Backlinks that actually work

Which links Google rewards today, which ones hurt and how companies build good backlinks with manageable effort. Locally and internationally.

A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Google treats it like a recommendation: if trustworthy sites link to you, you gain trust yourself. Not every link counts the same, though. Some even do harm.

Quality beats quantity

The old rule was simple: lots of links, good rankings. Today what matters most is who links to you and in what context. A link from an expert article or your industry association carries more weight than a hundred entries in random directories.

Good backlinks share three traits:

• The linking site has real visitors.
• It fits your offer by topic or region.
• The link sits in the content, not hidden in the footer.

Five sources that almost always work

1. Associations and clubs: your industry association, chamber of commerce, sponsoring a local sports club.
2. Partners and suppliers: many have reference or partner pages. Just ask.
3. Media: an opening, an anniversary or a market entry abroad is often worth a news item.
4. Expert content: a useful guide on your website gets quoted, across borders too.
5. Directories with substance: in Switzerland local.ch and search.ch, internationally the leading industry portals in your target markets.

What to stay away from

Link packages for a few francs, automatically generated comments and blog networks that exist only to link are reliably spotted by Google. At best they have no effect. At worst they cost you visibility.

The best place to start

Nobody likes linking to a slow, confusing website. Before you invest time in link building, take a look at loading speed, structure and content. That is exactly where our search engine optimisation begins: technically clean, clear in content and with links that suit your company.