Method for calculating the required number of links
It is not possible to give a general answer to the question of how many backlinks a website needs, as this depends on numerous factors such as the industry, the competition and the specific goals of the website.
As a rule, the stronger the competition, the higher the investment in SEO. For me, a higher investment in SEO usually also means a higher number of backlinks.
If I as a company want to keep up in such a competitive field, in most cases I am also dependent on a higher number of backlinks.
To get a rough estimate of how many backlinks are needed, I always recommend carrying out a competitive analysis.
Competitor analysis is a central element for me in order to bring a website to the top of the search engines on the one hand and to better understand the link structure and strategy of competitors on the other.
Backlink competition analysis
Within a backlink competition analysis, I not only look at the pure number of backlinks that my competitors have, but also the quality of these links.
Backlinks that come from pages with a high domain authority (DA) are particularly relevant. These links are usually more difficult to obtain and can therefore be more valuable.
The origin of the links is also an important indicator of the quality of a backlink profile (keyword: thematic relevance).
The thematic relevance of a backlink is derived from how relevant the "topic" of the linking domain is to the topic of my linked domain.
An example to illustrate this: Imagine you run a dog blog and receive a backlink from a car tuning website. In this case, I would classify the thematic relevance of the link as low.
However, if you receive a backlink for a dog blog from a veterinary clinic or a dog food brand, I would classify the thematic relevance of the backlink as high.
In the examples above, the classification of thematic relevance is relatively clear. However, there are also cases where the classification is not clear.
In my view, the classification of thematic relevance is always subjective and unfortunately cannot be based on clear quantitative parameters.
Tools for competitive analysis
To carry out the competitive analysis, I recommend market-leading SEO tools such as Ahrefs. These offer in-depth analysis options to examine the number and quality of competitors' backlinks.
Ahrefs can therefore not only analyze the number of backlinks, but also the quality of the backlinks.
This is made possible on the one hand by the traceability of the domain rating (DR), but also by other quality parameters such as the number of referring domains or the ratio of incoming and outgoing backlinks.
You can also use Ahrefs to find out which websites the links come from, which anchor texts are used and how the link profile has grown over time.
Das ist wichtig, um nachzuvollziehen, wie die Konkurrenten innerhalb der eigenen Branche ihre Backlink-Profile aufbauen und wie schnell sie dies tun (Stichwort: Link Velocity).
In addition to Ahrefs, there are also other tools that can be used. It is worth basing the competition analysis on several SEO tools, as different tools use different databases.
For example, to determine the quality of backlinks, Sistrix can be a good tool to determine visibility using the Visibility Index (SI).
In many cases, it can also make sense to call in a professional SEO agency. On the one hand, this is because a competitive analysis requires several SEO tools, which can quickly add up to several thousand Swiss francs in annual costs.
On the other hand, I need a certain amount of expertise and experience to assess certain quality criteria in order to correctly interpret the data provided by the tools.
A competitive analysis therefore always forms the basis of a solid backlink strategy and should be carried out seriously and comprehensively.
What do I need to consider when building backlinks?
In the following, I will explain the most important factors in backlink building in more detail:
Quality more important than quantity
First of all, it should be emphasized that it is not, as some might assume, the pure number of backlinks that is decisive, but above all the quality of the backlinks.
Some high-quality links from authoritative and relevant websites can have a far greater impact on search engine rankings than hundreds of low-quality links.
For example, a link from a prestigious journal, university or even a research institution may be more valuable than several hundred links from small, unknown blogs.
When it comes to determining how many links should be placed, you should always be guided by the number of links of the top-ranked companies in your industry.
In principle, however, the principle of "less is more" usually applies to link placement.
Zu viele (qualitativ schlechte) Backlinks können einer Suchmaschine wie Google negativ Signale aussenden, wodurch sich nicht nur dein Ranking verschlechtern kann, sondern deine Website sogar als Spam wahrgenommen wird.
The right amount of quality and quantity is therefore very important for the ranking of my domain and must be considered as one of the most important factors in link building.
The importance of anchor texts
Der Ankertext ist ein wichtiger Aspekt im Bereich der Suchmaschinenoptimierung und insbesondere beim Aufbau von Backlinks.
This is the visible, clickable text that links to another page.
The anchor text can not only be important for better navigation of your website visitors, but also plays an important role in how the search engine interprets and classifies the content of your website.
Search engines use anchor texts to better understand and categorize the content of the linked page. This means that the anchor text gives Google clues as to which topic or topics the target page deals with.
