How backlinks influence rankings
The underlying idea is simple: if other sites link to a page, it is probably useful. A link works like a recommendation. Google built its search engine on this principle, and it still applies today, although the way it is evaluated has become far more refined.
Recommendations are not all equal. A mention in a respected industry publication carries more weight than a link from an abandoned blog, and a link from a site that itself earns good links is worth more than one from an isolated page. That is why one relevant placement can outperform a dozen random ones.
In the past, search engines leaned heavily on link counts. Anchor texts were tuned to match target keywords, and link exchanges sold links in bulk. Search engines learned to tell those patterns from genuine recommendations. Spammy links are now devalued, and obvious schemes can lead to a drop in rankings or a manual action.
What search engines look at in a link
When a crawler evaluates a link, it weighs several signals together. None of them works in isolation.
- Source authority: a link from a well-known, trusted site counts for more than one from an obscure site.
- Topical relevance: a link from a construction portal to a renovation company in Tashkent looks natural, while one from a cosmetics blog looks odd.
- Context: a link inside an article that supports a point beats a link in a footer, a sidebar or a list of a hundred URLs.
- Anchor text: the visible words hint at what the target page is about.
- Attributes: nofollow, sponsored and ugc tell the search engine how to treat the link.
- Profile naturalness: how fast links grow, where they come from and how varied they are.
Anchor text and rel attributes
Anchor text helps a search engine understand a page, but it has a flip side. If dozens of links point to you with the same commercial phrase, such as «buy air conditioner Tashkent», it looks ordered rather than earned. A natural profile is mixed: the brand name, the bare domain, words like «here» or «the store's website», and descriptive phrases.
The attributes work like this: nofollow says the site owner does not vouch for the link; sponsored is for ads and paid placements; ugc is for comments and forum posts. Google treats them as hints and makes the final call. A paid link without a label breaks Google's guidelines, and that includes paid features in media outlets and sponsored posts by bloggers.
Why bought links are false economy
When spammy sites link to you without your involvement, Google usually just ignores those links. It is a different story if you bought the links yourself: they can be devalued, and manual actions for link schemes are possible. Yandex has historically been even stricter about purchased links and has applied separate filters against them. Because many audiences in Uzbekistan search in both Google and Yandex, putting rankings in either engine at risk is a poor trade.
A typical story goes like this: a contractor offers a cheap «link package» priced in soums, positions rise for a while, and then the site loses them along with the money spent. The riskiest tactics are:
- bulk purchases from link marketplaces;
- networks of weak sites built only to pass links;
- circular link exchanges;
- comment and forum spam;
- many links with identical commercial anchors.
Internal linking: the free place to start
Links inside your own site help search engines understand its structure, find pages and distribute importance among them. This is the one part you fully control, and it carries no risk.
In practice, key service, category and product pages should receive links from the homepage, the menu and blog articles, using descriptive anchors. Say an online store in Tashkent publishes a guide on choosing a fridge: the text should naturally link to the fridge category. A page that no other page links to is harder for search engines to find and looks less important.
Earning links in Uzbekistan and checking your profile
Good links follow usefulness and real relationships: features in local business and industry media, expert comments, partners and suppliers, trade shows and professional associations, and guides or research worth citing. Mentions in Telegram channels and on Instagram often pass no ranking weight, but they bring people and lift branded searches. Listings on Uzum or OLX are first of all sales channels, not an SEO tool.
Check your profile regularly with the links report in Search Console, the external links section in Yandex Webmaster and third-party tools. Look at who links to you, which pages they point to, which anchors they use and whether any sources look spammy. Google's disavow tool is mostly relevant after a manual action or if you bought links yourself in the past, and it should be used carefully.
If you want to know the state of your site's link profile and where to start, markdev works on SEO optimisation for websites in Uzbekistan. Tell us about your task and we will suggest a realistic plan, without promises of instant results.
FAQ
What is link building in simple terms?
It is the work of earning links from other websites so that search engines see your pages as trustworthy. The more authoritative and relevant the linking site, the more such a link can help.
Is it safe to buy backlinks?
It is risky, especially for Yandex. If you do pay for a placement, the link should carry the sponsored attribute. Useful content, partnerships and genuine publications are a more reliable route.
What matters more: the number of links or their quality?
Quality. One relevant link from a topical site is usually worth more than many random ones. Variety in sources and anchors also signals a natural profile.
How can I see who links to my website?
Open the links report in Google Search Console and the external links section in Yandex Webmaster. You can add third-party link analysis tools if you need more detail.
Where do I start if there is no budget for external links?
Start with internal linking, which is free and safe. Then create material that partners, local media and industry organisations will want to cite.
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