Techssocial | Backlinks are simply too important for a business to pass up on. Consequently, no digital marketing strategy today is complete without a link-building plan. The first step to creating that plan is deciding whether to focus on backlink quality or quantity. There’s no question that both are important. But aiming for hundreds of high-quality backlinks every week is not a realistic goal for most websites. Therefore, you will have to choose one to pursue as a primary goal. So which should it be?
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Backlinks explained – what are they and how to get them
Backlinks are links on other domains that lead back to your website. They are a standard part of every digital strategy because they can significantly benefit your SEO by improving your domain authority and increasing traffic. But not all backlinks are equally valuable – spammy links on suspicious websites can hurt you as much as quality backlinks can help you. But how do you get any backlinks at all, to begin with? Broadly speaking, there are two ways to increase the number of backlinks you have:
- You can reach out to other web administrators and ask them to link to your website – many invite guest posts and will happily include a link in any quality content you provide them with.
- You can rely on organic backlinks – when you reach a certain level of recognizability and influence, people start linking to your website even without being asked.
Why is it best to focus on either backlink quality or quantity?
How much backlinks benefit your website depends on two things: the total number of links you have and their quality. Ideally, you’ll have many backlinks, and they’ll all be of high quality. But in most cases, you simply don’t have the resources to pursue a very high number of very high-quality links, especially if you’re just starting to grow a small business that doesn’t have a lot of brand recognition yet. Therefore, it is better to have a strategy that focuses on one or the other because you’ll be able to get more out of it that way.
Does backlink quality or quantity matter more?
The main question you’ll be facing, then, is whether quantity or quality is more important. The answer is not quite as straightforward as you may think – both strategies have their benefits.
Quality backlinks bring in quality traffic
The fewer backlinks you have, the fewer people will see and click on them – that sounds logical. But attracting traffic is not just a numbers game. You want to attract the right kind of traffic, too: people in your target demographic who will like your content, explore your website further, and maybe even convert. That’s what you get from quality links. Often, the percentage of quality traffic they attract more than makes up for the lower overall numbers.
Your SEO will benefit from quality backlinks
Where your backlinks are hosted makes a massive difference in how they affect your SEO. A link from a reputable, high-traffic, high-DA website in your own niche will be very beneficial for your visibility on Google. Not only will you benefit from their traffic, but you’ll also benefit from their successes in the field of SEO. By linking to your website, the source domain “recommends” it to search engines. In doing so, it transfers some of its link juice and authority to you. Websites that don’t have much in terms of influence don’t have much to share either.
Aiming for quality over quantity comes with less risk
Links from suspicious websites used as backlink farms can actually hurt you and even cause penalties. Accepting such backlinks is one of the main reasons behind failed link-building campaigns. So if you don’t want to risk your backlinks backfiring on you like this, then quality is the way to go. It comes with almost no risk, so you never have to worry about disavowing unwanted links.
Focusing on quantity is easier
The biggest problem with quality backlinks is that they’re tough to get. Think about it – what would it take to get a link on Forbes or HubSpot or Wikipedia? If you aim lower, you can usually get a decent backlink with a simple email. All you need is a good pitch, and outreach can help you get opportunities without much effort. This means growing your backlink portfolio much faster and easier.
Quantity usually means diversity
If all (or most) of your backlinks come from the same domain, search engines will be suspicious of your website and assume you’re practicing black hat SEO. This can incur penalties that you may never fully recover from. For this reason, it is imperative to diversify your backlink profile. Luckily, when you’re aiming for quantity, you’re usually already reaching out to many different websites. Your backlink profile will, therefore, be pretty diverse by nature. This gives you greater online reach and makes your website appear more legitimate.
Playing the numbers game can pay off when you’re just starting out
When your website is still new and doesn’t have much influence, getting high-quality links is almost impossible. A quality-based strategy might, therefore, be a waste of resources. So start with smaller, less reputable websites to build yourself up – low and medium quality backlinks won’t help much individually, but their influence adds up. Then, when you’ve gained some recognition, you can start aiming higher.
Deciding between backlink quality or quantity for your business
As a general rule, quality pays off more than quantity. But when you’re in a situation where you must choose between backlink quality or quantity, you must look at the context. What is the current status of your website – your domain authority, influence, and SEO ranking? How much time and effort can you invest in pursuing high-quality backlinks? What are the odds of landing on a good website? Each situation is unique. You should choose a strategy that works for you. Don’t worry; nothing is set in stone. You’ll have to reevaluate after a while anyway, so you might as well experiment a bit.
Joy Cameron is a marketing expert currently employed at linkdepartment.com. Working in the digital sphere has made her a big believer in the power of the internet and technology in general. For this reason, she is currently pursuing a certificate in programming and hopes to one day start working in that field too.