What Is A Contextual Link And Why I Love It

A contextual link, or backlink, is a hyperlink added in the main body text of relevant content with relevant anchors.

There are 3 types of contextual backlinks. Explore contextual backlink types with just 2 link examples.

Internal Contextual Links

Internal contextual linking is essential; you should do it for Google to find and index your website pages. But you should do it correctly and add it in a relevant and organic way. Let’s say you do not know the rules of SEO or link building. In this case, I offer to outsource link building, as it can help you cut costs, save time, and ensure your website is not a place for experiments.

So in the sentence before, you can notice a contextual internal backlink with the anchor “outsource link building”.

Inbound Contextual Links

Inbound contextual backlinks are links that the website got from other websites.

According to Google, one of the key factors to determine ranking results is the quality of the content that can be understood, for instance, when prominent websites link or refer to the content.

In this paragraph, the anchor “key factors to determine ranking results” is an inbound contextual backlink for Google.

Outbound Contextual Links

Outbound contextual links are the links you add on your website pointing to other website pages.

If you check again the example of Inbound contextual link above, as I said, the link “key factors to determine ranking results” is an inbound contextual backlink for Google. So, for us, the same link will be called an outbound contextual backlink.

If you want to identify contextual backlinks, consider looking at the main characteristics.

Links in the blog, articles, and guides

Contextual backlinks can be found in the blog text. If the link is in the sidebar, footer, or author bios, then it can not be called a contextual link.

The link should be relevant

Contextual backlinks are very relevant not only to the page where they appear but also to the target of the link.

Human-created link-not automated

One of the main reasons the contextual link is called the most valuable backlink is that contextual backlinks are added by humans, not automatically or by robots. The link can not be called contextual if the links are placed in bulk.

Natural Anchors

One of the most important things if you want to become a link building professional is not using the same (exact match) word or phrase for linking.

There are many link building strategies, but I want to mention only the best ones for having a contextual backlink. As contextual backlinks are the backlinks that can appear in the blog posts, it means the strategies of linking are limited.

• Guest blogging – In my opinion, this is the best strategy for contextual link building. You write an article and you keep the relevance.
• Editorial links- Editorial links can be earned in different ways. However, the main white-hat strategy is having high-quality content where people will find some statistics, tools, investigations, or something interesting that can force people to think you should be linked.
• Haro Link building – This is the strategy to get a link from authority sites by adding some content to the body text of the publisher. Publisher, after approving your content as a “thank you” keep the link if it is relevant and not spammy.
• Broken link building – In case you found an article that is very relevant to your targets and the link is broken, you can please an editor of the website to replace it with your link
• Interview or podcast -Journalists invite you to have an interview, so you know the topic and what you can announce. In many companies, they publish an interview or podcast and link back to the source you are from.

In this paragraph, I will present images where you will see how GoPeak.io adds contextual backlinks, and I am sure you will understand what a contextual backlink is.

Example 1: Not an exact match anchor for contextual link

Above you see the page where our client got a contextual backlink with the text “psychology behind choosing colors“. Below, you can see the target page where the heading is “The Meaning of Colors and How To Use Them With Brand Design“. As you notice, the anchor text is not about the direct target, but when you see where the link is placed in the content, where it is going, and how it shows the real connections between them, you understand that the link is manually created. As we like to say, it is a contextual backlink.

Example 2: Creating a connection between 2 internal pages with contextual backlinks

We have a page about “social media links” and another written for people who want to go deeper into Facebook backlinks. From the image above, you can see that one link with the text “Facebook backlinks” points to the article about Facebook link building, and one link from the article Facebook backlinks for SEO points back to the social media backlink guide page. This is a great strategy to show the strong connection between 2 pages with internal contextual backlinks.

Example 3: How the same keyword can work for different projects

There are many use cases when we say to new clients that, in some context, anchors that do not represent the main meaning of their targeted keywords. In the image above, you see that the link added by the editor is the anchor text “some tools“. Of course, if you just hear that, it is difficult to understand whether your link is about “Time Management Apps“. But when you read the paragraph, you can understand that the link is contextually added and it is not spam. The reader of the text knows that if they click the link os the keyword “some tools“, they will appear on the page where they can find additional information about “time management tools“. As a specialist, you understand that the link is 100% human-created, not automated. That is why I really like this type of contextual link.

Example 4: Use research and statistics to earn contextual backlinks

This contextual link was earned by one of our clients with the text “5% to 35% of the transaction value“. People like statistics and always add statistics links to give a piece of additional information to their readers. Thus, they show that even their written article is trustworthy. The target is about “Best Ways to Calculate Finder’s Fees“. As you can see, it is not about keywords; it is about relevancy, additional information, and a natural approach in link building.

Many factors make me love contextual backlinks: So, I am pointing out the contextual link building benefits you should know about.

• Google loves it too.
• Contextual backlinks are helpful for content readers.
• For me, if someone asks what the word is in SEO that you can’t separate, I would rather say “relevancy”.
• Contextual backlinks help to rank higher than other backlinks.
• Contextual backlinks are natural backlinks and can not hurt SEO.
• Contextual links are likely to stay live over time.
• Contextual links boost your UX.
• Contextual backlinks are a sign of a trusted information source.
• Contextual links increase the authority of your website and a page.

Stop buying irrelevant and low-quality backlinks from link sellers. Let us help you leverage your SEO and link building strategy. GoPeak has a strong history of providing link services, and we have never had a client receive a penalty. Explore our link building packages and order your plan.