Why Backlink Quality Over Quantity Matters More Than Ever

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. 

How To Get High-Quality Backlinks (and a Reasonable Quantity)

While focusing on backlink quality over quantity is key, why not aim for both? Here’s how to execute a balanced strategy that improves your online visibility.

Create a Library of Excellent Content on Your Site

People won’t link to your site if you can’t deliver value to their audience. That’s why you need a catalog of content that aligns with your audience’s interests and overlaps with theirs.

Content creation, like link-building, requires a slow and steady approach. Creating at least one well-written, long-form post every week can help establish your site as a valuable resource that attracts links organically.

Key elements of excellent, linkable content include:

• Topics and keywords that your target audience wants to know about
• Easy-to-read text with proper formatting for mobile devices
• High-quality images and infographics that illustrate your points
• Good research and references to facts that demonstrate credibility
• Personal experiences and anecdotes to demonstrate authority

Of course, be sure to include links to other pages on your site so that when others repost it, you’ll have built-in backlinks. At BKA Content, we’ve honed this strategy for years, helping clients improve rankings with quality content and strategic link-building.

Promote Your Content 

If you want people to find your page, you’ll have to market yourself. One effective tactic is an email campaign.

Try messaging other sites and let them know how much you appreciate their product, service, or content. Explain that you have an article or infographic that could provide value to their readers and ask if they’d be willing to share their thoughts on it. Doing this can help you focus on backlink quality and quantity at the same time.

To find websites to reach out to, think about what companies you would naturally want to partner with. Also, research which industries are complementary to yours to find organizations you may not have thought of yet. 

Use SEO tools to learn more about a company’s web traffic, domain authority, and target audience. Investigate their blog and other resources to find out what kind of content they prefer so you can tailor your recommendations to fit.

Write Guest Blogs for Other Sites

Once you’ve built a strong collection of blogs on your site, start pitching guest blog ideas to other websites to earn high-quality backlinks. Be sure to include a link or two to helpful content on your site within the blog, along with a bio that links back to your domain.

Use a similar approach as you do for promoting your existing content. Be polite, follow up respectfully if you don’t hear back, and don’t hesitate to reach out to friends or colleagues who might be interested. Many websites are eager for fresh content and will appreciate a well-thought-out guest post.

If your pitch is accepted, make sure to follow the site’s content guidelines closely. And remember, guest blogging is a two-way street, so be open to letting them write a post for your site as well.

Request Links for Existing Mentions

One of the easiest ways to get links is by finding sites that have already mentioned your brand but didn’t link to you. You’ll find it easier to do this with dedicated SEO tools or an agency instead of trying to do a tedious web search.

Reach out to the site or author and thank them for mentioning you. Ask if they could add a link to your site so readers can easily find you. Few people will reject such a request (unless they’re a competitor). This approach is a great way to strike a balance between backlink quality and quantity.

Ask for Testimonials and Reviews

Links in testimonials aren’t the highest quality backlinks, but they’re relevant and helpful if they’re on reputable review sites. (Plus, they’re free backlinks!) Remember to ask your customers to post their experiences on such sites, especially after a positive one. Some sites may allow you to repost reviews from their site to your own. 

Another quick note on this: If it makes sense to work with influencers, you may be able to send them free products for honest reviews. Remember that you can’t pay for backlinks, and affiliate backlinks require a “rel=sponsored” tag, meaning they don’t support your SEO but can boost traffic.

What To Do if You Get Penalized for Bad Backlinks

If you’ve neglected to focus on backlink quality over quantity, you might face a penalty for bad backlinks. Fortunately, Google gives you the chance to address these issues and restore your site’s standing.

First, determine whether you’ve received an official penalty or your rankings have simply dropped. If you do have a penalty, you have to figure out why. 

The worst-case scenario is when Google de-indexes your site, effectively banning it. You need to remove whatever Google considers spam or disavow bad backlinks. Then, file a reconsideration request for re-inclusion. 

If your site still appears in search results when you type in your domain name, you may have received a “manual action” for link spam. You should remove any bad outbound links on your site, fix on-page SEO issues, disavow bad links, and stop any paid black-hat link campaigns. At this point, you should submit a reconsideration request. (Follow a similar path if you’re no longer ranking for branded terms or specific page titles on your site.) 

If there’s no official penalty and your site has simply dropped in rankings, it’s time to refocus on building high-quality backlinks right away. Prioritizing quality links can help rebuild your site’s authority and improve your search visibility over time.

Optimize Your SEO Strategy for Backlink Quality Over Quantity

Backlinks play a key role in boosting your online visibility by showing search engines that your site is credible and trustworthy. These days, though, it’s all about quality backlinking. The challenge is that building and managing a backlinking strategy takes time and consistent effort.

That’s where BKA Content comes in. We make it easy to prioritize backlink quality over quantity with a white hat linking strategy designed to drive results. Let us handle the hard work so you can focus on what you do best while your web traffic grows.