Backlink Statistics for 2026: Ranking Correlations, Anchor Text, Link Types, Domain Authority, and Industry Benchmarks

In 2026, backlinks remain one of the most studied and most contested signals in SEO. Google has repeatedly confirmed that links are among its top three ranking factors, and the data behind that claim is unambiguous at scale: the first-ranking page on Google has an average of 3.8 times more backlinks than pages in positions two through ten, and pages with 100 or more backlinks receive 3.2 times more organic traffic than pages without them. Yet the relationship between links and rankings has grown more nuanced than raw counts suggest.

Recently published research from Ahrefs, based on a study of 920 million pages, found that the number of referring domains is the single strongest correlating backlink metric for both rankings and organic traffic, outperforming total link count. Meanwhile, the Semrush 2024 Ranking Factors Study found that Domain Authority Score holds the highest correlation with SERP positioning at 0.21, with the number of referring domains close behind at 0.18. Together, these findings confirm that diversity of linking sources matters more than accumulation of links from a small number of sites.

The anatomy of a high-quality backlink has also changed. Anchor text diversity is now more strongly correlated with rankings than exact-match anchors. Nofollow links, once considered valueless, are now believed by 89.1% of surveyed link builders to have some positive impact on rankings. And with 73.6% of all domains containing reciprocal links, natural link profiles are increasingly characterized by editorial complexity rather than a simple volume of one-directional followed links.

This article compiles 70+ backlink statistics organized across nine thematic sections, drawn from the latest figures published within the last two years by Ahrefs, Backlinko, Semrush, Zyppy SEO, Authority Hacker, Editorial.link, and other primary sources. Every statistic is atomic, individually sourced, and linked directly to its original study or publication.

Scope and Methodology

Includes only publicly available backlink statistics relevant for 2026.
Based on the latest figures published within the last two years.
Sources include primary research, first-party platform data, institutional studies, and industry reports.
Each statistic is listed separately with its original source and study context.
No estimates, forecasts, interpretations, or recommendations are included.

Key Backlink Statistics for 2026

The first-ranking page on Google has an average of 3.8 times more backlinks than pages ranking in positions two through ten, based on a study of 11.8 million Google search results by Backlinko.
Pages with 100 or more backlinks receive 3.2 times more organic traffic than pages with fewer backlinks, based on an analysis of 1 billion pages in 2024 by Ahrefs, cited in SearchAtlas SEO Statistics.
The number of referring domains to a page is the strongest correlating backlink metric with organic traffic and rankings, based on a study of approximately 920 million pages by Ahrefs.
94% of all online content earns zero external backlinks, based on a study of 14 billion webpages by Ahrefs.
95% of all pages on the web have zero backlinks pointing to them, based on a study of 11.8 million Google search results by Backlinko.
Domain Authority Score (DAS) has the highest correlation with SERP positioning at 0.21, followed by Page Authority Score (PAS) at 0.19 and number of referring IPs at 0.18, based on the 2024 Ranking Factors Study by Semrush.
96.3% of sites ranking in the top 10 of SERPs have over 1,000 unique domain backlinks, based on research by Internet Marketing Ninjas, cited in Sixth City Marketing Link Building Statistics.
Pages that rank in the top 10 results on Google have an average of 2,418 backlinks and a median of 13 backlinks, based on the 2024 Ranking Factors Study by Semrush, cited in MyCodelessWebsite Link Building Statistics.
Pages ranking in position one on Google have an average of 1,962 referring domains, compared to 416 for position two and 299 for position three, based on research by Authority Hacker, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
67.5% of SEO professionals believe backlinks have a big impact on search engine rankings, and a further 30% believe they have a moderate impact, based on a survey by Blogging Wizard, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
94% of SEO professionals think links will still be a ranking factor in five years, and 73% think they will remain one in ten years, based on a survey by Aira, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
Most top-ranking pages gain followed backlinks from new websites at a pace of 5% to 14.5% per month, compounding their authority advantage over time, based on a large-scale analysis by Ahrefs.

Ranking Correlation Statistics

There is a positive correlation between the number of websites linking to a page and its search traffic, and a separate positive correlation between the number of linking websites and its ranking position, based on large-scale research by Ahrefs.
A study by Ahrefs found a 0.68 correlation between the number of backlinks and Google rankings, one of the highest correlations of any individual ranking factor studied, based on data cited in Digital Web Solutions Link Building Statistics.
There is a 0.55 correlation between the number of backlinks and page traffic, based on an analysis by MarketMuse, cited in Linkdoctor Link Building Statistics.
Referring domains show a Spearman correlation of 0.22 to 0.24 with Google ranking positions overall and up to 0.33 for local queries, based on a study of one million top-ranked keywords by Ahrefs.
The number of referring domains (URL level) with 79 to 218 referring domains lands a website within the top 10 SERP positions on average, translating to a median of 6 referring domains and a correlation point of 0.18, based on the 2024 Ranking Factors Study by Semrush, cited in MyCodelessWebsite Link Building Statistics.
Websites achieving a Domain Authority Score of 67.42 or higher have a 17% factor strength for top-10 positioning and a 30.8% factor strength for the top 20, based on the 2024 Ranking Factors Study by Semrush, cited in MyCodelessWebsite Link Building Statistics.
A strong correlation exists between Domain Rating (DR) and keyword rankings across 218,713 domains analyzed, making DR a reliable proxy for a website’s ability to earn organic traffic, based on first-party data by Ahrefs.
Pages ranking in the top 1 to 3 positions have over 2 times more backlinks on average than pages ranking positions 4 to 10, based on research by Moz, cited in Linkdoctor Link Building Statistics.
A strong correlation between total backlinks and higher rankings holds up to approximately 10,000 total backlinks, beyond which site authority and link relevancy matter more than raw link count, based on research by SpyFu, cited in Linkdoctor Link Building Statistics.

