Link Building Statistics By Tactics, Tools, Automation, Effectiveness, Impact, Opportunities And Trends

Introduction

Link Building Statistics: In today’s fast-changing digital world, keeping up with the newest link-building trends is very important to staying ahead of the competition and maximizing your SEO efforts. A solid backlink plan is key to SEO success, whether you use professional link-building services or manage it yourself.

Recent stats reveal that 82% of SEO professionals depend on backlink checker tools like Ahrefs and Semrush. This shows how valuable it is to understand your competitors’ link strategies. This article will review the latest Link link-building statistics and trends for 2025.

Editor’s Choice

• About 94% of online content doesn’t get any backlinks, and only 2.2% manage to get some.
• Nearly 58.1% of businesses believe building links is crucial for achieving better rankings on search engine results pages.
• Top-ranking pages on Google usually have 3.8 times more backlinks than lower-ranking ones.
• Link Building Statistics stated that around 52.3% of digital marketers say link building is the toughest part of SEO.
• Link-building methods take up 28% of total SEO budgets.
• About 93.8% of SEO specialists say getting high-quality backlinks is very important.
• According to recent data, Google has an 81.95% market share, a strong lead over other search engines.
• About 61% of B2B marketers rely on SEO as their top choice for getting new leads.
• Roughly 53.3% of all website visits come from organic searches, showing how important SEO is.
• Around 60% of global web traffic now comes from smartphones.
• Link Building Statistics stated that 57% of local searches use mobile phones or tablets.
• Ahrefs reports that only 0.0008% of keywords get over 100,000 monthly searches.
• Nearly 46% of all Google searches have local intent, meaning people seek nearby services or businesses.
• Studies found that 94.74% of keywords get 10 or fewer monthly searches.
• Google Ads Keyword Planner is known to overstate search volume 54.28% of the time.
• Reports also show that SEO brings in 1,000% more visitors than unpaid social media content.

General Link Building Statistics

• Backlinks are among the top two factors Google looks at when ranking web pages.
• There is a strong link between a page’s number of backlinks and the amount of traffic it receives.
• About 79.7% of SEO specialists say link building is one of the most important parts of their SEO plan.
• Roughly 94% of online content doesn’t get shared on social media or earn backlinks from other websites.
• Link Building Statistics stated that only 2.2% of content gets backlinks from more than one domain.
• Just 1 in 20 web pages with zero backlinks gets any visits.
• Around 52.3% of digital marketing pros say that link building is the hardest part of SEO.

(Reference: adamconnell.me)

• Link Building Statistics stated that around 95% of websites don’t have any external backlinks.
• Just 2.2% of online content gets links from more than one website.
• The page that ranks #1 on Google usually has 3.8x more backlinks than pages ranked between #2 and #10.
• About 65% of companies admit that link building is the hardest part of SEO.
• Around 13% of SEO pros say link building gives the highest return compared to other SEO methods.
• In a study of 100,000 random blogs, 75% had no backlinks.
• SocialMediaToday reports that 36% of businesses hire professionals for link building, while uSERP puts that number at 60%.
• About 42% of SEO experts say they split their time evenly between building internal and external links.
• Nearly 90% of content marketers use blog posts or articles as their main way to get backlinks.
• Around 66.5% of backlinks created since 2013 are now broken or inactive.
• Databox also says that 42% of SEO professionals focus equally on internal and external link building.

Types of Links

#1. Dofollow Links:

• Pages with more do-follow backlinks usually get more search traffic. Most high-ranking pages gain new do-follow links from other websites every month, growing by around 5% to 14.5%.

#2. Nofollow Links:

• NoFollow links are less common than doFollow ones. Ahrefs data shows that only 10.6% of all backlinks to the top 110,000 websites are nofollow.
• Even though search engines don’t count nofollow links as strongly, many SEO experts still think they help. A survey from Authority Hacker shows that 89.1% of link builders believe nofollow links can still affect search rankings.

#3. Reciprocal Links:

• Trading links with other sites—known as reciprocal linking—is fairly common. Ahrefs reports that 73.6% of websites have done this.
• But search engines have changed over time. Now, only 43.7% of top-ranking pages have reciprocal backlinks, which means they may not be as helpful as they used to be.

#4. Internal Links:

• Web pages that use many different versions of anchor text for their internal links usually get more traffic from Google. Changing anchor words can improve visibility in searches.

#5. External Links:

• Ahrefs found that 66.5% of all backlinks made over the last 9 years no longer work—they redirect to deleted or inactive pages.

