If there were an award for the most repeatedly asked question by clients, “How many backlinks do I need to rank?” is a straight winner, hands down!
However, there is no simple answer to this question. No one knows how many backlinks your domian/page needs to rank for a specific keyword. Ranking on branded keywords is easier than ranking on service/sale keywords.
Yes, we can give an estimated number after checking the website’s ranking for a specific keyword, but nothing is 100% confirmed in the SEO world. This is because Google evaluates a page on more than 200 ranking signals; backlinks, content freshness, and relevance are among them.
Without complicating things, let me try to answer this question and explain what other ranking factors you should consider.
How Many Backlinks Should You Build?
The answer depends on factors like how old your website is, your business niche and competition, and how many links your competitors are building per month.
| Website Age | Backlinks (Starting Point) | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| New (0–6 months) | 90–100 | Build authority |
| Growing | Match competitors | Increase topical relevance |
| Established | Quality > Quantity | Earn editorial links |
To give you an idea, a newly launched website needs around 90-100 dofollow/nofollow backlinks targeted to its homepage and service pages. With these backlinks, you can expect to see your domain rank on branded keywords and some low-difficulty sales keywords.
But the quantity is not the goal here. Your aim should be to build high authority backlinks that are from high DR/DA websites, dofollow, editorially placed, and relevant to your business niche.
After 9 years of analyzing hundreds of websites, I’ve found that 20 laser-targeted niche links pack more punch than 20 generic links from random DR 65+ websites.
This is why we offer premium editorial placements to clients with a decent link-building budget. Placements acquired via HARO and Qwoted are super relevant to your business. Because in most cases, the backlink is from a top website/publication within your business niche.
Secondly, the link to your domain is editorially placed within the content. And lastly, the article is well-researched, adds value, and is written by an expert. All these factors add weight to the link equity, which results in a higher ranking and increased domain authority.
Apart from that, a backlink acquired via journalist outreach is typically from a DR 70+ website, with organic traffic of more than 100,000/m, and decades of domain age.
I would say a backlink acquired via Qwoted/HARO/Digital PR is equivalent to three or four guest post/ niche edits. You can also get these editorial placements for your brand by contacting us.
Which Pages Should You Target?
The targeted pages depend on your domain age, budget, niche, and a few other factors. For those of you with a newly launched website, I would recommend targeting the homepage and sales pages (service/product pages) simultaneously.
Backlinks to the homepage will elevate your overall domain authority and establish your business as an entity for search engines and LLMs. These links are from all types of websites, like news and publications, local directories, social bookmarks, business citations, niche blogs, editorial placements, etc. Here are more details on the importance of business directories in SEO.
The second type targets your commercial landing pages using varied, natural anchor text. These are the keywords you want to rank for on search engines and AI. Most businesses spend money on getting these backlinks via guest posting, niche edits, listicles, and manual blogger outreach.
To sum it up, if you have a new website, focus on building backlinks to your homepage. If you have an established brand, go after service/product pages with custom anchor texts and relevancy.
Which Website to Get Links From?
Before choosing websites, it’s important to understand how competitive your industry is. Businesses in highly competitive niches naturally need a much stronger backlink profile than local service businesses.
| Industry | Typical Referring Domains to Compete |
|---|---|
| Local Plumber | 40–80 |
| Local Dentist | 80–150 |
| SaaS | 300–800 |
| VPN | 1,500+ |
But the question is, how will you find these websites?
The easiest way to find these websites is through a competitor backlink analysis. You will need to check a limited number of competitor backlinks via Ahrefs’ free backlink explorer. However, I recommend getting a paid subscription to get started with your link building campaign. Other SEO tools like Semrush, Mangools, and Moz.
You will need to watch a few tutorial videos on using the tool correctly for competitor backlink analysis. Shortlist 2-3 competitors and explore their backlink profiles via Ahrefs or Semrush. Make a list of websites that are relevant to your industry and link to competitors.
How to Get Backlinks from these Websites?
Getting backlinks from websites is a difficult and time-consuming process. You have already done the first part of shortlisting websites linking to your competitors. Now it’s time to contact them. Before you start, let me share some facts.
I have been in the link-building industry for five years. And I can surely say websites linking to your competitors will ask for an editorial fee to link to your website. This is how the web economy works: most brands are comfortable paying a nominal price in exchange for a dofollow backlink.
There will also be a fraction of publications that won’t reply to your email because they don’t offer guest posts or niche edits for a price. These are the best links you should target, and the only way to get placed on these websites is via digital PR, journalist outreach, or paying a heavy price.
You can hire us to get editorial placements and get featured in listicles. Or read this guide on getting good backlinks if you have decided to do it yourself.
Method #1 – Do it Yourself
I recommend every business owner try the outreach process at least once. It will be a great learning experience, and you will know how to negotiate and get placements done.
From the list that you created earlier, find pages that are between DR 50-70 and whose topic looks advertorial. Like the best custom sofa brand in 2026 or something similar.
The websites that have linked to your competitors will most likely link to you. And you will also know the cost of getting these links.
Method #2 – Hire Someone
You can hire our team for the complete link-building process. We will find niche-relevant websites, do competitor link analysis, and create a list of at least fifty websites for you to choose from.
