Understanding backlinks starts with sorting them. The types of backlinks a client earns tell you more than their number, and they decide what kind of work belongs in a campaign. This is the classification behind our white label link building service.
Key takeaways
- There are two ways to classify a link: by how it is marked (followed or qualified) and by where it comes from.
- Editorial links, real business relationships and accurate local citations are the safest types for client sites.
- Guest posts and press releases are fine for exposure, risky when they exist to pass keyword-rich anchors.
- Paid links must carry rel="sponsored" or nofollow. Anything else is link spam under Google's policies.
What are the two types of backlinks?
The two types usually meant are followed links and qualified links. A followed link is a normal link with no rel value. A qualified link carries rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc", which tells Google the link is paid, user-generated or not vouched for. Google says links with these values will generally not be followed.
Google defines each value in its guide to qualifying outbound links: sponsored for advertisements and paid placements, ugc for comments and forum posts, and nofollow when the other values don't apply. You can combine them, for example rel="ugc nofollow". A healthy profile has both kinds, because real websites link in both ways.
Types of backlinks in SEO by origin
The more useful split is by origin: why the link exists. This table is how we rate each type before it goes into a client plan.
| Type of backlink | Example | Safe for client sites? |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial | A journalist or blogger cites the client's guide, data or expert quote | Yes. The strongest type |
| Business relationship | Supplier, manufacturer, partner or association lists the client | Yes, when the relationship is real |
| Local citation and directory | Chamber of commerce, industry directory, data aggregators | Yes for accurate, relevant listings; no for low-quality directory blasts |
| PR mention | News coverage of an event, launch, sponsorship or study | Yes, when the story is real |
| Guest post | An article by the client's expert on an industry site | Sometimes. Fine for exposure; risky at scale with optimized anchors |
| Sponsored or paid | Paid placement, advertorial, affiliate link | Only marked rel="sponsored" or nofollow |
| User-generated | Forum answer, blog comment, community profile | For visibility, not ranking; usually marked ugc or nofollow |
| Widget, footer or template | A link built into a theme, plugin or badge used on many sites | No, when keyword-rich and spread across sites |
Editorial links
An editorial link is one that someone else chose to add because it helps their readers. It cannot be ordered, only earned, which is why it carries the most weight and the least risk. The work behind it is content and outreach: original data, a useful tool, a clear expert answer to a question reporters ask. Google's guidance on people-first content describes the kind of page that attracts these links.
Are directory links and citations safe?
Accurate citations on relevant directories are safe and useful, especially for local businesses: industry associations, chambers of commerce and the main business data sources. What is not safe is submitting a client to hundreds of low-quality directory or bookmark sites, which Google's spam policies name as an example of link spam.
For local clients, citations support prominence, one of the three factors Google names for local ranking, alongside relevance and distance. The value is consistent business data where customers look, not the link itself.
Are guest posts a safe type of backlink?
A guest post written by the client's expert for a relevant site, read by real customers, is fine. The risk is in scale and intent. Google's spam policies list guest posts and articles with optimized anchor text distributed on other sites as link spam. One genuine article a quarter is exposure; fifty keyword-anchored posts a month is a scheme.
If a guest post is paid, the link must be qualified. Keep the anchor to the brand or a plain description, as Google's link best practices recommend for all anchor text: descriptive, concise and natural, without cramming keywords.
PR mentions and unlinked brand mentions
Coverage of something the client did, such as a sponsorship, a survey or a community project, produces links from news and local sites that competitors cannot copy. Unlinked mentions are the easiest win: the site already wrote about the client, so a short, polite request to add a link often works. Press releases are different. Distributed release links with optimized anchors are on Google's link spam list, so use releases to reach journalists, not to collect links.
Which types of backlinks should agencies avoid?
Avoid any type that exists mainly to pass ranking credit: bought links without rel="sponsored", private blog networks, excessive link exchanges, automated link creation, keyword-rich widget and footer links and forum signature links. Google's spam policies name each of these as link spam, and sites that use them may rank lower or disappear from results.
The exact wording, plus site reputation abuse, is in our guide to safe link building for client sites, which is the right page to share with a client who asks why you will not buy a cheap link package.
Business relationship links
These are the links a business has already earned offline and never collected: the supplier's "where to buy" page, the manufacturer's dealer locator, the trade association's member list, the charity it sponsors, the software partner's case study page. They are relevant by definition, because they describe a real connection. For most local and B2B clients, a short list of these relationships is the first month of link work, and it is work only the client's own history can supply.
What a healthy mix looks like
There is no ideal ratio, and anyone who sells one is guessing. A natural profile for a local service business is mostly citations, relationships and local coverage. An e-commerce store leans on manufacturer pages, reviews and guides. A B2B company earns editorial links through data and expert commentary. Plan the types that match how the client's industry actually links, and the authority scores follow, as explained in how to increase website authority.
How we plan backlink types for your clients
We review the current profile, pick the two or three link types that fit the client's industry and location, and report every link by type, site and anchor under your brand. That is our white label link building, part of our white label SEO services.
Frequently asked questions
Which type of backlink is most valuable?
Editorial links from relevant sites that real customers read, because they are earned and hard for competitors to copy.
Are nofollow links useless for SEO?
No. They can bring visitors and awareness, and every natural profile includes some.
Do social media links count as backlinks?
They are links, usually qualified, so they help people find the client more than they pass ranking credit.
Should every client get the same link types?
No. A local plumber, an online store and a software company earn links from very different places.
Can we pay for a sponsorship link?
Yes, if the sponsorship is real and the link is marked rel="sponsored" or nofollow.
About the author
Juan José Giraldo is a senior SEO specialist with 5+ years of experience. He works on technical and local SEO for 600+ US car dealerships and supervises the SEO of 18 US e-commerce stores. He runs White Label SEO LATAM from Medellín, Colombia, and delivers white label SEO for agencies in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Read more · LinkedIn.
Sources
- Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search
- Google Search Central, Qualify your outbound links to Google
- Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
- Google Search Central, Link best practices for Google
- Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content