#6. Anchor Text:

• Pages with at least one anchor that exactly matches their main keyword get about five times more search traffic than those that don’t.
• Still, exact match anchor text links don’t always boost rankings more than links with non-matching or mixed keywords.

Link Building Tactics Statistics

• Guest posting is the most common link-building method, used by 64.9% of link builders.
• About 46.3% of link builders often use Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to get backlinks.
• Around 51.6% of link builders include link swaps as part of their approach.
• Nearly 43.7% of top-ranking Google pages have some mutual (reciprocal) backlinks.
• Link Building Statistics stated that only 17.7% of link builders use Digital PR, making it the least-used link-building method.
• Just 6% of site owners go after backlinks through Digital PR.
• SEO agencies and in-house teams are over 3 times more likely to use Digital PR than individual website owners.

(Reference: serpstat.com)

• Digital PR becomes 433% more popular among link builders as they gain years of experience.
• Creating useful, high-quality content is the best way to earn backlinks.
• Long-form content brings in 77.2% more backlinks than short blog posts.
• Posts like “Why” articles, “What” pieces, and infographics get 25.8% more backlinks than videos or “How-to” guides.
• Link Building Statistics stated that around 89% of marketers write content mainly to build backlinks.
• About 31% of marketers run outreach campaignsfor  up to 4 weeks after launching new content to earn links.

(Reference: buzzstream.com)

• Link Building Statistics stated that around 19.9% of link builders buy and redirect old domains to get backlinks.
• On average, it takes 8 days for an outreach email to turn into a backlink.
• Using someone’s first name in your first outreach email can boost link success by nearly 50%.
• Sending follow-up emails during outreach can help get 40% more backlinks.

Guest Posting, Digital PR, Paid Links, and Outreach Statistics

• Guest posting is the top choice for getting backlinks, with over 64% of digital marketers using this method.
• More than 46% of SEO specialists say they often use Help a Reporter Out (HARO) in their backlink strategies.
• Link Building Statistics stated that nearly 48% of pages that rank high on Google have at least some mutual (reciprocal) links.
• This matches other research, which shows that over 51% of marketers include link swaps in their backlink plans.
• Fewer than 18% of link builders use digital PR, making it the least common tactic for earning links.

(Source: buzzstream.com)

• SEO companies and in-house teams are 3 times more likely to use digital PR than businesses that handle outreach independently.
• Almost 20% of link builders buy and redirect old domains to gain new backlinks.
• Using someone’s first name in the first outreach email can increase the chance of getting a backlink by about 50%.
• Sending follow-up emails helps bring in 40% more backlinks during outreach campaigns.
• Link Building Statistics state that over 61% of marketers use social platforms to help with link-building. Of these, 23.5% use Facebook, and 17.3% use LinkedIn.
• Those who use social media in their outreach usually earn 22% more monthly backlinks.
• On average, it takes about 8 days for an outreach email to result in a backlink.
• Despite that, only 8.5% of outreach emails get a response.
• Sharing your content and getting others to share it can boost traffic and backlinks by 2 to 5 times.
• Around 74% of marketers pay for backlinks to support their other link-building efforts.

(Source: buzzstream.com)

• As SEO experts get more experienced, they are more likely to spend money on backlinks.
• Link Building Statistics stated that the typical cost for a paid backlink is about $84.
• Buying links can help companies get two extra backlinks per month.
• However, one report showed that only 6.6% of websites that purchased backlinks saw a boost in website traffic.

Link Building Statistics for Tools and Metrics Used

(Reference: outreachmonks.com)

• Many SEO professionals count Domain Rating (DR) as a key measurement tool. About 69% say it’s the most reliable way to judge a website’s strength.
• Roughly 43% of link builders use scores like DR and Domain Authority (DA) to assess the effectiveness of their strategies.
• Over 70% of SEO experts often use tools such as Ahrefs and Moz to study and improve their link-building plans.
• Link Building Statistics stated that nearly 75% of SEO pros also use Google Search Console to track their backlinks and see how they affect the site’s rankings on search engines.
• About 40% of SEO specialists now use new tools like Link Whisper, which help with smart internal linking. This shows that more people are focusing on improving internal link structure.
• On the other hand, only 30% of marketers use advanced tools to measure the revenue generated by their link-building efforts. This shows that many are still avoiding deep performance checks.
• A report by Research and Markets estimates that the global market for SEO software will reach $1.6 billion by 2027.
• When uSERP surveyed 800 SEO pros, they found that 25% mostly use Google Search Console to build backlinks.
• This made it the top tool chosen for link-building tasks.

