How to Choose the Right Backlinks for Your Business

You could build 50 links in a month and give yourself a pat on the back while hoping that Google nods in approval. But if those links come from random, low-value sites that have nothing to do with your industry you might be doing more harm than good.

That’s the tricky part about link building – it’s not a numbers game. It’s a context game.

Because the truth is not all links are created equal. Some links can boost your visibility, strengthen your authority, and drive targeted traffic to your site, while others can water down your credibility or get you flagged by search engines.

So the real question isn’t how many links you need – it’s which ones.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to break down. What makes a link valuable in the eyes of both people and algorithms – and how to spot (or earn) the kind of links that actually move the needle for your business?

What are the best links to get for your business?

You’re going to spend time (or money) on link building, so you better make sure the links you’re chasing are actually worth it. Because one solid, contextually strong link can outweigh 20 random backlinks dumped into a spammy blog roll.

So – how do you know which links actually matter?

It all comes down to two things: topical relevance and domain authority. One tells search engines what circles you belong in. The other tells them how much weight your connections carry.

When you put the two together, you get the juiciest links of all time. They bring not only high-intent referral traffic to your site but also strong signals of credibility, telling both – search engines and the people, that you know your stuff.

Let’s break down these concepts for an in-depth understanding.  

What is Topical Relevance? 

Topical relevance is the idea that the websites linking to you – and the content they link from – should be contextually related to what your site is about.

In SEO terms, it means the link makes sense. It fits. It doesn’t feel random. Search engines are smart enough to understand context, and when a site in your niche (or closely related to it) links to you, it sends a strong signal: “Hey, this site belongs in this space, too.”

That’s why topical relevance is the cornerstone of effective link-building. It trumps almost everything else.

And it exists at two levels – domain (the overall site) and page (the specific content linking to you).

Domain-level relevance is when the entire site linking to you is in your industry. For example, we are in SEO, and getting a link from another SEO business would clearly make sense for us – as it appears super relevant. 

Page-level relevance goes a layer deeper. Maybe the linking site isn’t exactly in your niche, but the specific page is clearly connected to your topic. For instance, if we receive a link from a marketing tool that discusses SEO (even if they don’t provide SEO services). That would be equally valuable because SEO is a core marketing subject, and the connection is naturally relevant. 

What is Domain Authority? 

Domain Authority (DA) is an SEO metric that predicts how well a website is likely to rank on search engines. It’s not a Google ranking factor – but it’s still one of the most widely used benchmarks in the industry to gauge a site’s overall trust and strength.

While it’s technically a metric created by SEO tools, it measures something very real: a website’s content expertise. And the thing is, you can’t fake expertise over time. 

Higher domain authority generally signals stronger, more valuable links. They pass on more “link juice,” help your rankings more, and show that authoritative sources are vouching for you. 

A link from a 70+ DA site is a much stronger credibility signal than a dozen links from low-authority blogs that nobody’s ever heard of. That said, don’t chase DA blindly. Relevance still rules. A link from a DA 40 site that’s topically relevant to your business can be more valuable than a DA 90 link from a totally unrelated news outlet.

Ranking Link Types by Value

Combining relevance and authority gives us different categories of “best backlinks.” Here’s how they rank:

1. High Authority + High Relevance

This is the gold standard of backlinks. They come from highly authoritative sites that are directly relevant to your business. For example, Hubspot linking to our SEO tool in their “best SEO tools” article is a big deal for us. 

Every industry has its version of “HubSpot” – these are the backlinks you want to aim for.

2. Medium Authority + High Relevance

These links come from sites that might not be industry giants but are deeply embedded in your niche. They carry solid weight and are more achievable than the first category.

A good example would be a medium-sized marketing blog that specializes in SEO strategies linking to our content about “SEO best practices.”

3. High Authority + Lower Relevance

While these sites pack serious authority, they might not be directly related to your industry. An example would be receiving a link from Forbes to our article on Link building with AI, even though Forbes doesn’t focus on SEO itself. It still adds value due to the authority of the site.

4. Medium Authority + Medium Relevance

These links are decent but won’t move the needle as much as the first two categories. This could be a local business blog that talks about general marketing trends, linking to your article on “how to optimise your site for SEO.” Still worth building as part of a balanced strategy, but shouldn’t be your primary focus.

5. Low Authority + High Relevance

Even links from less authoritative sites can be valuable if the topical relevance is strong. These might come from niche blogs or small business websites that are closely tied to your field.

Link Priorities Conceptualized:

To summarize link priorities, we’ve compiled a table breaking down these categories and showing which links are best for your business.

Final Thoughts

So, for the most part, link building boils down to 2 things – topical relevance and domain authority. 

These are the 2 elements that put your brand in places that already have the trust of both search engines AND real people who are interested in what you do.

That’s the kind of visibility that takes you closer to your end goal – revenue growth. 

And the only way to get there is by setting your link priorities straight. So before you jump on a backlink opportunity, pause and ask yourself, 

“Is this site trusted by Google?, Is its audience aligned with mine?”

If the answer to both is yes, that’s a link worth getting.