Backlinks, also known as 'inbound links' or 'external links,' are hyperlinks from one website to another. They are of paramount importance to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for several reasons: 1. **Trust and Authority**: Search engines like Google consider backlinks as votes of confidence from one site to another. If your site has backlinks from high-authority, trustworthy websites, search engines assume your content is likewise trustworthy and authoritative. Consequently, your site ranks higher. 2. **Referral Traffic**: Aside from SEO, backlinks can also drive direct traffic to your website. A reader on another website might click a backlink to your site out of interest, becoming a potential new customer. 3. **Visibility and indexing**: Backlinks also help search engine bots discover and index your content. The more backlinks, the faster search engines can find new pages on your website. How to obtain backlinks: 1. **Create high-quality, shareable content**: The most effective way of earning backlinks is by creating great content that visitors naturally want to link to. 2. **Guest Posting**: Write articles for other websites in your industry. Most sites will allow you to include at least one backlink to your site within your post. 3. **Broken Link Building**: Find dead links on other websites, alert the site owners, and suggest your content as a replacement for the broken link. 4. **Competitor Analysis**: Use SEO tools to find out where your competitors are getting their backlinks from, and see if you can also earn a backlink from the same sources. 5. **Social Media**: Share your content on social media platforms. If your content is shared or interacted with, it may potentially lead to people linking it on their blogs or websites. 6. **Local SEO and Directory Listings**: Getting your website listed on high-quality directory sites can provide backlinks and often, local traffic. Remember, while backlinks are important, not all backlinks are created equal. A backlink from a high-authority, highly relevant site in your industry is far more valuable than one from a low-quality or unrelated site. Quality should always be your priority over quantity. Emphasizing quality backlinks ensures your SEO efforts are future-proof regardless of any algorithm updates from search engines.