How long do backlinks take to work?

Generally, you’ll begin to see inbound links in your backlink list about 30-45 days after they’re placed. They can affect your search engine rankings within two weeks of being indexed. However, the impact they have depends on how relevant the backlink is to your content and how competitive your target keyword is.

What matters more, the quantity or quality of backlinks?

While many say quality matters more than quantity, the real answer is more detailed.

If there’s a large gap in referring domains to your site compared to the top three competitors for a keyword, focusing on quantity can help bridge that gap. Quality is important, but having relevant domains linking to you is more crucial than just domain authority signals, which are often misunderstood.

Is Domain Authority the best measure of link quality?

Metrics like Domain Authority (Moz), Domain Rating (Ahrefs), and Authority Score (SEMrush) predict how well a site might rank compared to others. These metrics can give you an idea of a site’s trustworthiness, but remember Google doesn’t use them. Only Google knows how much a backlink is worth. As Search Engine Journal notes, this metric doesn’t always reflect value. Sites with a low DA score can still be credible and perform well.

Do links from unknown but trusted sites help SEO?

A link from a popular site, such as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, is a strong endorsement from a reliable source. While these links are valuable, they’re also highly competitive. Links from smaller, trustworthy sites can still improve your backlink profile. Though they may seem less impressive, they still show credibility, relevance, and authority.

Should I worry about links with a high spam score?

One backlink with a high spam score isn’t a major concern. However, having many links with high spam scores could be problematic.

Spam score, created by Moz, evaluates potential risks from a backlink using 17 factors called “spam flags” that might endanger your site. 

Regularly check your site’s overall backlink health to avoid penalties. Tools like SEMRush’s Backlink Audit can quickly assess your backlinks and help you remove harmful ones.

Does anchor text matter, and if so, how much?

Anchor text used in backlinks should ideally include relevant keywords, but not excessively. If many different websites use “landscaping experts” to link to your lawn care business, Google will think your site should rank well for related keywords. However, too many exact matches might violate Google’s linking rules.

Websites linking to yours don’t always use exact match keywords, and that’s okay. Google understands natural language well, so pages often rank for many different specific keywords. It’s good for your backlink collection to include some links with generic anchor text like “click here” because that’s a common way websites link to each other.

What are Private Blog Networks, and will using them get my site penalised?

Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are groups of sites made to sell backlinks. They often contain low-quality content and try to trick algorithms. Using PBNs violates Google’s guidelines and may lead to manual action penalty.

Can press releases help build links?

Press releases promote your brand and can include backlinks to your site. Be cautious, though, as syndicating press releases with keyword-rich anchor text may be seen as over-optimisation. Save press releases for real news and consider working with an agency to secure editorial links.

Do more backlinks mean higher rankings?

Yes, but only if they’re quality links. Your credibility improves when respected sites endorse you. Backlinks from poor or suspicious sites won’t help your SEO.

Are nofollow links valuable?

Nofollow links don’t directly affect your page rank, but they can boost exposure and brand awareness.

Does it matter which page a backlink points to?

According to a study by Ahrefs Pages without backlinks get little organic traffic. Focus on acquiring quality backlinks to pages with conversion opportunities. Use a strategic internal linking structure to pass equity from pages with more backlinks to those with fewer.

Does the age of a referring page affect backlink quality?

The age of a page doesn’t directly impact backlink quality. However, when an old page adds a backlink to your site, it can signal endorsement strength to Google.