For example, if many websites with the anchor text "web design" are linked to another page, the search engine assumes that the linked page is relevant for the search term "web design".
It is essential for me to consider a natural variance in the anchor texts when building backlinks. This means that not all links should have the same anchor text.
A variety of anchor texts from different pages appears more authentic and natural from Google's point of view.
Basically, I differentiate between 5 different types of anchor texts:
There are also numerous other categorization schemes for anchor texts.
However, it is not primarily important how I categorize the anchor texts, but that a consistent categorization is made.
Your aim must be to achieve as natural a distribution of the link profile as possible.
This means that the anchor texts contain both exact matches with a focus keyword (target anchor) and partial matches with thematically related terms (thematic anchor), as well as your own brand name (branded anchor), URLs and other forms of anchor texts.
While anchor texts can be used to send relevant signals to the search engine, you should also make sure that target anchors with an exact focus keyword, as well as thematic anchors, are not used excessively.
Excessive use of these anchor texts is classified as manipulation by Google.
In the worst case scenario, this can lead to your keyword rankings being systematically downgraded
When using anchor texts, you should therefore act strategically and pay attention to a balanced mix of different anchor texts.
A strategically prudent and well thought-out approach to anchor texts in link building ensures that your website sends positive signals to a search engine, increases the relevance and authority of the website in the eyes of the search engine and at the same time minimizes the risk of penalties due to unnatural link patterns.
Distribution between DoFollow and NoFollow backlinks
Backlinks can basically be divided into two main categories: external and internal backlinks.
While internal links are links within my own website, external links are links that point from another website to my own website.
But what are DoFollow and NoFollow links?
DoFollow and NoFollow links belong to the area of external links.
1. do-follow links
DoFollow-Links tragen stärker zur SEO bei, da sie sogenannten Linkjuice (Linksaft) übertragen. Das bedeutet, dass ein solcher Link die «Power» der verlinkenden Domain an meine verlinkte Website weitergibt.
Basically, backlinks of any kind are DoFollow links by default.
The more DoFollow links my website has, the greater Google's trust in my website, because this increases the "authority" of the domain within the Internet (as defined by the Google algorithm).
2. no-follow links
NoFollow links are in contrast to DoFollow links and do not transmit any direct link juice. This means that they do not transfer link juice and are not taken into account by a search engine such as Google.
It is important to know that links are not automatically marked as NoFollow.
If I want to mark a certain link as NoFollow, for example because it is a spam link, i.e. a link of low quality that negatively affects the ranking of my domain, this process must be carried out manually by changing or adapting the HTML code, for example.
It is important for me to establish a natural relationship between both types of links in order to signal authenticity and trustworthiness vis-à-vis the search engine.
For example, if 90% of all my backlinks are DoFollow links, this can be classified as unnatural by search engines such as Google.
A distribution of, for example, 70% DoFollow and 30% NoFollow, on the other hand, looks much more natural and therefore also more trustworthy.
However, there is no uniform distribution between DoFollow and NoFollow links that can be applied across the board for all keywords, industries, etc.
As a rule, you should always derive the distribution of DoFollow and NoFollow links from the 3-5 organically best-placed competitors.
You could carry out such a competitor analysis of your competitors' link profile with the Site Explorer of the SEO software Ahrefs, for example.
Backlink building for new domains
If your domain has just been registered, backlink building is often a particularly challenging task.
This is because you literally start from scratch and have not yet built up any backlinks or brand reputation.
However, there are a number of effective tactics and strategies you can use to quickly build your backlink profile and increase your visibility online.
I will explain some of the most effective link building strategies in more detail in the following section:
Create high-quality content
First of all, creating high-quality, informative and unique content for a new domain is always a priority for me.
This strategy encourages natural linking from other websites (if practiced correctly).
The link building mechanism is as follows: Generating content that is both informative and useful for your target audience increases the likelihood that other websites will link to your content.
Content that can offer added value when shared, such as infographics, statistics or expert interviews, performs particularly well.
This in turn can lead to visitors who reach your website via such a link from another site, for example, staying on your homepage for a longer period of time.
Creating high quality content can not only encourage the creation of natural backlinks from other relevant websites, but these backlinks can also increase the number of visitors and the time they spend on my website.
Both backlinks and website traffic are perceived by Google as a very positive signal and can significantly improve your ranking for certain keywords.
At this point, however, I have to be realistic and admit that organic link building often doesn't happen overnight.
