It’s been said that “links are the currency of the internet.” This is because links are what search engines use to determine which websites they should rank high on their search engine results pages.
If you want your website to be found by more people, then you need to build backlinks from other sites and make sure that those backlinks contain relevant keywords. In this article, we will discuss link-building statistics for SEO strategies that truly matter.
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Studies Show That 94% of the World’s Content Gets Zero External Links
Clearly, the competition for acquiring top-notch backlinks is extremely crowded. The end result of this is that only a fraction of the world’s content gets outbound links.
This means it will be hard to beat out your competition without working harder for more backlinks or producing better, higher-quality content on your site. This statistic makes acquiring high-quality backlinks all the more difficult than ever before because there are so many sites competing with you for them.
Only 2.2% of Published Online Content Acquires Multiple Backlinks
Another shocking statistic is that only about two percent of published content acquires multiple backlinks. This means it’s often difficult to find sites with high-quality, relevant content and obtain their valuable internal links for your site.
One more piece of advice: if you want to acquire link quality & inbound links from another website, then make sure they aren’t going anywhere! Sites are quick to remove bad or irrelevant backlinks these days because the competition is so fierce. You could be investing a lot of time into acquiring link-building campaigns that will soon disappear anyway.
41% of Large Companies Claim That Link Building is the Most Difficult SEO Practice
Link Building across the web, even for large companies, can be challenging. In fact, 41% of large companies claim that link building is the most difficult SEO practice.
Some people find it easier to build links from their own websites by publishing original content or joining related communities and forums, but this takes a lot of work. If you have neither the time nor technical skills for these types of activities then consider hiring an agency instead.
92% of Marketers Believe That Link Building Will Continue To Be a Vital Ranking Factor in the Next Five Years
In a recent survey, 92% of marketers from all over the world said they believe that link building will remain vital when it comes to ranking in search engine results pages.
This is because links are still what make up most (if not all!) of Google’s algorithm, and this statistic shows how important acquiring high-quality backlinks really is if you want your site to rank well on search engines like Google.
Out of those surveyed, many also claimed their marketing strategy & believe link building strategies for the next five years were going to include at least one external link per post or article published. This means more people will be investing time into getting quality backlinks than ever before.
52% of Digital Marketers Say That Link Building and Brand Mentions Directly Impact Organic Search Rankings
In a recent survey, many digital marketers believe said that link-building efforts and brand mentions have an impact on organic search engine rankings.
The more building links you acquire from high-quality websites (ones with content relevant to yours) the better your ranking will be in search engines like Google. This is because these sites are likely going to pass some of their page authority & domain authority over to your site once they publish a backlink for you; this means increased organic traffic and higher conversion rates.
This statistic shows how important it is now for businesses to start investing time into getting quality backlinks from other sites.
The First Ranking Site on Google’s SERPs Usually Has 3.8x More Backlinks Compared to Positions 2-10
The first-ranking site on Google’s SERPs usually has three times more backlinks than positions two to ten.
This means that if you want your business website or web pages to rank well in search engine results pages, then it can be a good idea for you to invest time into obtaining high-quality backlinks from other sites.
The higher the quality of these links and the better content they have relevant to yours, the better your chances will be at becoming one of those top-ranking businesses online.
Only about two percent of published content acquires multiple backlinks. This is because there are so many websites competing with each other for them.
Long-form Content (3,000 – 10,000 words) Acquires 77.2% More Links Compared to Shorter Articles (0 – 1,000 words)
This statistic shows how important it is to invest time into writing long-form content if you want to acquire more backlinks.
Longer articles, or those that are at least 3000 words in length, will be able to attract a lot of internal and external links because they’re well-researched and written, which means there’s enough information for the author (you!) to get people interested in your topic.
As long as you have something valuable and unique to say, then this article should provide some good ideas on what link-building effectiveness statistics matter when it comes to link-building strategy today.
Out of All Content Forms, List Type Articles Boast the Highest Average of Referring Domains at 6.19
This statistic shows that list-type articles, or those that are in the form of a numbered list with equal spacing between items (e.g., “Top Ten Websites for broken link building”), usually have an average of six referring domains to each post.
These types of posts can be highly successful because they’re easy to read and provide just as much information while not being too long as some long-form content tends to be. This makes it more likely for people to share your article on social media or bookmark it, so you’ll get even more backlinks in the process.
Nearly 60% of Digital Agencies Believe Links are “Moderately” Important to Rankings
Per a 2023 survey conducted by Ann Smarty, most digital agencies still find links to be one of the more consistent factors in ensuring sites rank well online.
According to the 2023 survey:
- 59.60% of agencies indicate that links hold a “moderate” level of importance for rankings, acknowledging their significance but recognizing the role of other factors.
- 23.23% of agencies view backlinks as “mildly important,” emphasizing that other elements play a more substantial role in determining rankings.
- 15.15% of agencies assert that they have never observed a page lacking backlinks ranking for competitive terms, reinforcing the belief that backlinks are crucial for organic rankings.
- Only 2% of respondents fail to identify any correlation between rankings and backlinks.
- 27% of in-house SEOs acknowledge the difficulty or impossibility of establishing a clear correlation between new backlinks and rankings. Nevertheless, 45.8% of them still consider links as “moderately important signals,” recognizing that while essential, other factors contribute significantly to ranking outcomes.
Need Help With Your Link-Building Campaign?
As you can see, there are so many different reasons why you should fully embrace link-building as an SEO strategy initiative of top importance. Nonetheless, hiring a reputable link-building agency may be in your best interest if you lack the time and expertise.
Do you want to learn more about how we can help? Contact us today to speak to a member of our team.
Tim holds expertise in building and scaling sales operations, helping companies increase revenue efficiency and drive growth from websites and sales teams.
When he's not working, Tim enjoys playing a few rounds of disc golf, running, and spending time with his wife and family on the beach...preferably in Hawaii.
Over the years he's written for publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications. Connect with Tim on Linkedin & Twitter.
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