Every year, commentators predict that backlinks will stop being a ranking factor "soon". Every year, correlation studies consistently show backlinks remain one of the most powerful ranking signals. Understanding why, and what makes a backlink valuable, is fundamental.
The Link Graph, How Google Uses Backlinks
Google's original innovation was PageRank, an algorithm that treated backlinks as votes. A link from website A to website B was interpreted as website A vouching for website B. The more votes a page received, and the more authoritative the voting sites were, the higher the linked page ranked. This basic principle still underpins Google's algorithm.
What Makes a Backlink Genuinely Valuable in 2026
- Relevance: A link from a site in your industry is worth more than a link from an unrelated site
- Authority: A link from a high-DR/DA site with its own strong backlink profile passes more equity
- Placement: A link in the main body content is worth more than a footer or sidebar link
- Anchor text: Descriptive, keyword-relevant anchor text provides a stronger topical signal
- Editorial quality: A link from a journalist's article is worth more than a directory listing
- Traffic: Links from pages that actually get visited are worth more, they send real referral traffic
Follow vs Nofollow vs Sponsored Links
In 2019, Google changed nofollow from a directive to a hint, meaning Google may choose to follow nofollow links and pass some authority anyway. In 2026, a nofollow link from a high-authority site is not worthless. Prioritise followed links, but do not dismiss nofollow links from truly relevant, high-quality sites.
Complete How-To Guide: Assessing Your Backlink Profile and Building a Strategy
Before you can build links effectively you need to understand exactly where your Wix site stands today. This step-by-step guide walks you through assessing your current backlink profile, identifying gaps compared to your competitors, and creating a prioritised link acquisition strategy.
Follow these steps to assess your backlink profile and build a link strategy
- 1Step 1: Log into Google Search Console and navigate to the Links section then click Export External Links to download a complete list of every website currently linking to your Wix site
- 2Step 2: Open the exported file in a spreadsheet and create columns for Referring Domain, Referring Page URL, Target Page on Your Site, Estimated Domain Authority, Link Type (editorial, directory, social, other), and Follow Status
- 3Step 3: Run your domain through the free Ahrefs Backlink Checker at ahrefs.com/backlink-checker to supplement the GSC data with Domain Rating scores and identify any additional linking domains GSC may not report
- 4Step 4: Analyse the domain authority distribution of your existing backlinks by counting how many links come from sites with DA under 20, between 20-40, between 40-60, and above 60 to understand your current link quality profile
- 5Step 5: Identify your top 3-5 organic search competitors by searching Google for your most important keywords and noting which domains consistently outrank you in the results
- 6Step 6: Run each competitor domain through the same Ahrefs free checker and Moz Link Explorer to see their backlink counts and domain authority distribution so you can compare their profile to yours
- 7Step 7: Calculate the link gap by noting the total number of referring domains each competitor has versus your own and identifying the types of links they have that you are missing such as press coverage, directory listings, or guest post placements
- 8Step 8: Set realistic monthly link acquisition targets based on the gap analysis, for most small Wix sites aiming for 3-5 quality new referring domains per month is an achievable and impactful goal
- 9Step 9: Categorise your target link opportunities into three buckets: Quick Wins (directories and profiles you can create yourself), Medium Effort (guest posts, partnerships, and resource page suggestions), and High Effort (press coverage and editorial links)
- 10Step 10: Create outreach email templates for each category including a directory submission template, a guest post pitch template, a partnership request template, and a press pitch template that you can personalise for each target
- 11Step 11: Build a link building calendar that schedules specific outreach activities each week such as submitting to 3 directories in week one, sending 5 guest post pitches in week two, and reaching out to 3 local partners in week three
- 12Step 12: Set up monthly tracking by re-exporting your GSC backlink data on the first of each month and comparing it to the previous month to measure new referring domains acquired and overall backlink profile growth
Final Checkpoint
After completing this process you should have a complete picture of your current backlink profile, a clear understanding of how it compares to your competitors, realistic monthly acquisition targets, outreach templates ready to personalise, and a weekly link building calendar. Review and update your strategy quarterly as your profile grows and competitive landscape shifts.
Essential Resources
Ahrefs Backlink Checker
Free tool to check backlinks pointing to any website including your Wix site
Ahrefs
Industry-leading SEO tool for keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor research
Moz Beginner's Guide to SEO
Comprehensive free guide covering all fundamental SEO concepts
Google Search Console
Monitor how Google crawls, indexes, and ranks your Wix site pages