Nofollow and Link Type Statistics

10.6% of all backlinks to the top 110,000 websites are nofollow, based on a large-scale study of backlink profiles by Ahrefs.
0.44% of links use the rel=ugc attribute and only 0.01% use rel=sponsored, based on a large-scale study of the top 110,000 websites by Ahrefs.
89.1% of link builders believe nofollow links have an impact on search engine rankings, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker, cited in Ahrefs SEO Statistics.
Nearly 80% of the 518 SEO professionals surveyed in 2025 believe that nofollow links affect search rankings, based on a 2025 survey by Editorial.link.
48% of marketers report on nofollow links as part of their standard link-building process and performance measurement, based on research cited in The Frank Agency Link Building Statistics.
Pages with mixed follow and nofollow link profiles rank 12% better on average than those with only followed links, based on first-party data reported by Ahrefs, cited in AllOutSEO Link Building Statistics.
An optimal backlink ratio of 70:30 or 60:40 dofollow to nofollow links is considered a natural link profile indicator, based on industry data cited in PressWhizz Link Building Statistics.
There is a positive correlation between the number of followed links to a page and its search traffic, with top-ranking pages consistently showing higher ratios of followed inbound links, based on research by Ahrefs, cited in Digital Web Solutions Link Building Statistics.

Reciprocal and Domain-Level Link Statistics

73.6% of all domains have reciprocal links, meaning that some of the sites they link to also link back to them, based on a large-scale analysis by Ahrefs.
43.7% of top-ranking pages contain some reciprocal links, indicating that natural link profiles include various link relationship types, based on 2025 data from Ahrefs, cited in SEOmator Backlinks 2025.
Domains with over 200 referring domains consistently experience meaningful increases in organic traffic, based on data cited in Digital Web Solutions Link Building Statistics, referencing Ahrefs research.
Editorially earned backlinks drive 53% more organic traffic than sponsored link placements, based on research by Authority Hacker, cited in AllOutSEO Link Building Statistics.
Businesses earning backlinks from high Domain Rating domains (70 or higher) see 42% faster keyword growth than those with lower-authority link profiles, based on research by Moz, cited in AllOutSEO Link Building Statistics.
A steady link velocity, meaning consistent growth over time rather than spikes, improves ranking stability by 34%, based on research by Aira, cited in AllOutSEO Link Building Statistics.

Anchor Text Statistics

URLs with a larger number of anchor text variations from internal links are highly correlated with more Google search traffic, based on a study of 23 million internal links by Zyppy SEO.
Pages with at least one exact match anchor from internal links had at least five times more traffic than pages without any exact match anchors, based on a study of 23 million internal links by Zyppy SEO.
Both the number of internal and external anchor text variations per page were significantly correlated with traffic changes following major Google updates, while the raw number of links was not significantly correlated, based on a case study of 50 sites by Zyppy SEO.
Partial-match anchor texts are the top preference for 41.7% of SEO professionals surveyed, followed by exact-match at 25.1% and branded anchors at 20.5%, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
Having exact match anchor text that precisely matches the name of the linked page has been shown to be no more effective at boosting rankings than anchor text with no exact match, based on research by Ahrefs, cited in Sixth City Marketing Link Building Statistics.
Anchor text diversity remains crucial, and over-optimized exact-match anchors appear in 19% of manual penalty cases, based on data from Semrush, cited in AllOutSEO Link Building Statistics.
The relevance of the topic of the page on which a link is placed is cited as the most important factor in link relevancy by 62% of SEO professionals, based on research by Authority Hacker, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.

Domain Authority and Link Quality Statistics

64.1% of SEO professionals use Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR) as their primary domain authority metrics for evaluating link opportunities, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
68.1% of SEO professionals rate Ahrefs as the most accurate and comprehensive backlink data provider, well ahead of Semrush, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
69% of SEO experts consider Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) as the most reliable metric for measuring domain authority, significantly more than Moz DA, Semrush Authority Score, or Majestic TF/CF, based on research cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
72.2% of surveyed SEO professionals are cautious of websites with poor domain authority metrics when assessing link placement opportunities, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
89.0% of SEO professionals identify spammy outbound links as the biggest red flag when assessing a site for link placement, and 86.3% consider low-quality content a major warning sign, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
The biggest red flag when checking link quality cited by practitioners is content that is irrelevant to the website’s topic or niche at 25.6%, followed by bad niches such as CBD, casino, and essay writing at 24%, and poor SEO metrics at 23%, based on research by Authority Hacker, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
84.6% of SEO practitioners consider the relevancy of the linking domain to their business as the primary criterion for building backlinks, based on research cited in Meetanshi Link Building Statistics.
80.9% of surveyed SEO specialists believe that unlinked brand mentions influence organic search rankings indirectly, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.

