According to 65% of marketers, link-building is the most difficult part of search engine optimization. That’s because a successful long-term strategy carefully prioritizes backlink quality over quantity.
Why is backlink quality still so important in SEO? Learn the reasons and discover how to start building links the right way.
A Comparison of Backlinks: Quality vs. Quantity
For starters, you need to grasp what SEO professionals mean by backlink quality and quantity.
What Is Backlink Quality?
Backlink quality refers to the value a link from one website can provide to another. Domains with high credibility, relevance to your industry, popularity, and search engine rankings pass some of those positive attributes to the sites they link to.
This concept is similar to how people and brands can improve their reputations through associations or endorsements from well-known and credible individuals or organizations.
The placement of a backlink also affects its quality. Links that fit naturally within the context and have a well-chosen anchor text deliver the greatest value. That’s why other terms for backlink quality are “link authority,” “link value,” “link equity,” and “link juice.”
An SEO strategy that focuses on backlink quality over quantity attempts to get natural links to your site from top-ranking web pages with high domain authority for a strong backlink profile. An SEO expert may also try to remove bad links to your page from spammy sites.
What Is Backlink Quantity?
Backlink quantity is all about the number of links pointing to your site, without much regard for the authority or popularity of the websites they come from. This strategy aims to build as many backlinks as possible, often in a short amount of time.
However, a legitimate strategy that concentrates on quantity typically tries to avoid spammy sites. A company or SEO professional using this approach targets sites with low and medium domain authority scores. This tactic can also require removing backlinks from spammy sites.
Why You Should Put Backlink Quality Over Quantity
Some sites argue that both quality and quantity have their place in a backlink strategy. Taking a closer look at the benefits and drawbacks of each approach can help you determine which strategy aligns best with your goals.
The Pros of a Quantity-Focused Strategy
Simply aiming to get more backlinks is a faster and more fluid process than trying to vet sites for quality. All you have to do is focus on the numbers.
Even though those sites don’t have as much link authority to bestow, they can still provide what little they have. It’s like trying to raise a million dollars by getting a few bucks from thousands of individuals instead of soliciting donations from a small group of wealthy donors.
Also, quantity does play a role in gaining site authority. Search engines check for how many links point to a site and the diversity of those links (that is, how many different domains point to a site). Concentrating on quantity could help you get diverse links more quickly. A high number of links should also lead to higher traffic in a shorter time.
The Cons of Focusing Quantity
On the other hand, a strategy that puts quantity first is inherently more risky, which is why top SEO agencies put backlink quality over quantity. As you try to acquire many links, you’re more likely to get them on spammy or risky sites. While Google tries to ignore these, you can get penalized if you have too many.
Google also penalizes companies it suspects are using shady link-building tactics. These techniques are also known as “black-hat” link-building. If the search engine sees a quick spike in links pointing to your site, it may assume you’re in a scheme and de-index your site.
Trying to remove a penalty can be a time-consuming process. Once Google removes it, you usually have a long road back to building your search engine rankings and authority. Also, other sites (reputable or not) will be less likely to link to you if you have low authority scores.
Another concern is that your links end up on unsecured or broken sites. Though they may be from legitimate individuals or organizations, they can’t deliver any link authority because people won’t visit these pages. Situations like this usually happen with companies that don’t maintain their sites or become defunct.
When it comes to getting traffic from backlinks, quality often outweighs quantity. Having a large number of links doesn’t guarantee you’ll reach your target audience. Therefore, visitors to your site might show some interest in your content but fail to convert into customers. Even worse, they’ll leave quickly if your site is completely irrelevant to them. Visitors who spend a short time on your pages and promptly leave can hurt your SEO.
The Benefits of Putting Backlink Quality Over Quantity
Quality backlinks are always good for SEO. They provide the highest link authority without the risk of your rankings suddenly taking a hit. It’s like getting a vote of confidence from a well-respected colleague.
Though the amount of traffic coming to your site may not be as high, that traffic will be relevant and have a higher commitment ratio. These visitors are more likely to become regular users, convert into customers, and share your website with others.
Naturally, your brand value increases when you put quality backlinks over quantity. As you become a reliable reference and your domain authority rises, more sites will want to link to you, making it easier to build up backlinks in the long run.
Focusing on quality also prevents you from facing the costly and time-consuming consequences of dealing with a Google penalty.
The Final Verdict on Backlink Quality vs. Quantity
It’s true that building high-quality backlinks is slower and can be more costly at the beginning. The top-ranking domains (Forbes, Reuters, .edu sites, and .gov sites) know the value of their backlinks and don’t give them out easily.
For this reason, some new companies attempt a quantity backlink strategy first. While this might boost the total number of links, it doesn’t do much for long-term success. In fact, a quantity-based approach rarely, if ever, improves domain authority faster than prioritizing quality.
Choosing quality backlinking is a long-term strategy, but the return on investment is significantly higher. When you focus on consistently building quality links, you avoid the risks of bad links. Over time, you’ll see the positive results compound.
