Solving the ultimate dilemma in link building: quality vs. quantity

Sol, you’ve been hired by a brand or business to significantly boost their visibility, drive higher traffic (with a potential for conversion), and secure top rankings on SERPs.

You look up the oldest trick in the book and get down to building backlinks. 

But wait. You are faced with a Mirror of Erased moment of sorts when you see yourself building high-quality backlinks in a short period of time with no spam links.

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That’s too good to be true, isn’t it? There has to be a catch. You know that the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but they diverge into two seemingly different paths. 

You could take the quality backlinks approach and gain low volumes of high-commitment traffic or go the quantity way and garner high volumes of low-commitment traffic. 

At this point, it’s clear that you’re juggling multiple priorities. The dilemma of choosing between the quality and quantity of backlinks is significant. 

Cease to fret, amigos. We at Mavlers contacted our link-building experts, Dharti Joshi and Ankit Panchal, who helped us put together the pros and cons of both approaches and ultimately help you make a decision that will work in your favor with a relevant case study to put things in perspective. 

In today’s blog, you seek to gain clarity on:

• Link building: quality vs. quantity
• Pros and cons of focusing on the quality approach
• Pros and cons of taking the quantity approach
• Mavlers’ approach to link-building with a recent case study
• Quality vs. quantity: Which approach is the best for you?

As you read the blog, you will gain greater clarity on the difference between a quality and quantity approach to link-building and ultimately decide the best link-building strategy for you!

Let’s sail away, captain! 😉

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Understanding link building: quality vs. quantity

Let’s begin our journey by understanding the difference between quality and quantity approaches to link building. 

Quality link building focuses on obtaining backlinks from reputable, authoritative, and relevant websites. 

Here are some key aspects of quality links:

• Authority: High-quality links come from websites recognized as authorities in their field. These sites have strong domain authority, which measures their overall strength and credibility.

• Relevance: Quality backlinks come from sites related to your industry or niche. This relevance helps search engines understand the context of your content and its importance within your field.

• Trustworthiness: Links from trustworthy sites with a good reputation and a history of producing reliable content are considered high-quality.

• Organic and natural: Quality links are typically earned through organic means, such as creating valuable content others want to link to, rather than through manipulative tactics like buying links.

These links are valued for their ability to improve your site’s ranking and credibility significantly. Quality links are often earned through creating exceptional content, guest blogging, and building relationships with reputable and relevant sites.

Here are some tried and tested tactics/strategies for creating quality backlinks to your website:

• Guest blogging
• Create linkable assets/content
• Infographics
• Leverage relationship-building with influencers
• Optimize your content
• Conduct PR & outreach

On the other hand, the quantity link-building strategy aims to acquire many backlinks, regardless of their source (authority or relevance). It involves generating mass backlinks, sometimes including links from low-quality or spammy sites. The goal here is to increase the number of backlinks to boost rankings quickly.

The key aspects of quantity-focused link-building include:

• Volume over quality: The primary goal is to accumulate as many links as possible, regardless of their quality.

• Low-quality sources: This approach often involves obtaining links from all types of websites, including low-quality, irrelevant, and spammy ones.

• Automated techniques: Quantity link building may use automated tools or services to generate links quickly, which can be risky.

• Short-term focus: The strategy aims to rapidly improve rankings, often neglecting long-term sustainability.

Pros and cons of focusing on the quality approach

Focusing on the quality approach to link building has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Understanding these pros and cons can help you make informed decisions about your link-building strategy.

Pros of focusing on quality link-building

1. Improved SEO rankings

• Higher authority: Search engines value links from high-authority websites more, leading to better rankings.

• Relevance: Links from relevant sites help search engines understand the context of your content, improving its searchability.

2. Enhanced credibility and trust

• Trust signals: Quality backlinks from reputable sources signal to search engines and users that your site is trustworthy and reliable.

• Brand authority: Being linked by authoritative sites can boost your brand’s authority in your niche or industry.

3. Better user engagement

• Targeted traffic: Quality links bring genuinely interested visitors to your content, leading to higher engagement rates.

• Lower bounce rates: Visitors from reputable sources are likelier to stay on your site and explore further, reducing bounce rates.

