Link-building takes much effort, resources, and time, but how do you know if your efforts are paying off? This is where Link Building Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come in.
These metrics help you track your link-building campaigns’ success and identify improvement areas.
Once you monitor the right KPIs, you can ensure your strategy aligns with your goals.
In this article, we’ll explore various link-building KPIs and explain how to improve them for steady growth in your SEO performance.
Table of Contents
What Are Link Building KPIs, and Why Do They Matter?
Link Building KPIs are measurable metrics used to evaluate the effectiveness of your link-building efforts.
They provide insights into the quality and impact of the backlinks you acquire. Thus, they help you determine whether your campaigns are driving the desired outcomes.
Why Link Building KPIs Are Important
- Quality Assurance: Tracking KPIs helps ensure that you are acquiring backlinks from reputable and relevant domains, reducing the risk of search engine penalties.
- Performance Measurement: They allow you to measure the ROI of your link-building campaigns by showing how backlinks impact rankings, organic traffic, and referral traffic.
- Data-Driven Optimization: By monitoring KPIs, you can identify weak spots in your strategy and make informed adjustments to improve results.
Examples of Link Building KPIs
- The number of referring domains shows the breadth of your backlink profile.
- Domain authority (DA) and domain rating (DR) reflect the strength of the sites linking to you.
- Organic traffic and relevance of linking domains measure the real value of the backlinks.
Link-building KPIs are essential for ensuring that your SEO strategy delivers long-term benefits. Focusing on these metrics guarantees that your efforts drive measurable results.
10 Link-Building KPIs You Must Track
Each KPI offers valuable insights into the quality, relevance, and impact of your backlinks.
Aside from checking your strategy’s effectiveness, you can also identify areas for improvement by tracking them. It will help you align your efforts with SEO goals.
Below are the 10 most critical link-building KPIs that every marketer should track.
Number of Referring Domains
The number of referring domains represents the total number of unique websites linking back to your site. This KPI is crucial for understanding the breadth of your backlink profile.
A high number of referring domains signals that your website is trusted across various sources. It also helps diversify your link profile, which reduces the risk of over-reliance on a single domain.
When tracking this metric, focus on acquiring links from unique and reputable sites in your niche. However, ensure these domains are relevant, as search engines prioritize quality over sheer quantity.
Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR)
Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) measure a website’s strength and credibility.
These metrics, developed by Moz and Ahrefs, respectively, range from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating more authoritative domains.
Backlinks from high-DA or high-DR sites carry more weight, significantly boosting your site’s authority and rankings.
Monitoring this KPI will ensure you prioritize reaching out to reputable domains and avoid linking to low-quality sites that could harm your SEO.
Regularly analyze the DA and DR of referring domains to maintain a strong and impactful link profile.
Organic Traffic from Referring Domains
Organic traffic from referring domains indicates how much traffic those linking websites get from search engines. It differs from direct traffic, which indicates people coming to your site directly.
A site with high organic traffic is often considered authoritative and trusted by users and search engines.
Tracking this KPI helps you identify which backlinks are most valuable. For example, a link from a high-traffic blog in your industry can drive direct referral traffic to your site.
It will also boost your SEO. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to analyze the organic traffic of referring domains. Prioritize those with significant search visibility.
Relevance of Linking Sites
The relevance of linking sites is a vital KPI that assesses whether the domains linking to your site are related to your niche or industry.
Backlinks from relevant sites carry more SEO weight because search engines consider them more natural and valuable.
For example, a fitness blog linking to a health supplement website provides greater relevance than a link from a tech-related site.
Monitoring this KPI will ensure your backlink profile aligns with your content and target audience.
Anchor Text Diversity
Anchor text diversity measures the variety of keywords or phrases used in backlinks pointing to your site. A balanced anchor text profile includes branded, generic, and exact-match phrases.
Using only exact-match keywords can appear manipulative to search engines, potentially leading to penalties. Conversely, overusing branded or generic anchors may dilute keyword relevance.
Regularly tracking anchor text diversity helps you maintain a natural profile that aligns with search engine guidelines while optimizing for target keywords.
Link Placement
Link placement refers to where your backlink appears on the referring page. Links placed in the main content area are more valuable than those in footers, sidebars, or comments.
Search engines prioritize backlinks that are naturally embedded within relevant content. Users are likelier to click these links, providing additional traffic and authority.
When assessing this KPI, aim for backlinks placed within the body of high-quality, engaging content to maximize impact.
Follow vs. Nofollow Links
Follow and nofollow links are differentiated by their ability to pass link equity (SEO value) to your site. Follow (or Dofollow) links contribute directly to improving your rankings.
Meanwhile, nofollow links don’t pass equity but can still drive referral traffic.
A healthy backlink profile includes a mix of follow and nofollow links. Overemphasizing follow links might appear manipulative.
Meanwhile, completely ignoring nofollow links can result in missing out on valuable traffic sources. Track this KPI to maintain a balanced and natural link profile.
Spam Score of Linking Domains
The spam score measures the likelihood that a domain is considered spammy by search engines. High spam scores can harm your site’s SEO and even result in penalties.
Monitoring the spam score of your linking domains will ensure you identify and disavow harmful links. Tools like Moz can help evaluate spam scores, allowing you to maintain a clean backlink profile.
Avoid acquiring backlinks from questionable sources to protect your site’s authority and rankings.
Link Velocity
Link velocity refers to the rate at which you acquire new backlinks over time. A natural and steady link velocity indicates healthy link-building practices.
On the other hand, sudden spikes or declines can raise red flags for search engines.
