Backlinks have become increasingly important for search engine optimization. Backlinks are when one website links to a second website. Essentially, they are links on another website that directs towards your website. The number of backlinks indicates to search engines the importance and value of a certain website. Quality backlinks can also increase website traffic. The more places your website address/link shows up, the more opportunities people will see it and visit your website. Below we have listed important stats and reasons why backlinks are important to rank high in search engines and increase SEO:

1. On average, the search results that show up highest on page 1 will have the greatest number of linking domains above the others in the search results. Webpages ranking #1 had an average of 168% more linking domains than those ranking #5.
2. HTTPS is good for searches because search engines love to increase the rank for websites with HTTPS as it is more secure and trustworthy. Webpages on HTTPS had positive correlation with higher rankings, with 33% of all the sampled URL that ranked either #1, #2 or #3 using HTTPS.
3. Anchor text (hyperlinked words on the landing page) is still a huge ranking signal. Webpages ranking #1 had an average of 5.42% of their anchor text include their targeted keyword(s). The further up on page 1, the higher this percentage goes. Good anchor text tells the reader what to expect when they click on a link. Also, good anchor text can increase the chances that someone will click on your link to gain credibility and increase SEO.
4. Top-ranking webpages tended to have shorter page titles, with the sweet spot nearing closer to 8 words in length. Have a page title that will make readers interested in reading your content. It is important to have an enticing page title because that is the first thing readers see in search results. It is also a factor Google uses to determine the topic of a page and help you rank high and gain more website traffic.
5. Webpages with their target keyword in their URL tended to rank higher in Google than those that didn’t. Target keywords are phrases that potential visitors might use in a search engine to find your website content.
6. Including your targeted keyword within your page title positively correlated with higher search rankings. Of the sampled data, over 15% of all the page 1 rankings included the target keyword within its page title.
7. Across the results of page 1, the average ratio of backlinks to linking domains was 37:1. This means that on average, each website that linked to page 1 content was linking from 37 different pages on their website.
8. Top-ranking webpages in Google have shorter URLs, with position 1 URLs averaging 59 characters in length. Google wants to have search-engine friendly URLs to make it easier for Google to find, understand, and read your website. Also, shorter URLs have better search results as they make websites look more organized and professional.

Backlinks are important for SEO as search engines like Google will give more credit to websites that have more quality backlinks. Backlinks also provide another way for website visitors to locate your website.