Backlink building is one of the most important off-page SEO techniques and a powerful source of organic traffic. To measure the efficiency of your backlink-building efforts you need to track link metrics.
Link metrics help you understand your backlink profile and find out your position and authority in your niche.
Analyzing link metrics of your competitors can provide you with the needed insights to work on areas of improvement.
You also need to take the time to analyze the link metrics of any website before you cooperate with them in a link-building campaign.
In this guide, we will learn the importance of link metrics, what the most important link metrics are, and how to track them.
What are Link Metrics?
Link metrics are quantitative measurements used to assess the quality, authority, and relevance of a website’s backlink profile. They provide insights into how search engines perceive the value of a website or a webpage based on analyzing the links pointing to it from other websites.
Link metrics show the criteria used to rank search results. They indicate the significance of a webpage on the web and the likelihood of its high ranking. They measure metrics such as domain authority, page ranking, relevance, and trust.
Link metrics provide these insights based on how a website is perceived by other web users and not by what the webmaster says about it.
Why are Link Metrics Important?
Tracking link metrics is crucial for several reasons:
- 1- SEO Performance: Link metrics directly impact a website’s search engine rankings. Search engines like Google use link metrics to assess the authority and relevance of a website.
By monitoring link metrics, you can better understand how your backlink profile influences your SEO performance and make any necessary adjustments to improve it.
- 2- Quality Control: By tracking link metrics, you can ensure that your website is getting linked to from reputable sources. Quality backlinks from relevant and trustworthy websites not only improve your SEO but also enhance your website’s reputation and trustworthiness.
- 3- Competitive Analysis: Analyzing the link profiles of your competitors allows you to benchmark your website against competitors and identify opportunities for improvement and areas where you can outperform them.
- 4- Identifying Opportunities: By tracking link metrics, you can discover new linking opportunities. This includes finding authoritative websites in your niche that you can reach out to for backlinks and guest-posting or for identifying broken links that you can reclaim.
- 5- Evaluating Link-building Campaign Performance: If you’re actively engaged in link-building campaigns, tracking link metrics helps you measure the effectiveness of your efforts. You can see which strategies are generating the most valuable links and adjust your tactics accordingly.
- 6- Monitoring for Penalties: Sudden drops in link metrics can indicate potential penalties from search engines. By tracking these metrics regularly, you can catch issues early and take corrective action to avoid further penalties.
- 7- Referral Organic Traffic: High-quality backlinks drive referral traffic to your website. By understanding which links are generating the most traffic, you can focus on optimizing those sources.
10 Most Important Link Metrics
1- PageRank
2- Referring Backlinks
3- Referring Domains
4- Domain Authority
5- Domain Authority Trend
6- Spam Score
7- Link Propensity
8- Follow vs. No-follow links
9- Anchor Text Distribution
10- Position of Links
1- PageRank
PageRank is a link metric developed by Google. PageRank determines the webpage’s rank in search results by evaluating the quantity and quality of links pointing to it.
The basic idea behind PageRank is that each link to a webpage is like a vote of confidence. Pages with more links from authoritative sources are considered more valuable and are given higher PageRank scores.
PageRank is represented as a numerical value ranging from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater authority.
In 2016 Google shut off the toolbar which made it impossible for anyone to figure out the PageRank for any website. To fill this void, Keywords Everywhere is working on a project to utilize the Open PageRank API developed by DomCop to show the PageRank data for as many domains as possible.
2- Referring Backlinks
The total number of referring backlinks is an important link metric to track. You want to monitor how many backlinks you are receiving to evaluate your link-building efforts. You also want to monitor this metric for your competitors’ websites so you can better understand your position in your market.
While a high number of backlinks is a good indicator of a reputable site with a high chance of ranking top in the SERPs, quality still matters more than quantity. We will be later discussing some link metrics related to the quality of links.
You can directly find the number of referring backlinks for your website or any competitor’s website directly on the SERPs using Keywords Everywhere.
