Relevance

The publication and article should have a natural reason to discuss your subject. A relevant link is easier for a reader to understand and less likely to look forced.

A genuine publication

Look for coherent coverage, editorial standards, authorship or ownership signals, an audience and publishing behavior that is not dominated by unrelated sponsored content.

Useful context

The link should make sense inside the article and help the reader reach a relevant destination. Keyword-rich anchor text is not a substitute for usefulness.

Appropriate qualification

For paid placements, Google's guidance recommends qualifying sponsored links. A placement can have brand or referral value without pretending payment should buy ranking credit.

Reasonable expectations

No single backlink guarantees a ranking change. Judge the opportunity on qualities you can actually observe and business outcomes you can measure.