Tracking this KPI will help you ensure your link acquisition pace appears organic and aligns with best practices.
Gradual and consistent growth in backlinks signals to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy.
Referral Traffic from Backlinks
Referral traffic measures how much direct traffic your site receives from backlinks on other websites. This KPI highlights the immediate value of your backlinks beyond their SEO impact.
Links on high-traffic pages or reputable blogs can drive a steady stream of visitors to your site. Referral traffic is significant for eCommerce sites and lead generation campaigns.
It provides tangible results from your link-building efforts. Track this metric using Google Analytics to evaluate the performance of your backlinks.
These 10 link-building KPIs provide a comprehensive framework to measure and optimize the effectiveness of your strategy.
By consistently monitoring these metrics, you can ensure your link-building efforts drive sustainable growth for your website.
6 Tools to Track Link Building KPIs
Tracking link-building KPIs requires reliable tools to provide accurate data and actionable insights.
The right tools can help you-
- Monitor the quality of backlinks
- Assess their impact on rankings and traffic, and,
- Optimize your strategy effectively
Below are six powerful tools for tracking link-building KPIs, their uses, and their pros and cons.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the most comprehensive tools for link-building analysis. Its Backlink Checker provides detailed information about referring domains, anchor text, link placement, and domain rating (DR).
KPIs You Can Track
- Number of referring domains.
- Domain rating (DR).
- Anchor text diversity.
- Organic traffic from referring domains.
| Pros | Extensive database of backlinks. |
| Easy-to-use interface for tracking link velocity. | |
| Offers additional features like keyword research and content gap analysis. | |
| Cons | Can be expensive for smaller teams or solo marketers. |
| The learning curve for advanced features may be steep for beginners. |
Website: https://ahrefs.com/
SEMrush
SEMrush provides robust backlink analysis and tracks KPIs related to domain authority and referral traffic. It also offers tools for monitoring competitors’ link-building efforts.
KPIs You Can Track
- Domain authority and spam score.
- Referral traffic from backlinks.
- Relevance and quality of linking domains.
| Pros | Combines backlink tracking with SEO and PPC tools. |
| Comprehensive reporting features for campaign analysis. | |
| Identifies toxic links for disavowal. | |
| Cons | Higher-tier plans are required for full access to backlink data. |
| Limited data export options on lower plans. |
Website: https://www.semrush.com/
Moz
Moz specializes in measuring domain authority (DA) and spam scores, making it ideal for assessing link quality. Its Link Explorer provides insights into your link profile and opportunities for improvement.
KPIs You Can Track
- Domain authority (DA).
- Spam score of referring domains.
- Follow vs. nofollow link ratios.
| Pros | Industry-standard tool for tracking domain authority. |
| User-friendly interface with helpful tutorials. | |
| Excellent for identifying low-quality or toxic backlinks. | |
| Cons | Smaller backlink database compared to Ahrefs and SEMrush. |
| Advanced features may lack depth for in-depth competitive analysis. |
Website: https://moz.com/
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool that provides detailed insights into referral traffic and user behavior, making it a valuable addition to your link-building toolkit.
KPIs You Can Track
- Referral traffic from backlinks.
- Bounce rate and engagement metrics for referred visitors.
- Geographic and demographic data of referral visitors.
| Pros | Free to use and widely accessible. |
| Integrates seamlessly with other Google tools. | |
| Tracks user behavior, providing insights beyond link quality. | |
| Cons | Limited direct backlink analysis capabilities. |
| Requires integration with other tools for a complete link-building overview. |
Website: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/
Majestic
Majestic focuses on backlink quality with metrics like trust flow and citation flow, making it ideal for tracking the credibility of your referring domains.
KPIs You Can Track
- Trust flow and citation flow.
- Number of referring domains.
- Relevance of linking sites.
| Pros | Offers unique metrics like trust flow to assess link quality. |
| Detailed visualizations of your backlink profile. | |
| Ideal for identifying niche-relevant linking opportunities. | |
| Cons | The interface feels outdated compared to competitors. |
| Lacks features for tracking organic traffic or keyword rankings. |
Website: https://majestic.com/backlink-checker
BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is a content analysis tool that also helps monitor backlinks and track link performance based on social shares and engagement metrics.
KPIs You Can Track
- Number of referring domains.
- Social shares of linked content.
- Referral traffic from backlinks.
| Pros | Excellent for identifying trending topics and content-driven backlinks. |
| Combines content analysis with backlink tracking. | |
| Easy-to-use interface for beginners. | |
| Cons | Limited backlink analysis features compared to specialized tools. |
| Best suited for content-driven link-building campaigns. |
Website: https://buzzsumo.com/
How to Improve Your Link-Building KPIs
Improving link-building KPIs requires a combination of quality over quantity and strategic outreach.
- Focus on High-Authority Backlinks: Prioritize links from domains with high DA and DR. Outreach efforts like guest posting on niche-relevant websites can help.
- Diversify Anchor Text: Use a mix of branded, generic, and exact-match anchor texts to maintain a natural link profile.
- Regularly Audit Backlinks: Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to identify and disavow toxic or spammy links that could harm your rankings.
- Create Link-Worthy Content: Publish valuable resources like infographics, data-driven reports, or guides to attract organic backlinks.
Conclusion
Tracking link-building KPIs is essential for understanding the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and ensuring steady growth.
With the right tools and strategies in place, you can develop a robust link-building strategy that drives traffic, boosts rankings, and delivers measurable results.
Consistent tracking and optimization are the keys to long-term SEO success.