Click on Show Backlinks to review the details of the backlinks.
You can view backlinks for a webpage or for the entire website.
3- Referring Domains
The number of referring domains is a more powerful and impactful link metric than the number of referring backlinks. The number of referring domains calculates the number of unique domains/websites linking to your website instead of the number of all links you are getting.
Google considers each unique domain/website linking to your website as a vote to trust you.
Receiving a small number of backlinks from several high-quality authoritative domains is better than receiving a lot of backlinks from only a few domains.
To view the number of referring domains, use Keywords Everywhere on the SERP. You can see the number of referring domains for any website you like.
Again, quality is more important than quantity. Next, we will learn how to understand the quality of a referring domain.
4- Domain Authority
Domain Authority (DA) is a metric developed by Moz that predicts the likelihood of a website ranking on top in search engine results pages (SERPs). It is a scale from 1 to 100. The higher the score the greater the authority and ranking potential of the domain.
Domain Authority is calculated based on various factors, including the number of linking root domains, the quality and relevance of those domains, and other link metrics and signals from the Moz crawler.
It is a crucial link metric to monitor when you conduct competitor analysis, and definitely, you want to closely track your domain authority score for continuous improvements.
Check domain authority link metric on SERPs using Keywords Everywhere.
Domain Authority is also a key link metric that you need to pay attention to before you consider partnering with another website in guest-posting or link-building campaigns.
Find the domain authority score next to all the referring domains you are receiving or your competitors are receiving by using Keywords Everywhere.
5- Domain Authority Trend
Another link metric that is closely related to the domain authority score is the domain authority trend metric. This metric represents the growth or the increase rate in the domain authority score.
By monitoring this link metric you can better understand if your link-building efforts are paying off or if you need to make improvements.
You also want to review the domain authority trend of any website you want to cooperate with to stay away from websites showing a negative rate and a drop in their domain authority score or showing a high spam score. We will be discussing the spam score next.
Hover over any search result on SERPs to view the domain trend score and trend chart using Keywords Everywhere.
6- Spam Score
Spam Score is a link metric developed by Moz that predicts the likelihood of a website being penalized or banned by search engines due to spammy or manipulative practices.
It is represented on a scale from 0 to 17. Higher scores indicate a higher risk of the website being penalized.
Moz analyzes various factors such as the number of low-quality or spammy backlinks, the domain’s history, and other red flags that may indicate spammy practices.
Monitor the spam score link metric to assess the risk of spam-related issues with your website’s backlink profile and to take proactive measures to maintain a healthy and reputable online presence.
The spam score metric can also be used as part of competitor analysis and also to evaluate the quality of potential link sources before acquiring backlinks.
With Keywords Everywhere, you can see the spam score of your website or any website on the SERPs.
7- Link Propensity
Link Propensity link metric is a score from 0 to 1 that indicates the likelihood of the target root domain linking out to other root domains. This is currently calculated as the ratio.
Websites with a high link propensity score actively engage in link-building efforts, such as content promotion, outreach campaigns, and networking with other websites in their niche.
Don’t forget to pay attention to the domain authority score, domain authority trend, and spam score along with the link propensity score when you are considering a potential partnership with a website.
Check the link propensity metric in your competitor analysis to better understand your competitors’ backlink profiles and strategies.
Expand the link metrics pop-up by hovering over the domain authority (DA) score using Keywords Everywhere to view the link propensity score.
8- Follow vs. No-follow links
There are two types of backlinks you can receive. Follow links and no-follow links.
- a) Follow Links or (Do-follow Links):
Follow links are links that allow search engine crawlers to follow the link and pass link equity (or “link juice”) from the referring webpage to the linked webpage.
They contribute to the linked page’s authority and improve its search engine rankings.
Receiving a large number of follow links from high-quality reputable sources can significantly scale your website’s visibility and credibility.