(Source: bloggingwizard.com)

• A recent study showed how often SEO pros use different tools to help with link building:
• 21% of SEO specialists rely on Semrush.
• Link Building Statistics stated that 15% prefer using Ahrefs.
• Both Buzzstream and Screaming Frog are used by 10% of professionals.
• Pitchbox, Mailshake, and Majestic are each used by 5% of users.
• These tools help find backlinks, reach out to websites, and keep track of link-building efforts.

How Marketers Measure the Link Quality Statistics

• Around 65% of marketers believe that domain authority is the most important factor in deciding the strength of a backlink.
• About 48% of marketers rely on domain ratings to check the quality of a link.
• Nearly 36% use page authority to judge how powerful a backlink might be.
• If asked to choose only one metric, 34% of marketers said they would use domain authority.
• Backlinks from older websites might carry more weight than those from newer domains.
• Getting links from other ranking pages on the same Google results page could be more useful since they are relevant to the same keyword.
• Links placed within a page’s main content are usually stronger than those found in empty pages or in side areas like the sidebar or footer.
• Many helpful tools are available to track your backlinks and check their quality. Some of the top tools include Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, Semrush, and Moz.

Link Builders Statistics

• As link-building professionals gain more experience, they build more monthly links.
• People with 1–2 years of experience usually create around 13 monthly backlinks.
• Those with 2–5 years of experience average about 15 links monthly, showing they’ve learned more effective link-building skills.
• The biggest boost comes from experts with over 5 years of experience—they typically earn about 25 backlinks every month.

(Reference: superlinks.com)

• As link-building experts gain more experience, they’re more likely to spend money on buying backlinks.
• About 68% of those with just 1 year of experience pay for links. This number increases to around 74% for professionals with 1–2 years of experience, showing that buying links becomes more common as they grow in the field.
• Link Building Statistics stated that when experts reach 2–5 years of experience, about 75% purchase links as part of their strategy.
• The highest rate is seen in professionals with over 5 years of experience — about 82% of them pay for backlinks, proving that it’s a popular and accepted method among the most experienced link builders.

(Reference: superlinks.com)

Link Building Costs Statistics

• A paid backlink typically costs about $83, which only includes the price of placing the link on a website.
• This cost doesn’t cover outreach efforts or content writing. According to Authority Hacker, link prices have increased recently due to inflation and higher demand, making paid link building more expensive.
• Link builders with more than 5 years of experience charge 41% less per backlink than those without experience.
• These experienced pros are also 49% more cost-efficient because they create 3 to 4 times more links. Even if their salaries are higher, they give more value for the money.

(Source: webapex.com)

• Their ability to build more links reduces the overall cost, proving that skilled experts offer better results at a lower price per link.
• Link-building statistics stated that about 38.4% of businesses spend between $1,000 and $5,000 monthly on link-building, making this the most popular budget range.
• Around 34.1% of companies spend $1,000 or less monthly, 20.3% invest between $5,000 and $10,000, and only 7.1% spend more than $15,000 a month.
• The average cost of a high-quality guest blog post is $609.

Link Building and SERP Statistics

• The top Google result gets 5% to 14.5% more Dofollow links from new websites every month.
• The #1 ranked page usually has about 3.8 times more backlinks than those in positions #2 through #10.
• Link Building Statistics stated that roughly 65.4% of SEO professionals believe domain authority is more important than the total number of links on a page to improve search rankings.
• When a page gains more backlinks, it typically brings in more organic traffic from Google.
• A reciprocal link is when Site A links to Site B, and then Site B links back to Site A. About 43.7% of top-performing pages have these types of links.
• Even though links are one of the top ranking factors, nearly 66% of websites don’t have any backlinks.
• Google is updating how it handles “nofollow” links, meaning these backlinks could now add more value to your site than before.

Link Building AI and Automation

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a major part of link building. While traditional methods still work, they often take time and effort. AI now helps speed up the process, making getting good backlinks easier and more accurate.
• AI-powered tools are now used to find websites that fit link-building well quickly. Instead of doing all the research by hand, AI scans huge amounts of information and picks trustworthy sites that match your content.
• This saves time and increases success. Businesses using AI have boosted their backlink success rates by as much as 50%.

