Link Building Statistics for 2026: Backlink Rankings, Outreach, Content, Cost, and AI Impact

In 2026, link building operates in a landscape defined by competing signals. Google has publicly stated that links matter less than they once did, yet backlinks remain a confirmed top-three ranking factor, agencies are allocating an average of 32.1% of their entire SEO budget to link acquisition, and interest in link building reached an all-time high on Google Trends starting in early 2025. The data tells a more nuanced story than either camp acknowledges.

Recently published research from Ahrefs, based on analysis of one million SERPs, found that referring domains still correlate meaningfully with rankings, with a Spearman correlation of 0.22 to 0.24 overall, rising to 0.33 for local queries. The first-ranking page on Google has an average of 3.8 times more backlinks than pages ranking in positions two through ten. And despite 94% of all online content failing to earn a single external link, the 6% that do earn links generate compounding advantages: top-ranking pages gain 5% to 14% more followed links every month, widening the gap between strong and weak link profiles over time.

The economics of link building have also hardened. A 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link found that agencies now allocate 32.1% of their SEO budget to link building on average, while in-house teams allocate 36.03%. High-quality contextual links cost between USD 700 and USD 2,000 or more per placement. And 56% of respondents outsource some or all of their link acquisition, though only 30% of those working with external providers express full confidence in the results.

This article compiles 70+ link building statistics organized across nine thematic sections, drawn from the latest figures published within the last two years by primary research firms, large-scale SERP studies, practitioner surveys, and platform-level data. Every statistic is atomic, individually sourced, and linked directly to its original study or publication.

Scope and Methodology

Includes only publicly available link building 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 Link Building Statistics for 2026

The page ranking first on Google has an average of 3.8 times more backlinks than other pages ranking on the same first page, based on a large-scale SERP study by Backlinko, cited in Authority Hacker Link Building Statistics.
Referring domains still correlate positively with Google rankings, with a Spearman correlation of 0.22 to 0.24 overall and 0.33 for local queries, based on a study of one million SERPs by Ahrefs.
94% of all online content earns zero external backlinks, based on a study of 14 billion pages by Ahrefs.
Only 2.2% of content published online produces more than one unique backlink, based on a large-scale content study by Backlinko, cited in Authority Hacker Link Building Statistics.
66.5% of links to websites built in the last nine years are already dead or not working, based on a 2024 link rot study of 2,062,173 domains by Ahrefs.
73.2% of SEO professionals believe backlinks influence the chance of appearing in AI search results such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals conducted between March and May 2025 by Editorial.link.
Agencies allocate an average of 32.1% of their overall SEO budget to link building, while in-house teams allocate 36.03%, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
93.8% of link builders say link quality is more important than link quantity, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
48.6% of SEO professionals believe digital PR is the most effective link building tactic for 2025, well ahead of guest posting at 16% and creating linkable assets at 12%, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
Articles exceeding 3,000 words earn 3.5 times more backlinks than shorter content, based on content format research cited in Authority Hacker Link Building Statistics.
56% of SEO professionals outsource some or all of their link building, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
The average time it takes for links to impact search rankings is 3.1 months, based on a survey of link builders by Authority Hacker, cited in SEO.ai Link Building Statistics.

Adoption and Usage Statistics

79.7% of SEOs consider link building an important part of their SEO strategy, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
52.3% of digital marketers say link building is the hardest part of SEO, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
56% of respondents in a 2025 BuzzStream and Citation Labs survey plan to invest more in link building in the next 12 months, despite Google’s repeated statements about links mattering less, based on the 2025 Link Building Trends Report by BuzzStream and Citation Labs.
61% of organizations manage their link building entirely in-house, with the remainder using a mix of agencies, freelancers, and in-house teams, based on the 2025 Link Building Trends Report by BuzzStream and Citation Labs.
66% of link builders surveyed struggle with identifying effective backlink tactics, making strategy the top challenge in the discipline, based on the 2025 Link Building Trends Report by BuzzStream and Citation Labs.
68% of organizations invest in link building to improve organic traffic, and 68% to improve rankings, while only 48% aim to increase sales or revenue directly, based on the 2025 Link Building Trends Report by BuzzStream and Citation Labs.
80% of SEOs believe that links will still be a ranking factor in 10 years, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
Only 30% of organizations working with external link builders express full confidence in the quality of external results, based on the 2025 Link Building Trends Report by BuzzStream and Citation Labs.
32% of link builders follow a documented and repeatable process, based on the 2025 State of Digital PR Report by BuzzStream.

