Why backlinks matter
Google finds most new pages by following links from pages it has already crawled (Google SEO Starter Guide). A link from a respected site in your field also tells search engines that someone else vouches for you.
Links Google treats as spam
Google’s spam policies list link schemes that can get a site demoted (Google Search Central):
- Buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, including paying for a post with a link.
- Excessive link exchanges ("link to me and I will link to you").
- Using automated programs to create links to your site.
- Keyword-stuffed links in forum comments or signatures.
Paid links are allowed when they carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", because then they do not pass ranking credit.
How to earn good backlinks
Publish something worth citing: a useful guide, original data, a free tool or a clear glossary like this one. Then tell the people who would care. For a Pakistani business, local news sites, trade associations, university pages and genuine partners are realistic places to start. Listings on dozens of low-quality directories are not.