Understanding Backlinks and SEO: My Recent Site Upgrade Experience

As a professional in the service industry, I recently undertook an upgrade on my website. My aim was to enhance its SEO visibility and connectivity through strategic structuring. However, upon using Semrush to analyze my new setup, I was surprised to discover that my site now reports having 1.1k backlinks, all originating from my own domain.

The Strategy Behind My Page Structure

In my recent revamp, I created dedicated pages for every city where we operate, along with separate internal pages highlighting the neighborhoods within each location. This approach was intended to improve the user experience and SEO by ensuring that visitors could easily find services relevant to their specific areas. Additionally, I incorporated links to these city pages in the footer of my site, further strengthening the internal link structure.

The Backlink Discoveries

My excitement over the new structure was momentarily dampened when I noticed the backlink count in Semrush. While it’s impressive to see over a thousand backlinks, it raised a critical question for me: Are these truly beneficial, or is there a risk of incurring penalties due to over-reliance on internal links?

Potential Concerns

Many in the seo community suggest that backlinks should primarily come from diverse external sources to enhance a site’s credibility and authority. Having numerous backlinks originating solely from one’s own domain could raise red flags for search engines, particularly if it appears as an attempt to manipulate rankings.

Moving Forward

I’m reaching out to gather insights. Have others encountered a similar scenario after site upgrades? What steps should I take next to ensure my site remains penalty-free while still benefiting from the improvements I’ve made?

Your advice and shared experiences would be greatly appreciated as I navigate this newfound aspect of seo!