Ranking Correlation Statistics

Referring domains and number of backlinks show a positive Spearman correlation of approximately 0.22 to 0.24 with Google SERP position across all query types, based on a study of one million top-ranked keywords by Ahrefs.
In local queries such as “best steaks in San Diego,” the correlation between referring domains and rankings rises to 0.33, significantly higher than non-local queries, based on a study of one million SERPs by Ahrefs.
43.7% of top-ranking pages on Google have at least some reciprocal links as of 2025, indicating that reciprocal linking is a natural byproduct of real editorial web activity, based on a study by Ahrefs, cited in SEOmator Backlinks 2025.
Top-ranking pages gain 5% to 14% more followed links each month, compounding their advantage over non-ranking pages, based on a large-scale analysis by Ahrefs, cited in SEOmator Backlinks 2025.
Among the referring domain correlations studied, unique root domains pointing to a page are the most strongly correlated backlink metric with organic search traffic, based on a study by Authority Hacker, cited in DemandSage Link Building Statistics.
65.4% of SEOs think domain authority is more important than the raw number of links on the target page when it comes to search rankings, based on a survey by Authority Hacker.
58.4% of SEO professionals rate the impact of links on search engine rankings at 7 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10, with only 3.6% considering links to have minimal impact, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
Backlinks dropped from an estimated 27% of Google ranking weight in 2024 to 22% in 2025, based on a study of 10 million search results by Dollarpocket SEO Ranking Factors Study.

Outreach and Tactics Statistics

Only 8.5% of cold outreach emails successfully generate a backlink, making cold outreach one of the lowest-conversion link acquisition methods, based on data cited in uSERP Link Building Statistics.
Guest posting is the most popular link building tactic, used by 64.9% of the 755 link builders surveyed, based on a survey by Authority Hacker.
51.6% of link builders use link exchanges as part of their tactics, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
46.3% of link builders reported using HARO (Help a Reporter Out) regularly as a link acquisition channel, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
94.8% of digital PR professionals say data-led content is a primary tactic for digital PR link building, followed by providing expert commentary at 92.5%, based on the 2025 State of Digital PR Report by BuzzStream.
The most common outreach personalization techniques are ensuring the pitch is relevant to the journalist’s beat at 90.2% and mentioning the journalist by name at 87.9%, based on the 2025 State of Digital PR Report by BuzzStream.
56.1% of digital PR professionals cited BuzzStream as the top outreach tool for link building, followed by 13.9% who reported using Gmail solely, based on the 2025 State of Digital PR survey by BuzzStream.
51.3% of the 518 SEO professionals surveyed do not use a dedicated tool for link-building outreach, with BuzzStream at 12.4% and Pitchbox at 11.5% leading among those who do, based on a 2025 survey by Editorial.link.
Personalized outreach emails for link building generate 33% higher response rates than non-personalized emails, based on data cited in uSERP Link Building Statistics.
Link builders who use social media for outreach build 22% more links per month than those who do not, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
17.3% of SEOs used LinkedIn for link building outreach in 2024, based on research cited in Meetanshi Link Building Statistics.

Content Format Statistics for Link Acquisition

Long-form content with 3,000 or more words gets 3.5 times more backlinks than shorter articles, based on content analysis cited in SEOmator Backlinks 2025.
Blog posts with more than three videos attract 55% more backlinks than posts without video content, based on content research cited in Meetanshi Link Building Statistics.
Content with titles starting with “What” or “Why” receives 25.8% more backlinks than other topic formats, based on content research cited in Meetanshi Link Building Statistics.
68% of backlinks acquired in 2024 were built through content marketing efforts, based on research cited in Meetanshi Link Building Statistics.
Long-form content earns 77.2% more inbound links than short-form articles on average, based on an analysis of 912 million blog posts by Backlinko, cited in SearchAtlas SEO Statistics.
Original research and data-driven content consistently attracts more editorial links and citations than any other content format, based on the 2025 State of Digital PR Report by BuzzStream.
84.6% of SEO experts relied on the relevancy of the linking domain with their business as the primary criterion for building backlinks in 2024, based on research cited in Meetanshi Link Building Statistics.

