Learn How To Backlink Like a Pro From The HackerNoon Editors

Hey there, Hackers!

Today, we’re talking about the almighty backlink.

Although it could sometimes seem like an afterthought, a good set of high-quality backlinks could take a good piece to the next level.

If you can backlink like a pro, then all your writing will be more authoritative, look stronger, read more professionally, and, best of all, can help you reach the coveted front page of Google.

So, how can you master backlinks? Let's break down a few tips and learn from some of our backlink black belts at HackerNoon.

1. Keywords Matter (Make It Make Sense!)

When backlinking, always remember that you should include any relevant keywords from the website you are linking to in the writing of your HackerNoon article and make that your point of contact. For example, if you’re linking to a source reference about Game of Thrones, make sure that “Game of Thrones” is what gets highlighted and linked in your HackerNoon article. This ensures that your audience knows what they’re getting linked to. In short, make sure your anchor text is reflective of what you’re sourcing.

Take a look at @iswaryam’s new piece about visualizing network graphs as Hamilton characters and how all their backlinks make semantic sense to their reference source about the play and various other media.

2. Backlink Quality

Good writers present strong sources to back up their claims, and you should make sure you’re not just taking info from anywhere. If you find yourself writing about news, academic research, or anything that is highly evidence-based or makes strong claims, always make sure you’re linking to authoritative, high-quality sources to reinforce your writing. Plus, the stronger the source, the more Google will like your writing!

Check out @zacamos’s new piece about AI and extinct species, where he links back to strong sources like the National Library of Medicine, BBC Earth, and CBS News.

3. Backlink Diversity

While it could be tempting to list one place as your one-stop shop for everything you’re writing about, it can actually hinder your writing in the long run if you’re not careful. Linking to one place repeatedly can be considered backlink spamming by Google and our editors, and it could hurt your piece’s chances of becoming a HackerNoon Top Story or reaching search engines. Diversifying your knowledge pool and linking back to a wide variety of places indicates that you’ve researched your topic well and can present useful backlinks for those who would like to follow in your footsteps.

For a good example of backlink diversity, read @drewchapin’s deep dive into the world of PrisonTok, where he finds great interviews and quotes from former prisoners and legal specialists about the world of incarcerated influencers.

4. Use a Lot of Backlinks (But Know When To Trim It Down!)

Now you know how to use backlinks effectively; however, the next level is knowing when to use them. No one likes to read a mega-highlighted article filled with so many links that it looks like a virtual minefield of redirects for every minor claim and occurrence. A truly skilled writer knows when it’s time to backlink for the benefit of the reader and when to let the writing confidently do its own thing. If you find yourself swamped with important sources and reference material, don’t be afraid to make a nice “References” section at the bottom of your piece to look like a real professional!

@venkat2811 deftly links back to important sources like GitHub, Intel, and Nvidia as needed throughout this piece and then intelligently creates a “References” section at the bottom with a whole host of high-quality backlinks should readers need them.

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That’s all for today, folks. See you in cyberspace!