4. Long-term benefits

• Sustainable growth: Quality link-building practices are sustainable and align with search engine guidelines, reducing the risk of penalties.

• Lasting value: High-quality links remain valuable over time, continuing to benefit your SEO long after they are acquired.

5. Competitive advantage

• Stand out: Quality links can set you apart from competitors relying on quantity over quality.

• Better partnerships: Building relationships with reputable sites can open up further opportunities for collaboration and growth.

Cons of focusing on quality link-building

1. Time-consuming

• Effort required: Acquiring high-quality backlinks requires significant time and effort, including content creation, outreach, and relationship building.

• Slow progress: The benefits of quality link building may take longer to materialize than those of quick, quantity-based tactics.

2. Higher costs

• Resource intensive: Quality link building often involves investing in high-quality content, tools, and outreach campaigns.

• Expertise needed: You may need to hire SEO experts or content creators, increasing the overall cost.

3. Limited quantity

• Fewer links: Focusing on quality means acquiring fewer links overall, which might not show immediate results in link metrics.

• Selective opportunities: High-quality sites are more selective about their linking practices, making it harder to secure backlinks.

4. Requires constant monitoring

• Ongoing effort: Maintaining high-quality link-building practices requires continuous effort and monitoring to ensure links remain relevant and valuable.

• Adaptation to changes: As search engine algorithms evolve, you need to adapt your strategies to maintain the quality and relevance of your links.

5. Dependence on content quality

• Content demands: To attract quality backlinks, your content must consistently be high-quality, informative, and engaging.

• Creative challenges: Constantly producing high-quality content that stands out can be creatively challenging and demanding.

Let’s now look at what the other side of the coin entails!

Pros and cons of taking the quantity approach

Pros of focusing on quantity link building

1. Rapid increase in backlinks

• Quick results: Quantity link building can rapidly increase the number of backlinks to your site, potentially boosting your site’s visibility in the short term.

• Immediate SEO gains: A sudden influx of backlinks can provide a quick boost in search engine rankings, especially in less competitive niches.

2. Lower initial costs

• Cost-effective: Acquiring large numbers of backlinks can be done at a lower cost than the effort and resources needed for high-quality links.

• Use of automated tools: Automated tools and services can generate mass backlinks with minimal human effort, reducing labour costs.

3. Broad reach

• Wide exposure: With many backlinks, your site gets exposed to a broader audience across various websites and platforms.

• Higher link volume: The sheer volume of links can sometimes temporarily give search engines the impression of authority and popularity.

4. Easier to implement

• Simpler strategy: Focusing on quantity often involves straightforward tactics like directory submissions, forum postings, and other easy-to-execute methods.

• Less intensive effort: The process is less time-consuming than building high-quality links, which requires careful outreach and content creation.

Cons of focusing on quantity link building

1. Risk of penalties

• Search engine penalties: Search engines like Google can penalize sites that engage in manipulative link-building practices, such as acquiring mass backlinks from low-quality sources. This can lead to significant drops in rankings.

• Algorithm updates: Changes in search engine algorithms can negatively impact sites with many low-quality backlinks, causing sudden traffic loss.

2. Poor traffic quality

• Irrelevant traffic: Links from low-quality or irrelevant sites may drive traffic that is not genuinely interested in your content, leading to high bounce rates and low engagement.

• Low conversion rates: The traffic generated from quantity-focused link-building often does not convert into customers, reducing the overall effectiveness of the strategy.

3. Damage to reputation

• Association with spam: Links from spammy or low-quality sites can harm your site’s reputation and credibility in the eyes of both search engines and users.

• Trust issues: Users who recognize spammy link-building practices may distrust your site, leading to a loss of credibility.

4. Unsustainable long-term strategy

• Short-term gains: While quantity link building may provide quick wins, it is not sustainable in the long run. The benefits often diminish over time, and the risks increase.

• Continuous effort required: Maintaining a high volume of backlinks requires ongoing effort and resources, with diminishing returns over time.

5. Lack of relevance

• Generic links: Many quantity link-building strategies do not focus on the relevance of the linking sites, resulting in a lack of contextual relevance, which is important for SEO.