For this strategy to really work, a broad-based content strategy must be developed at the outset to determine which content needs to be created and has the potential to attract links.
In addition, the content must also be actively marketed, for example by running social media campaigns or drawing the attention of other blog portals to your articles via email outreach, which also increases the likelihood of links.
Without a strategy, simply creating "good content" and hoping that some article will trigger a viral wave of backlinks will not be crowned with success.
Laying a solid foundation through on-page SEO
Before you start dealing with backlinks, you should make sure that the on-page SEO basics are implemented.
This includes optimizing meta tags, creating a clean and logical URL structure, setting internal links, and making the layout user-friendly in order to maximize the time visitors spend on the website and improve crawlability for search engines.
It is the on-page SEO measures that ensure that the content you create and the links you build through it achieve their maximum effect.
On-page optimization is therefore essential, as Google analyses the content of a page to determine whether a website is even a relevant result for a search query.
An important aspect of this process is the search and contextualization of keywords.
So waren in den 90ern und zu Beginn der 2000er Keyword-Stuffing, also das exzessive Verwenden von gewissen Suchbegriffen innerhalb einer Webpage, ohne Mehrwert für den User, eine bewährte Methode, um bessere Google-Rankings zu erzielen.
In the meantime, Google has of course evolved considerably as a search engine and banal keyword stuffing has been penalized for many years.
Nevertheless, using the "right" keywords in the right positions on a website still has a major influence on rankings.
However, for me, today's on-page SEO is more about demonstrating broad expert knowledge in a specific area within my webpage or across the entire website.
Only then will my website be classified as thematically relevant by the search engine.
Due to its ads-based business model alone, Google always strives to find the most relevant result for a search query, which is why the algorithms look for content that has the highest possible probability of the searcher finding the information they are looking for.
Let's illustrate this again with a practical example:
Imagine you run a blog about traveling in Asia.
If this blog has only published two articles on two different regions in Asia, the chance that someone googling for "Asia travel ideas" will be satisfied with the content presented is relatively small.
The thematic relevance of my site is therefore classified as low by Google.
On the other hand, if you have a travel blog about Asia that has published hundreds of blog articles and travel tips about each country, the respective capitals and sights, the chances are much higher that someone searching for "Asia travel ideas" will find what they are looking for.
This blog therefore has a higher thematic relevance and will rank better than the first-mentioned blog.
Thematic relevance is therefore central to your on-page SEO.
Creation of linkable assets
In addition to creating high-quality text content and building a solid foundation through on-page optimization, developing content that acts as "linkable assets" is also very important.
For me, a linkable asset characterizes content on a website that is naturally linked to due to its uniqueness and the added value it offers.
These include, for example, comprehensive guides, blogs, e-books, blueprints, web apps and other interactive tools.
For me, well-placed linkable assets have the potential to attract a particularly large number of natural backlinks.
The data protection generator from SwissAnwalt.ch provides an example from Switzerland.
Until recently, companies in Switzerland were able to use this generator to create their privacy policy free of charge and with just a few clicks and integrate it into their own website via source code or text.
When adopting the privacy policy, Swissanwalt inserted a disclaimer at the bottom of each page, which included a backlink to its own website.
Although the data protection generator is no longer available since the revised data protection provisions came into force, SwissAnwalt was able to achieve a domain rating (DR) of 87 almost exclusively through these links.
For comparison: 20min., the most widely read daily newspaper in Switzerland, has a domain rating of just 84 according to Ahrefs.
This was only possible because SwissAnwalt provided a linkable asset, in this case a data protection generator, which offered so much added value for a certain target group that backlinks were naturally created as a result.
My conclusion
In summary, there is no simple answer for me to the question of how many backlinks a website actually needs.
Collecting many backlinks alone is not enough, because backlink ≠ backlink.
From my experience, it is much more crucial to obtain high-quality and relevant links that strengthen the trust and credibility of a website and ultimately generate a natural link profile.
I therefore think it is wise to always carry out a competitive analysis first. This not only provides insights into the number of links from the competition, but above all into their quality.
To gain a foothold in search engines like Google, I always recommend focusing on your own site first before worrying too much about backlinks.
You should therefore first make sure that you have a solid on-page SEO foundation before you start creating a content strategy and corresponding content and linkable assets.
Nevertheless, success in backlink building rarely comes overnight.
It requires patience, perseverance and a clear strategy.
However, the benefits in the form of better rankings, more traffic and greater online visibility are well worth the effort invested.
