Link building is one of the most important and challenging aspects of SEO.
But how many links do you actually need to rank higher in Google?
And how fast should you build them?
There is no simple answer to these questions, because link building depends on many factors, such as your niche, your competition, your goals, your resources, and your strategy.
However,
There are some general guidelines and best practices that you can follow to avoid overdoing or underdoing your link building efforts.
In this guide,
I’ll show you how to determine the optimal number and pace of links for your website, based on data and real-world examples.
Why Link Quantity and Velocity Matter
Before we dive into the details, let’s first understand why link quantity and velocity matter for SEO.
Link quantity refers to the total number of backlinks pointing to your website or a specific page.
Link velocity refers to the speed at which you acquire new backlinks over time.
Both link quantity and velocity are important signals for Google to measure the popularity, authority, and relevance of your website.
The more high-quality links you have from relevant and trustworthy sources, the more likely Google will rank your website higher for your target keywords.
However,
Link quantity and velocity are not the only factors that Google considers.
Google also looks at the quality, diversity, relevance, and context of your links.
For example,
A link from a high-authority website in your niche is more valuable than a link from a low-authority website in an unrelated niche.
Similarly,
a link from a relevant and natural anchor text is more valuable than a link from a spammy or generic anchor text.
Therefore,
When you build links, you should not only focus on the number and speed of links, but also on the quality and relevance of links.
You should aim to build links that are natural, organic, and beneficial for both your website and your audience.
How to Find Out How Many Links You Need
One of the most common questions that SEOs and marketers ask is: How many links do I need to rank for my target keyword?
The answer is: It depends.
It depends on how competitive your niche is, how authoritative your website is, how relevant your content is, and how well-optimized your page is.
There is no magic number of links that will guarantee you a top ranking in Google.
However,
There are some ways to estimate how many links you need based on your competitors’ performance.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to use a tool like [Ahrefs] or [Moz] to analyze the top-ranking pages for your target keyword.
These tools will show you how many backlinks each page has, as well as other metrics such as domain rating (DR), page rating (PR), domain authority (DA), page authority (PA), etc.
For example,
let’s say you want to rank for the keyword “how to make money online“.
If you use Ahrefs to check the top 10 results for this keyword, you’ll see something like this:!
[How_to_make_money_screenshot.jpg]
As you can see,
The average number of backlinks for the top 10 results is 2.8K. This means that you’ll need at least 2.8K backlinks to compete with these pages.
However, this is just an average number.
You’ll also notice that some pages have much more or much less backlinks than others.
For example, the first result has 12K backlinks, while the ninth result has only 37 backlinks.
This shows that link quantity is not the only factor that determines ranking.
You’ll also need to consider other factors such as link quality, relevance, content quality, user experience, etc.
Therefore,
Instead of blindly chasing a specific number of links, you should focus on building high-quality links that are relevant and helpful for your audience.
You should also create engaging and informative content that answers the search intent of your target keyword.
How to Find Out How Fast You Should Build Links
Another common question that SEOs and marketers ask is: How fast should I build links?
The answer is: It depends.
It depends on how natural and organic your link-building strategy is, how consistent and diverse your link sources are, how old and authoritative your website is, and how competitive your niche is.
There is no ideal or optimal link velocity that will guarantee you a top ranking on Google.
However,
There are some general principles and best practices that you can follow to avoid overdoing or underdoing your link-building efforts.
One of the most important principles is to keep your link velocity natural and organic.
This means that you should not build links too fast or too slow, but at a pace that matches your website’s growth and popularity.
For example,
if you have a new website that has no or few backlinks, you should not build hundreds or thousands of links in a short period of time. This will look unnatural and suspicious to Google and may trigger a penalty or a ranking drop.
On the other hand,
If you have an established website that has many backlinks, you should not stop building links or build them too slowly. This will look stagnant and uninteresting to Google and may cause a loss of ranking or traffic.
The best way to keep your link velocity natural and organic is to follow a consistent and diverse link-building strategy.
This means that you should build links on a regular basis, from different sources, using different methods, and targeting different pages.
For example,
You can use a combination of link-building tactics such as guest posting, outreach, content marketing, social media, etc.
You can also vary your link sources by getting links from different websites, domains, niches, etc.
You can also diversify your link targets by getting links to different pages on your website, such as your homepage, blog posts, landing pages, etc.
By following a consistent and diverse link building strategy, you can avoid creating unnatural link patterns or spikes that may raise red flags for Google.
You can also increase your chances of getting more high-quality and relevant links that will boost your ranking and traffic.
How to Track and Measure Your Link Building Results
The last step in your link building process is to track and measure your results.
This will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your link building strategy, identify the strengths and weaknesses of your link profile, and optimize your future link building efforts.
There are many tools and metrics that you can use to track and measure your link building results. Some of the most common ones are:
•Google Search Console: This is a free tool from Google that allows you to monitor your website’s performance in Google search.
You can use it to check how many backlinks you have, where they come from, which pages they point to, etc.
You can also use it to check your ranking position, impressions, clicks, CTR, etc. for your target keywords.
• Ahrefs or Moz: These are paid tools that provide more advanced and comprehensive link analysis features.
You can use them to check not only the quantity but also the quality of your backlinks.
You can also use them to check various metrics such as DR, PR, DA, PA, etc. for your website and your competitors’ websites.
You can also use them to find new link opportunities, conduct competitor analysis, perform keyword research, etc.
• Google Analytics: This is another free tool from Google that allows you to track and analyze your website’s traffic and user behavior.
You can use it to check how many visitors you get from organic search, how they interact with your website, how long they stay on your website, what actions they take on your website, etc.
You can also use it to set up goals and conversions to measure the ROI of your link building efforts.
By using these tools and metrics, you can track and measure your link building results in terms of quantity, quality, relevance, diversity, ranking, traffic, conversions, etc.
You can also compare your results with your competitors’ results to see how you stack up against them.
Conclusion
Link building is one of the most important and challenging aspects of SEO.
But there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how many links or how fast you should build them.
The optimal number and pace of links depend on many factors such as your niche, competition, goals, resources, strategy, etc.
However,
there are some general guidelines and best practices that you can follow to avoid overdoing or underdoing your link building efforts.
The main takeaway is to focus on building high-quality and relevant links that are natural and organic for both your website and your audience.
You should also create engaging and informative content that answers the search intent of your target keyword.
You should also track and measure your link building results using various tools and metrics.
This will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your link building strategy and optimize it for future success.
I hope this guide helps you understand how many links per day/week/month you should build for SEO.
If you have any questions or comments about this topic or anything else related to SEO or digital marketing,
Please let me know in the comments section .
Adam is a Technical SEO associate at 1stpage, a company that helps clients improve their SEO performance with high-quality and relevant links. He shares his expertise on technical website optimization and outreach link building. He explains how these strategies can boost your online visibility, traffic, and conversions. He is also a nomad who enjoys traveling and discovering new places. You can always find him near a city that you want to visit.