(Reference: superlinks.com)

• Another benefit of AI is predictive analytics. This means using data from past campaigns and current trends to guess what types of content will do well in the future. Marketers can then focus on content that is more likely to earn strong backlinks.
• This type of planning has made link-building efforts about 35% more effective.
• Link-building statistics state that AI also helps with writing and improving content. With AI tools, you can create content that connects better with readers and search engines. This raises your chances of getting backlinks from top websites.
• Content made with AI has a 40% better chance of earning backlinks than content written without AI help.

Link Building Effectiveness Statistics

• Nearly 58% of businesses say that link building is important in helping their websites rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).

(Reference: adamconnell.me)

• It’s clear that backlinks affect a site’s ranking on search engines, but it’s still uncertain how much influence they have.
• Based on data from uSERP, almost 60% of marketers think link-building strongly affects their rankings.
• Marketers often debate whether the number or quality of backlinks matters more. Some believe having more links is better, while others feel that just a few high-quality links can make a big difference.
• However, 56% of marketers say that the number and quality of backlinks help with rankings, so using a mix of both is usually the best choice.

(Reference: adamconnell.me)

• The idea of paying for backlinks also splits opinions in the SEO world. Some professionals believe purchased links don’t carry as much power as naturally earned, high-quality ones. Because of this, some marketers avoid buying links completely.
• Still, many companies don’t mind paying for backlinks to improve their search results. About 63% of marketers say that buying links helps improve rankings.
• Link Building Statistics stated that better rankings bring more visitors and that extra traffic can increase leads.
• Also, 44% of marketers believe link-building brings solid results.

Content-Driven Link Building Statistics

• The time marketers spend on outreach for a content campaign depends on their strategy. Most—around 36%—focus on outreach for 3 to 4 weeks.
• About 25% don’t set a specific end date. They continue their outreach efforts over time, aiming for long-term results.
• On the shorter side, 17% run their campaigns for 1 to 2 weeks, and only 4% wrap it up within a week.
• A smaller number of marketers stretch their outreach efforts — 12% go for 5 to 6 weeks, and 6% keep going for 7 to 8 weeks.

(Reference: superlinks.com)

• Building links through content isn’t always easy, and marketers face different problems.
• About 40% say the hardest part is getting backlinks from the people they contact.
• Another tough area is coming up with creative ideas for campaigns—20% of respondents say that planning what kind of content to create is the biggest challenge.

(Reference: superlinks.com)

• Certain types of content work better than others when it comes to building links. Around 56% of link builders choose long, report-style content because it’s detailed and packed with information, which helps attract more backlinks.
• Interactive content is the second favorite, used by 42%, since it keeps people engaged. Blog posts are also useful—39% of marketers rely on them to earn links by sharing regular and helpful updates.
• Other content types are used less. 11% choose publicity stunts, while 8% use real products and videos. Only 4% choose fake products, and virtual reality is the least used, at 0%.

Link Building Impact on Ranking

(Reference: searchendurance.com)

• Link Building Statistics show that about 67.5% of SEO professionals believe that backlinks strongly affect a page’s ranking on search engines.
• Another 30% think backlinks have a moderate influence.
• Search Engine Journal (SEJ) lists backlinks as the third most important factor for ranking.
• While Authority Hacker considers them the #1 most important factor.
• Around 94% of SEO experts say backlinks will still affect rankings over the next 5 years, and 73% believe they’ll remain important for the next 10 years.
• Also, 59% of professionals think backlinks will matter even more in the future.
• Interestingly, about 72% of SEO specialists think you can still rank well on Google without building links if your content is top-quality.
• Meanwhile, 80% of SEO pros say brand mentions—without actual links—still help with search engine rankings.
• Link Building Statistics stated that pages in Google’s top 10 search results average 2,418 backlinks, but the middle value (median) is just 13. These links usually come from about 112 websites, while the median is only 6.
• Data from Authority Hacker shows that websites in the #1 position on Google typically get links from around 1,962 websites.
• Pages in position #2 have about 416 referring domains, and those in position #3 average around 299.
• Backlinko also discovered that the top Google result has roughly 3.8x more backlinks than the average of pages ranked between #2 and #10.
• Research from First Page Sage reveals that you usually need about 203 backlinks to show up on page 1 of Google, and if you want to rank in the top 3 spots, that number jumps to 521 on average.