We can also build editorial links with journalist outreach. We have secured backlinks from US News, Homes&Gardens, Family Handyman, MSN, YAHOO, AOL, etc., for our clients in the past.
You can also hire a freelancer to build links for your brand. But you should have in-depth knowledge of evaluating a website, or you will end up paying for spam backlinks.
Most business owners don’t have time to do link building themselves. Therefore, it is advised to look for a reputable link-building partner agency like HAROLinked and get some great links.
| Option | Cost ($) | Time Required | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY Link Building | Low | High | SEO professionals & marketers |
| Hire a Freelancer | Medium | Medium | Small businesses with limited budgets |
| Hire a Link Building Agency | Higher | Low | Businesses that want authoritative backlinks |
Why do you need Backlinks?
Because backlinks help your domain rank higher on Google and get cited in AI overviews and answers. Without backlinks, your business website can take months or years to even show up in Google search on branded keywords.
Google treats links like a vote of confidence. The more votes you have, the more confidence you get from search engines and LLMs. Here are a few more advantages of getting backlinks:
1- Backlinks Improve Domain Authority
Backlinks from high DR/DA websites can help improve your online visibility in search engines and LLMs. A website with a higher domain authority will be ranked higher than a website with a lower domain authority.
I have tested this. I created two identical blogs for a long-tail, zero difficulty keyword and published it on two of my websites. The first site had a DR of 42, while the other had a DR of 20.
As expected, the first website with DR42 ranked higher and was indexed within an hour. The second site with a light link profile and DR20 took like a day to get indexed and ranked for the keyword.
I didn’t stop there. I wanted to test the power of DR, so I improved the content on my second website, added stats, FAQs, and optimized it perfectly for that keyword. Also, internally link that blog from pages that are ranked higher and attracting traffic. Secondly, I removed important headings from the content I published on the first site to make it thin.
Results? The first website with DR42 was still ranking higher in SERPs. This proves that backlinks and domain rating/ authority has a significant value in rankings. You can write the best content in the world, but it won’t outrank a website with high authority backlinks.
2- Backlinks Help You Rank Higher
This is the only reason brands spend thousands of dollars on acquiring backlinks. We help brands get editorial placements on high-authority websites and publications.
A service page with more relevant backlinks will rank higher on Google. This will ultimately bring in relevant traffic and leads.
Treat a backlink like an investment you are making for your brand. It will take time to mature and give results in the long run.
But like I said, not all backlinks are the same. And hiring an expert agency for the link building campaign is the best option for brands looking to get only the best links.
3- Direct Traffic
Direct traffic from websites with your backlink often leads to sales and conversions. This is another advantage of link building.
You are leveraging the traffic of another website by advertising your brand and services via sponsored posts and editorial placements.
People read about your brand, and those interested will click on the link and buy it. Those who didn’t click will remember your brand mentioned on a website, and they will search for it when they need it.
Final Words
There is no magic number of backlinks you need to build to rank high on search engines. It can be 50 backlinks, or it can be 200, depending on your industry, domain age, and a few other factors.
The bottom line is, you will need high authority, locally relevant and editorial backlinks to rank higher in search, get cited in AI overviews and answers, and attract traffic.
FAQs
How many backlinks do I need to rank on Google?
There is no fixed number. The backlinks you need depend on your industry, competition, domain age, content quality, and the backlink profiles of your competitors. A local business may rank with fewer than 100 referring domains, while competitive SaaS or finance websites often require hundreds.
How many backlinks should a new website have?
A newly launched website should focus on building around 50-60 high-quality backlinks in six months to its homepage and key service pages. Prioritize relevance and authority over quantity.
Are 100 backlinks enough to rank?
For low-competition keywords, 100 quality backlinks may be enough. However, highly competitive industries often require significantly more authoritative referring domains to compete.
Are high DR backlinks better than low DR backlinks?
Generally, yes. Backlinks from authoritative, trusted websites with real organic traffic pass more value than links from low-quality or spammy websites. However, niche relevance is just as important as Domain Rating.
Should I build backlinks to my homepage or service pages?
For new websites, start with your homepage and primary service pages. Established websites should focus more on service pages and commercial landing pages using relevant anchor text.
What are the best types of backlinks for SEO?
Editorial backlinks earned through Digital PR, HARO, Qwoted, journalist outreach, guest posts, and niche-relevant publications are among the most valuable because they are naturally placed within high-quality content.
How do I know if a backlink is good?
A good backlink comes from a relevant website with real traffic, editorial content, a strong reputation, and a natural placement within the article. Avoid links from spammy websites, private blog networks (PBNs), and irrelevant directories.
How long do backlinks take to improve rankings?
Most quality backlinks start showing an impact within a few weeks to several months. The timeline depends on Google’s crawling frequency, your competition, and the overall strength of your website.
How can I find websites for link building?
The easiest method is competitor backlink analysis using tools like Ahrefs or Semrush. Review the websites linking to your competitors and identify relevant opportunities for guest posts, Digital PR, or editorial placements.
Do backlinks help AI search engines like ChatGPT?
Yes. High-authority editorial backlinks strengthen your website’s credibility and online authority, making it more likely to be referenced by AI-powered search experiences, alongside improving traditional Google rankings.