Sometimes 3 backlinks outperform 30 - here’s why

I often notice the same situation on different projects: the number of links has ceased to be the main factor.

In one case, on one site, they bought over 30 links from high-DR donors. It seemed like a significant purchase, but the rankings were stagnant, neither here nor there. On another project, however, they managed to get by with just a few links, and the results were immediately visible.

I started digging and realized the difference. It's not about the numbers, but how these links are implemented.

Here's what really worked in the second case:

- the link led from material that was relevant in meaning, and wasn't simply located on a related resource.

- the surrounding text looked organic, and wasn't just a separate patch to add a link.

- the donor page had no more than six relevant outgoing links, not hundreds for every taste.

Nowadays, most links exist purely for show, and search engines sense this just as well as we do. And high DR isn't a solution here.

I'm not saying volume isn't important. Of course it is. But without proper context, all these links turn into noise, which algorithms have long since learned to filter out.

Have you ever encountered this? Has a small pool of good links ever proven more effective than a massive purchase?

the results are irrelevant if both sites weren't almost identical in terms of...

- same niche
- same keywords
- same content quality
- same site DR, RDs and backlinks
- same trust by google
- same (or similar at least) everything else...

What you described - while it does work (because quality over quantity is today's SEO standard) - doesn't tell the full story, which is why the results are irrelevant

tazarbm said:

the results are irrelevant if both sites weren't almost identical in terms of...

- same niche
- same keywords
- same content quality
- same site DR, RDs and backlinks
- same trust by google
- same (or similar at least) everything else...

What you described - while it does work (because quality over quantity is today's SEO standard) - doesn't tell the full story, which is why the results are irrelevant

Click to expand...

This!


OP is just post boosting before promoting their own PBN, which is fine, but at least do some proper research.

True quality beats volume now. Few contextual links can move more than many junk ones.
Placement and relevance matter most.

SpawneR said:

OP is just post boosting before promoting their own PBN

Click to expand...

I've noticed that too, but I didn't want to call him out yet

Yes it can be the case.
But also the reverse.

Search engines work based on thresholds.
Sometimes small number of links will not pass those.

Agreed Google is be smart enough to filter trashy & spammy links by now!
It has years of data so it only makes sense

Nice post!