Authority backlinks are links to a website site that come from high authority websites.  These websites are not only sites that have a high page rank but can also be renowned directories.  One of the main parts of an SEO strategy should be backlinking which involves getting a link to your website posted on another website.  This can be done in a variety of ways including through blog commenting, guest posting and paid advertising.  The higher the authority of the website that links to you, the more “link juice” your website will receive.  This is why it is a good idea to know how many authority backlinks you have… and of course how many your competition has.

Checking Your Number of Authority Backlinks

It can be incredibly difficult to work out how many websites are linking to your website, and even harder to tell how many of the links you have come from high authority sites unless you use specific pieces of software.  On our tools page we have an Authority Link Checker Tool which is easy to use and will tell you the amount of high authority backlinks your website has within seconds.  By inputting a website address our Authority Link Checker Tool you will be able to tell how many government and education sites link to the website as well as if the website has any links in the DMOZ or Yahoo directories.  We will explain the importance of these sites below.

.edu and .gov Backlinks

.edu and .gov backlinks are said to be two of the best links you can receive from an SEO point of view.  Although Google hasn’t actually said that more authority is given to these links, it is widely believed that it is, plus the majority of .edu and .gov websites also have a high page rank which is clearly a plus.  There are a variety of ways to go about getting links from these websites – we mentioned a few in an article which you can find by clicking here.  If the Authority Link Checker tool shows you that your competition has a variety of backlinks from .edu or .gov sites it is a good idea to visit these sites individually and see if you can come up with a similar link building strategy.

DMOZ and the Yahoo! Directory Backlinks

DMOZ and the Yahoo! Directory are considered to be navigational authority websites.  These directories are great places to list your site as not only will you receive a high authority backlink but you are also likely to receive an increase in traffic.  Neither of these directories are easy to get your site listed in though so be sure to read their rules entirely.  You should also be prepared for the time it can take to get your site listed unless you want to pay to speed up the process.  Again, keep an eye on your competition – if their website is listed in high authority directories, you know that you will need to do the same to compete.