• No targeted audience: The links may not reach a targeted audience, reducing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Mavlers’ approach to link-building with a recent case study

At Mavlers, we adopt the following trending link-building approaches for our existing as well as new link-building clients;

• High-quality and high-authority websites (we consider metrics such as DA, DR, and SpamScore)
• Niche and relevant websites
• News and magazines, based sites/platforms are preferred
• Domain age
• Organic traffic from their respective geo-location
• Influencers outreach 

In recent times, ScreenDollars partnered with us, seeking solutions for the following concerns:

• Seek to enhance metrics, i.e., DA, PA, and DR
• Increase organic traffic to their website

Our initial approach, as per the client’s requirements:  We used to build about 20-25 links every month on generic sites with good Domain Authority (DA). This did lead to some improvement in our metrics, but the growth was slower than we expected. 

Mavlers’ consultative approach: Taking the consultative approach, we suggested to the client that we build around 15 links a month, but the links will be from relevant, niche websites/ platforms that mainly focus on categories such as movies, films, celebrities, entertainment, etc. 

Here’s an insight into the growth in DA, PA & DR that Screendollars achieved.

Quality vs. quantity: Which link-building approach is the best for you?

Link building is a crucial component of search engine optimization (SEO), influencing how well your site ranks on search engine result pages (SERPs). 

However, many people struggle with prioritizing the quality or quantity of backlinks. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages, and the best strategy for your business depends on various factors. 

Factors to consider 

1. Business goals

• Short-term goals: If your primary goal is to increase traffic and visibility quickly, a quantity-focused approach might provide immediate benefits. However, be cautious of potential penalties and long-term sustainability.

• Long-term goals: Focusing on quality backlinks is generally more effective for sustainable growth and lasting SEO benefits. High-quality links build your site’s authority and credibility over time.

2. Industry and competition

• High-competition industries: In highly competitive industries, quality backlinks from authoritative sites are essential to stand out and compete effectively.

• Low-competition industries: In less competitive niches, a higher quantity of backlinks might provide a significant boost without as much risk, but quality should not be neglected.

3. Website age and authority

• New websites: New or relatively unknown websites may benefit from initially focusing on quantity to build a base level of backlinks and visibility. However, transitioning to quality-focused strategies is crucial for long-term success.

• Established websites: Sites with existing authority should prioritize quality to maintain and enhance their reputation and rankings.

4. Budget and resources

• Limited budget: Quantity link building can be more cost-effective initially but may carry risks. Investing in quality link-building typically requires more resources but provides more sustainable benefits.

• Adequate budget: If you have the resources, focusing on quality backlinks will yield better long-term results. Consider investing in content creation, professional SEO services, and relationship building.

5. Content quality

• High-quality content: If your site regularly produces high-quality, valuable content, you are more likely to attract quality backlinks naturally. Prioritize strategies that leverage your content to gain high-authority links.

• Moderate content: If your content is average, a mix of quality and quantity might be needed initially. Focus on improving your content to attract better links over time.

6. Risk tolerance

• Low-risk tolerance: Focusing on quality is the safer choice to avoid penalties and long-term damage to your site’s reputation.

• Higher risk tolerance: If you are willing to take on some risk for potentially quicker results, you might consider a quantity approach, but with caution.

Steps to determine your approach for link-building

1. Evaluate your current backlink profile

Analyze your existing backlinks using tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush. Assess the quality, authority, and relevance of these links.

2. Set clear goals

Define your link-building strategy. Are you aiming for rapid traffic growth, long-term authority, or a combination of both?

3. Assess your resources

Consider your available budget, time, and manpower. High-quality link-building strategies require more resources, whereas quantity-based strategies can be executed more quickly and with fewer resources.

4. Monitor and adapt

Monitor the performance of your link-building efforts regularly. Track changes in rankings, traffic, and backlink profile quality. Based on the results, adjust your strategy.

5. Consult experts

If you’re unsure about the best approach, consider consulting with SEO experts who can provide insights tailored to your situation.

The road ahead

On that note, you might want to know how long your SEO efforts take to bear fruit. Yep, we have a guide for that, too! 😉