How Many Backlinks Do I Need to Rank

Published November 16, 2024
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Brands and website owners are aware that backlinks remain a crucial ranking factor for Google. 
 
However, creating backlinks is a challenging task that demands substantial time, financial resources, and dedication. So how can you determine the appropriate number of backlinks to get? 

How Many Backlinks Does Your Website Have?

If you want to know how many backlinks your website has, you have the option of selecting from several tools to assist you in determining exactly that. 
 
For example, you can use Google Search Console and also Semrush to check the quantity of backlinks your website has. 
 
With Semrush, you will be able to assess your backlinks’ quality and then compare them to your competitors. 
 
You will also get a detailed overview of the number of referring domains pointed towards your website. 
 
Use all this information effectively to monitor your advancement and adjust your approach as needed.

What is Google's Stance on the Quantity of Backlinks?

The overall quantity of links is not significant. A single important link can serve as a powerful indicator for Google whenever it's assessing a webpage. 
 
In simpler terms, by prioritizing links that are high-quality for your website, you do not require a large quantity of them. 
 
Having 1000 forum backlinks might not produce equivalent outcomes compared to a single strong backlink from a website with a very high DR. 
 
When mentioning strong links, we are referring to high-quality backlinks. 

What's a High-Quality Backlink?

I will outline the important features of a high-quality backlink. 
  • The text in the anchor of the backlink is related to the page being promoted. 
  • It is from a page or site with a similar niche. 
  • The site receives some traffic. 
  • The page of the site contains links from both within the site and from external websites. 
  • The website isn’t a collection of links; instead, it is a legitimate website that consistently grows, refreshes its content, and gains new backlinks. 
  • The site has numerous high-quality inbound links, which it consistently gains. 
  • Search engines have included the site's page in their index and ideally, it appears high in results for pertinent keywords. 

How Many Backlinks Do I Need to Rank?

A website should have approximately 0-100+ backlinks pointing to its main page, while each individual page has between 40-50+ backlinks. 
 
Having a small number of backlinks will cause Google to view your site as less important, while an excessive amount will lead to suspicions of manipulation. 
 
Finding the perfect quantity varies based on your competitors and specific markets. 
 
We wish there was a one-size-fits-all solution to this query but that doesn’t exist. 
 
Each keyword, search result, and niche is unique. 
 
Therefore, you must dedicate time to determine the required amount of backlinks; in this article, we will help you with that.

How to Determine the Amount of Backlinks You Need to Rank

When determining the number of backlinks you need to rank, adhere to these steps: 

1. Analyze Your Backlinks 

Analyzing backlinks is a link-building approach I enjoy doing and it always delivers the most optimal outcomes in the fastest duration. 
 
First of all, you should identify your main competitors in search engine rankings. 
 
Simply do this by conducting a brief search on Google using your desired keyword. 
 
Your main competitors are the highest-ranking websites. 
 
Examine the backlinks of the top 6 competitors for your chosen keyword using Semrush for a thorough analysis. 
 
This will assist you in recognizing the top backlinks that you need to build. Now you possess all the necessary information. 
 
The next step is determining how they acquired the link. Is it a question? Comment on a blog post? A guest post? A post on a forum? 
 
No matter what it was, you’re attempting to duplicate it. If it is a guest post, simply contact the site and suggest one guest post. 
 
When a website is linking to any of your competitors, they may also be likely to backlink to you. This enables you to obtain superior links with a decreased amount of effort. 

2. Determine the Backlink Gap of Your Site and Those of Your Competitors

Backlink gap refers to the amount of backlinks necessary to achieve a top 3 ranking on Google search for a specific keyword. 
 
Determining your backlink gap is quite easy with a tool like Semrush's Backlink Analytics Tool. 
 
Then, what comes next? Start building backlinks that are necessary! 

3. Decide on the Pages for Which You Should Build Backlinks

Not all pages are valuable for creating backlinks. You need to concentrate solely on creating backlinks to pages with keywords that result in generating sales and leads for your business. 