- b) No-follow Links:
No-follow links instruct search engines not to follow the link and not to pass link equity over to the linked page.
No-follow links are typically used for links that are not editorially endorsed or for paid links to ensure compliance with search engine guidelines.
While no-follow links do not directly impact the webpage’s search engine rankings, they can still drive traffic and provide value.
Users can still click on the no-follow hyperlinks and visit your website, engage with your content, and even convert into customers. This user engagement can indirectly contribute to your website’s SEO performance.
it’s important to have a healthy mix of follow and no-follow links to maintain a natural-looking and diverse backlink profile.
Track the usage of both follow and no-follow links in your strategy, and maintain a balanced backlink profile. This will help you drive more referral traffic, enhance brand exposure, and boost search engine rankings.
I use SEO Minion, an SEO link checker, to check the follow and no-follow links on any webpage.
9- Anchor Text Distribution
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. Search engines use anchor texts to get a context about the content of the linked page which contributes to the search engine optimization of the target webpage and website.
There are many types of anchor text, but these are the four most important and common types:
- a) Exact match keywords: The anchor text matches the primary keyword targeted on the linked-to page.
For example, the targeted keyword is organic traffic, and the anchor text is a guide on increasing organic traffic. - b) Partial match keywords: The anchor text contains a variation of the primary keyword targeted on the linked-to page.
For example, the targeted keyword is organic traffic, and the anchor text is tips to increase website traffic.
- c) Branded: The anchor text is the brand name (e.g., Keywords Everywhere).
- d) Generic: A generic term that doesn’t indicate what the page is about (e.g., read more, click here, find out more, etc.)
Anchor text distribution is a link metric that tracks the diversity of the anchor text used to link to your website. A diverse and natural anchor text profile improves your website’s search engine rankings and protects it from getting penalized.
Try to avoid building too many links that have the exact same anchor text and instead have a natural and diverse mix of all types.
Keywords Everywhere extension generates a complete list of backlinks of any website and shows you the anchor text of all these backlinks so you can better understand what your backlink profile looks like and make improvements in your future link-building campaigns.
Using the same option on competitors’ websites can give you more insights about what anchor text types your competitors are using.
10- Position of Links
The position of links is an important link metric that search engines analyze to interpret the importance and relevance of a link within a webpage. The position of a link on a webpage impacts its visibility, authority, and the amount of link equity it passes to the linked-to webpage.
Links that are placed at the beginning and in the middle of the content body are more impactful than those placed in the footer and sidebar.
Naturally and strategically positioned links are more likely to be clicked by users and to pass link equity.
Here are the top reasons you need to track the position of links:
- a) Crawlability: Search engine crawlers prioritize content that appears higher up on a webpage. Links placed in prominent positions, such as at the beginning of an article or in the main body text, are more likely to be crawled and indexed.
- b) Link equity distribution: Links placed higher on a page may pass more link equity (or “link juice”) to the linked page than those placed in less prominent positions. This impacts the ranking potential of the linked page.
- c) User engagement: Users are more likely to interact with links that are strategically displayed within content. Tracking links’ position can improve user engagement and encourage visitors to explore additional content on your website.
- d) Trust and authority: Links placed within the main content of a webpage are often perceived as more trustworthy and authoritative by both users and search engines. They signal to search engines that the linked content is trusted and valuable.
To track link positions I use Keywords Everywhere first to pull the list of backlinks.
Then I open the page and use SEO Minion to highlight all links to check their position and their anchor text and to make sure the links are not broken. I also check whether the links are follow or no-follow links.
Conclusion
Link metrics are essential to evaluate your link-building campaigns and better understand your backlink profile. By tracking and improving link metrics you improve search engine ranking, increase organic referral traffic, enhance the user experience, stay ahead of your competitors, and establish an authoritative and trusted position in your niche.
Backlinks are one of the most important off-page SEO techniques. Learn more about off-page SEO and how to increase organic traffic from here.