Link Building Trends 2025

• In 2024, 70% of marketers who haven’t used video say they plan to start soon. Also, 99% of those already using video say they’ll keep using it.
• Adding video content to your link-building plan can help you keep up with this growing trend. It also helps you earn backlinks from video platforms and websites that share or embed your videos.
• In 2018, the U.S. had about 75 million podcast listeners. That number is expected to reach 164 million monthly listeners in 2024.
• Joining podcasts or doing interviews in your field can boost your brand’s visibility and help you get backlinks from podcast sites and related platforms.
• ComScore predicts that 50% of all internet searches will be conducted by voice in 2024. Therefore, it is important to adjust your content for voice search.
• Doing so can improve your chances of being found and help you gain backlinks from voice search-related websites.
• Cisco also says that video will soon make up around 80% of all web traffic. Using a mix of content—like videos, podcasts, and interactive features—can help attract a larger audience and increase your chances of earning backlinks as part of your SEO strategy.

Link Building Benchmark and Metrics Statistics

(Source: searchendurance.com)

• Based on data from users, the main way marketers check if their link-building campaign is working is by looking at website traffic, chosen by 22.5% of them.
• After that, they focus on ranking position (19%), sales or conversions (13%), referral visits (13%), new unique domains (12%), and the total number of links (10.5%).
• Most marketers 33.5% use scores like Domain Rating (DR), Domain Authority (DA), or similar metrics to determine the quality of a backlink.
• Others check website traffic (30%), how closely related the topic is (13.5%), referral traffic (10%), and anchor text (10%).
• According to Semrush, pages that appear in Google’s top 10 results typically have an average domain authority of 67, with a median of 72, and an average page authority score of 20, with a median of 18.
• Editorial Link’s research shows that 84.6% of SEO pros say relevance—how closely related the linking content is—is the most important factor when judging a backlink.
• Right behind that are domain score and traffic, each chosen by 68.3%, followed by anchor text (38.5%) and referral traffic (37.5%).
• Regarding SEO tools, 69% of experts say Ahrefs’ Domain Rating (DR) is the most accurate way to check a site’s authority. That’s more than Moz’s DA, Semrush’s Authority Score, or Majestic’s Trust Flow/Citation Flow.
• Regarding what makes a campaign successful, 37% of SEO experts say earning 1–9 backlinks is good enough.
• Link Building Statistics stated that another 28% say success means getting 10–19 links, 18% say 20–39, and 7% expect 40–59 or even 60+ links to call it a win.

Link Building Opportunities and Challenges Statistics

• Link Building Statistics stated that about 94% of marketers believe backlinks will still matter in Google’s ranking system 5 years from now.
• 53% think link building will have the same impact in the future, while 41% say it will become less important.
• According to uSERP, 59% of people think backlinks will play a bigger role in search rankings over the next few years, and 35.5% feel their influence will stay the same.
• 52% of marketers believe brand mentions (even without links) can boost search rankings.
• There’s little to no link between the frequency with which content is shared on social media and the number of backlinks it receives, so viral content doesn’t always earn links.
• Getting backlinks through content marketing is harder than it used to be.
• Link Building Statistics stated that 38% of marketers use search rankings as the top metric to measure how well their link-building efforts are working.
• If they could only use one way to check link quality, 34% would pick domain authority, and 22% would choose domain rating.
• On average, an outreach email takes around 8 days to turn into a live backlink.

Follow and No-Follow Link Statistics

• Some people think NoFollow links don’t help SEO, but that’s false. If the link comes from a page that ranks well on Google and gets natural traffic, it can still help your site.
• Websites in the #1 spot on Google usually get 5% to 14% more Dofollow backlinks each month from other sites, which makes being on top very helpful for building more links.
• More than 89% of online marketers believe NoFollow links can positively affect search rankings. This makes sense because Google recently changed how it treats NoFollow links, giving them more value.
• Also, about 48% of link builders include NoFollow links in their client reports, showing that these links are still important in SEO.
• Likewise, even plain text mentions of a brand or website (without clickable links) are believed to help with search rankings. Nearly 79% of marketers say these mentions make a difference.

Conclusion

Here’s your rewritten content in simple American English, using $ and % symbols where needed, with synonyms to avoid plagiarism while keeping the original meaning:

Link building is a crucial part of a strong SEO plan. While strategies and tools may change over time, the main goal is getting high-quality and relevant backlinks. The Link Building Statistics shared earlier show how important link-building is. You can use these numbers to improve your off-page SEO. Still, since these figures might shift, it’s important to stay current. This helps you adjust your plans as needed. Google still treats backlinks as one of the most important ranking signals.

So, if you want your website to do well and increase search results, you need to get links from trustworthy websites with high domain authority. Just make sure those websites are closely related to your content. This method brings more natural traffic and boosts your search engine ranking.