4. Start to Build Your Backlinks

Building links poses quite a challenge for numerous SEO professionals. 
 
Some individuals are confident in their ability to complete this task independently while others choose to delegate it to someone else. 
 
Choose the most suitable method based on your specific business requirements. 

What is a Safe Amount of Backlinks For You to Build Per Day?

The quantity of backlinks that is safe to build daily relies heavily on both the scale and field of your website. 
 
There are no strict guidelines actually; just make sure to prioritize quality links.
 
For instance, major e-commerce websites could generate 30 or 50 backlinks daily, which is considered standard practice for them.
 
Sites with lots of existing backlinks are fully equipped to handle that level of traffic.  
 
However, remember that in addition to accumulating numbers, also consider the relevance and quality of the links you are receiving. 
 
Also, monitoring your competitors can provide insights into successful practices within your sector to prevent excessive behavior. 

What is a Safe Number of Backlinks to Build Per Month? 

Similar to the daily link count, the monthly limit for building backlinks also varies based on your specific industry. 
 
Gaining 30 high-quality referring domains under one month can have a significant impact on your link-building metric.
 
You should also monitor your expanding competitors and determine precisely how many backlinks to target each month.
 
In this manner, you can stay competitive without going overboard and establish a reasonable amount of backlinks tailored to your specific industry. 

Why is Building Backlinks Important? 

Link building is now a crucial component of SEO. 
 
If you don't build top-notch links, it’ll be challenging to achieve high rankings for more competitive keywords. 
 
These are three major reasons why you should focus on building backlinks. 

Backlinks Boost Your Rankings

Google sees backlinks as similar to recommendations or votes. 
 
Consider this - the greater the number of recommendations from trusted sites that Google receives, the better your ranking will be. 
 
Therefore, creating backlinks with credible websites is essential for success. 
 
Some of their power is transferred to your website, resulting in a higher chance of Google ranking your website in their SERPs. 

Backlinks Assist in Boosting Your Authority

Website authority remains a factor that determines your chances of ranking on Google; a greater number = increased power. 
 
To boost domain authority and gain a competitive edge, you must generate backlinks. 
 
Having an authoritative website will result in more difficulty for your competitors to surpass your ranking. Also, you will easily rank for various keywords. 

Backlinks Increase the Amount of Traffic You Receive

What occurs when your site achieves a higher ranking? 
 
Simply, you receive an increased amount of natural visitors. And the most delightful aspect? The traffic is very specific. 
 
Ranking well for important keywords ensures that you receive valuable traffic, leading to increased confidence in the quality of visitors coming to your site. 
 
Building backlinks indeed provides a lasting advantage that is difficult to remove. 

Conclusion  

Now you understand the process of determining the precise number of backlinks necessary to boost the ranking of your webpage for any search term on Google. 
 
All you need do is follow the process mentioned above to regularly rank any important website page for the appropriate keywords. 

FAQs

Do Backlinks Have a Positive Impact on SEO? 

Of course, backlinks are extremely beneficial for search engine optimization. Google views backlinks as a form of "approval" from one website to another. 
 
Having a high number of quality backlinks indicates to any search engine that your website is trustworthy, leading to an increase in rankings. 

Do Backlinks Still Hold Significance Now? 

Indeed, backlinks continue to hold great significance even now.
 
Even though backlinks are not the sole ranking element, they remain among the top 3 factors influencing rankings. 
 
Having high-quality backlinks can lead to a significant increase in your ranking and traffic. 

What is the Ideal Number of Backlinks a Website Should Have? 

For a website to start being competitive from an SEO standpoint, it should ideally have between 50 - 100 backlinks pointing to its homepage, and 40 - 50 backlinks pointing to each web page. 
 
Note that links from more authoritative sources hold more significance. 

What is the Time Frame for Backlinks to Get Indexed? 

It can range from under a week to over three months for a backlink to be indexed. You should be patient while search engines reindex the site that has a backlink to yours.

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