Why Backlinking Matters for Your Business’ SEO
If you’re new to SEO and you’ve heard about backlinks and are confused this blog is for you. This blog is also for you if you are wondering how to get more backlinks and don’t know where to start.
I’ll just jump right to it - my trick to getting back links is to reach out to video production companies around the country (out of my market) and see if they want to share a backlink via a well-written and useful blog. I get into more details below, but know that this has really worked well for me!
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks - also known as inbound links - are links from one website to another. Think of them as digital referrals. When another site links to your content, it signals to search engines that your page is trustworthy, valuable, or relevant. The more high-quality backlinks your site earns, the more credibility it builds in the eyes of search algorithms like Google’s. This can directly influence how high your content ranks in search results. But not all backlinks are created equal - links from authoritative, contextually relevant sites carry far more weight than links from spammy directories or unrelated blogs. At their core, backlinks serve as a form of social proof on the web, helping your site gain visibility, authority, and ultimately, more traffic.
Are Backlinks Important?
SEO experts say they're essential
A recent industry study confirmed that 95% of SEO professionals still rate backlinks as a "critical" or "very important" ranking factor. They’re huge for building authority for your site which is one way that google will be able to say “hey I think this site is important, let’s put it to the top of our pages.”Quality, not quantity
Today, a single link from a well-respected, relevant site is more powerful than dozens of low-value ones. This means don’t just hire anyone to get you backlinks. Vet any company you’re going to work with and ask them, what is the quality of the backlinks you’re able to get me. If they’re buying you trash backlinks from some spammy website, you might as well have not even started the process. This will actually harm your site’s authority.Pages that rank top often have far more referring domains
On average, the #1 result in Google has 3.8× more backlinks (and 3.2× more referring domains) than results below it.Digital PR is overtaking guest posting
A 2025 study found that Digital PR - which includes relationship-based content like our partner blogs - is now the most effective way to build lasting links.
Stats That Back It Up
If you're wondering whether backlinks still move the needle in 2025 - the data says yes. Here are a few recent stats that highlight just how important backlinking is for SEO right now:
94% of content gets zero backlinks. According to Editorial.Link’s 2025 Link Building Trends Report, the vast majority of published web pages never earn a single backlink — which means earning even a few high-quality links already puts you ahead of the curve.
52% of marketers say link building is their biggest SEO challenge. In this report, over half of SEO professionals cited backlinks as the most difficult - yet most impactful - part of organic growth. So realize that this is going to take time. It does even for the pros. And remember that even one backlink is a big win!
What Most Have Wrong About Backlinks
Link swaps or listicles alone don’t cut it
Don’t just reach out to someone and ask them to put your website on theirs - find good reason for it to be on that site and make sure it makes sense for it to be there. The goal here is to integrate into their site with meaning - via an entire blog post or referencing your services in a few sentences on their site. Google and AI systems prioritize editorial context, not checkbox-style link placements.In some cases, I will say that I do think it’s okay to just swap links. if they don’t have a blog and don’t want to make a new page - that’s fine - just don’t let this be all you do all the times.
Not every link is worth partnering with
Backlinks from irrelevant or spammy domains offer little to no value - sometimes they even hurt. Make it make sense.
Our Strategy? Reaching Out to Friends with Companies and other Video Production Companies
Here’s how we approach backlinking:
We reach out to similar businesses to ours in other markets
Not just for links, but for genuine collaboration with other video production companies around the country.
We connect with video production partners, past collaborators, and friends willing to share audience value - not just take link equity.We don’t just drop links into random pages. Rather than a single mention, we write full blog posts spotlighting our partners - highlighting their strengths, showing examples, and linking deeply to their site.
They do the same for us.
In return, they create similar content -creating a web of mutual endorsement that feels authentic both to readers and Google.
2. We reach out to friends who own businesses and have a website.
This is where it makes sense to just swap a backlink without a full blog to support your collab. For example, we reached out to our best friend, Paul, at First Reef and swapped a back link. We just integrated one another on existing blogs - it worked!
How You Can Start Doing This Too
Make a list of peers, businesses, and brands you can reach out to.
Pitch the idea honestly: "Hey I see you have a blog for your XYZ company in a non competitive market to mine - want to help one another?"
Link to multiple partner pages - don’t send them just to your homepage. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Share the blog with one another on a google doc and put in the links you want them to include.
Maintain the relationship, not just the backlink.
Final Thoughts: SEO Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum
Backlinks are still essential and with the tactic above, SEO means real connections.
Our approach? Wanting to write meaningfully about good people. That way, when we link to you, there’s real context behind it - and our audience (and Google) trusts it.