Link Database and Tool Statistics

Ahrefs’ backlink database contained 35 trillion external backlinks from 500 million referring domains as of August 2025, based on platform data reported by SEOmator Semrush vs Ahrefs Comparison.
Semrush’s backlink database contained 43 trillion backlinks from 390 million referring domains as of the same period, based on platform data reported by Backlinko Ahrefs vs Semrush Comparison.
Ahrefs’ backlink index is updated every 15 minutes to maintain a near-real-time database of live links, based on platform documentation cited by uSERP Ahrefs vs Semrush Comparison.
Moz offered 22% less backlink coverage for the same set of domains compared to Ahrefs, with Majestic showing even lower coverage, based on research cited in The Frank Agency Link Building Statistics.
Ahrefs holds a 14.83% market share in the SEO and SEM tools category, while Semrush captures 6.68%, based on the 2026 market analysis by 6sense, cited in SEOmator Semrush vs Ahrefs.
82% of SEOs rely on backlink analysis tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush to understand competitors’ link profiles and identify opportunities, based on a study by DemandSage, cited in Spiralytics Link Building Statistics.
75% of SEO professionals use Google Search Console to track the impact of backlinks on their organic search performance, based on data cited in PressWhizz Link Building Statistics.
40% of SEO teams now use tools, software, or scripts for internal linking automation, based on data cited in PressWhizz Link Building Statistics.

Revenue and Business Impact Statistics

78% of marketers say link building delivers positive ROI, based on data cited in PressWhizz Link Building Statistics.
67% of agencies report that link building ROI ranks among the top three SEO investments, based on research by Ahrefs, cited in AllOutSEO Link Building Statistics.
89.2% of SEO professionals see a ranking lift within one to six months of link acquisition, based on a survey by Authority Hacker, cited in Linkdoctor Link Building Statistics.
85% of SEOs and marketers believe that link building has a significant impact on brand authority and brand building, based on the uSERP State of Link Building survey, cited in uSERP Link Building Statistics.
73.2% of SEO professionals believe backlinks influence the chance of appearing in AI search results including Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
Brands investing in link building grow two times faster in organic traffic than those that do not invest in systematic link acquisition, based on data cited in PressWhizz Link Building Statistics.
46% of SEO experts spend USD 10,000 or more each year on link building, and 22% spend between USD 1,000 and USD 2,500 annually, based on a survey by Aira, cited in Sixth City Marketing Link Building Statistics.
More than 61% of digital marketers state that link building is becoming more expensive to perform, and 52% say it is taking more time, based on a survey by Authority Hacker, cited in Sixth City Marketing Link Building Statistics.

Audience and Behavioral Statistics

67.5% of SEO professionals think backlinks have a big impact on rankings, and 30% think they have a moderate impact, with only 2.5% considering backlinks to have little or no impact, based on research cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics, sourced from Blogging Wizard.
59% of SEO professionals think backlinks will become a more important ranking factor in the future, based on data cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
52% of marketers believe brand mentions positively impact organic search rankings, based on data cited in Digital Web Solutions Link Building Statistics.
92% of marketers predict that links will remain an important ranking criterion in Google algorithms for the next five years, based on data cited in Digital Web Solutions Link Building Statistics.
80% of digital marketers say that link building and brand mentions directly impact organic search rankings, based on a survey by Aira, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
52.7% of SEO professionals consider service and product pages the most important pages for link acquisition, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
58% of SEO professionals think links to the target page are more important than sitewide domain links for ranking a specific URL, while 42% hold the reverse view, based on a survey by Aira, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.

Regional and Tool Preference Statistics

68.1% of the 518 SEO professionals surveyed rated Ahrefs as the most accurate and comprehensive backlink data provider overall, based on a 2025 survey conducted primarily across Europe (46.3%), the United States (25.5%), and the United Kingdom (16.2%) by Editorial.link.
63.1% of SEO professionals would place links on sites listed on link-building marketplaces if the quality were right, while 36.9% would not use marketplace sites regardless of quality, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
Only 39.0% of SEO professionals still use the Google Disavow tool as part of their link management workflow, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
91.89% of SEO respondents believe their competitors buy links, consistent with the 92% who said the same in the 2024 edition of the same survey, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
37% of SEO professionals consider a link building campaign successful if it generates 1 to 9 new links, while 28% require 10 to 19 links and 18% require 20 to 39 links, based on a survey by Aira, cited in SearchEndurance Link Building Statistics.
SEOs typically take 1 to 2 hours to build a single link manually, based on a practitioner survey by Aira, cited in Ahrefs SEO Statistics.

References

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