainable link building is about systems, not one-off asks.
Thanks again for the actionable advice. Always valuable.
https://feeshop.cc/