I started judging backlinks by the page first instead of looking at DR

I used to spend way too much time looking at DR and traffic when checking sites for backlinks.

Lately I’ve been doing it the other way around. I look at the actual page first, the topic around it, the other sites linking to it and whether the link would make sense to a real reader.

I’ve passed on some high DR sites because the page was completely unrelated, while some smaller sites looked much more useful because they had a real audience and were closely related to the niche.

Not saying DR is useless, but I think it’s easy to let one number make the decision for you.

For anyone doing link building at scale, this seems to save a lot of bad placements.

DR and overall traffic is pretty much useless because you're not getting any of it.

Having your link placed on a high relevant page with direct links pointing at it yields much better results.

That's why PBN links still work so well.
Even if they have 0 traffic.

Yeah, indeed!
I was providing a free Guest post on my site on Reddit.
Sites niche was 100% suitable with them. But 7 guys declined for the guest post because "low" DR.
I was like, okay. huh huh.

Myself, I don´t look the DR. I look mostly the domain name, page visual style and niche!
If those are good! I am in!

MoMarketing said:

I look at the actual page first, the topic around it, the other sites linking to it and whether the link would make sense to a real reader.

Click to expand...

I think this applies to link insert only, what about guest posts.

yeah i agree dr alone can be misleadung i check relevance traffic and the actual page first

DR can be useful as a quick filter, but I think the actual linking page tells you much more. Check the page topic, how well it fits the target URL, whether the page has real traffic and internal links, and if the placement makes sense for someone reading the article. A lower DR site with a strong relevant page can be more valuable than a high DR site with a weak or unrelated placement.

yeah, i think checking the actual page first makes way more sense, DR is useful but it shouldnt be the only thing you look at.

there are way mor factors to keep an eye on than DA DR - people see those
terms floated around so much is why they turn to that first

Agree with the shift, with one addition. Topical fit of the page is step one, but what quietly kills placements is the company that page keeps. If every recent post on a site carries two or three commercial links into unrelated niches, your link can sit in a perfectly on-topic paragraph and still get discounted, because the pattern around it gets evaluated too, not only your paragraph.

That is also why Search Console tells you nothing when it happens. Devaluation is silent -> no notice, no message, nothing to appeal. The link simply stops counting and you spend the next three months blaming your content.

So before I look at any score I count outbound commercial links per post and check how far apart their niches are. Cheapest tell there is: one page linking out to a casino, a dental clinic and a moving company.

yeah dr can misleading on its own.check the page relevance and real traffic first before deciding if a backlink is worth it.

I always found DR, DA, and the rest of bullshit metrics hilarious. People actually still judge links based on and swearing by their numbers.