What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link from one website to another; search engines treat it as a vote of confidence in the page it points to.
In plain English
When another site links to yours, some of that site's trust and authority flows to your page. Not all backlinks are equal, a link from a respected, topically-relevant site is worth far more than dozens from low-quality or unrelated ones. Quality and relevance beat raw quantity every time.
Why it matters for AI search
Backlinks still signal authority to Google, and large-language models lean on the same signals when deciding which sources are trustworthy enough to name. Earning links from sites AI engines already trust makes you a more likely citation.
Frequently asked
No. A handful of links from authoritative, relevant sites outperforms hundreds of spammy ones, and low-quality link schemes can trigger penalties.
A dofollow link passes authority; a nofollow link tells search engines not to pass it. A natural profile has a healthy mix of both.
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