Link Quality and Authority Statistics

91.3% of digital PR professionals measure link quality through third-party metrics such as Domain Rating or Domain Authority, and 86.7% through site relevancy, based on the 2025 State of Digital PR Report by BuzzStream.
68.1% of 518 SEO professionals rate Ahrefs as the most accurate and comprehensive backlink data provider, far ahead of Semrush, based on a 2025 survey by Editorial.link.
64.1% of the 518 professionals surveyed use Ahrefs Domain Rating and URL Rating as their primary domain authority metrics for evaluating link opportunities, based on a 2025 survey by Editorial.link.
89.0% of SEO professionals see 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.
80.9% of surveyed SEO specialists believe that unlinked brand mentions influence organic search rankings, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
Nearly 80% of the 518 survey respondents believe that nofollow links affect search rankings, based on a 2025 survey by Editorial.link.
10.6% of all backlinks to the top 110,000 sites are nofollow, based on a study of the top 110,000 sites by Ahrefs, cited in Ahrefs SEO Statistics.
0.44% of links use the rel=ugc attribute, and only 0.01% use rel=sponsored, based on a study of the top 110,000 sites by Ahrefs, cited in Ahrefs SEO Statistics.
66.6% of SEO professionals believe that finding unique backlink opportunities offers greater benefits than replicating successful competitors’ backlink profiles, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.

Link Building Cost Statistics

Agencies and in-house teams spend over USD 1,000 on average to obtain a high-quality link, with contextual backlinks ranging from USD 700 to USD 2,000 or more per placement, based on data cited in SEOmator Backlinks 2025.
The average cost of a guest post ranges from USD 100 to USD 900 across 898 guest posting websites surveyed, with Domain Authority 91 to 100 sites charging approximately USD 850, based on a 2024 BuzzStream study cited in MyCodelessWebsite Link Building Statistics.
38.4% of businesses allocate USD 1,000 to USD 5,000 monthly for link building, making it the most common budget range among surveyed organizations, based on data cited in DemandSage Link Building Statistics.
Experienced link builders with over five years of expertise provide links at a 41% lower cost per link than less experienced peers, due to significantly higher productivity, based on a survey by Authority Hacker, cited in DemandSage Link Building Statistics.
The average cost of a paid link insertion is USD 141, based on a 2025 BuzzStream market study cited in DemandSage Link Building Statistics.
74.3% of link builders pay for links as part of their strategy, based on a survey by Authority Hacker, cited in Ahrefs SEO Statistics.
Paying for links yields only an average of two additional links per month compared to those who do not engage in paid link building, based on research by Authority Hacker, cited in Ahrefs SEO Statistics.
40% of businesses believe the cost of link building will increase in the future, based on a survey by Aira, cited in DemandSage Link Building Statistics.

AI Impact on 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 conducted between March and May 2025 by Editorial.link.
65% of SEOs use AI tools for automated prospecting and personalization in outreach, based on data cited in DemandSage Link Building Statistics.
83% of link building platforms use AI for advanced link quality assessment to reduce risks from toxic and spammy backlinks, based on data cited in DemandSage Link Building Statistics.
86% of SEO professionals use AI tools in their SEO workflows, including for link building tasks such as prospecting, personalization, and analysis, based on a study by HubSpot, cited in SEO Sherpa SEO Statistics.
97% of sources cited in Google AI Overviews come from the top 20 organic results for a query, meaning strong link profiles that drive ranking indirectly support AI Overview citation, based on analysis cited in WhiteHat SEO AI Search Guide.
91.89% of SEO respondents believe their competitors buy links, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.

Link Decay and Link Rot Statistics

66.5% of all links built to 2,062,173 websites in the last nine years are dead or not working, based on a 2024 link rot study by Ahrefs.
An additional 6.5% of links have temporary errors, and 1.5% have issues that prevent them from passing SEO value, meaning a total of 74.5% of links built since 2013 are lost or no longer functional, based on a 2024 link rot study by Ahrefs.
For Semrush, 49.6% of the links it reported as live in a freshness comparison were found to actually be dead, compared to only 17.2% dead in Ahrefs for the same period, based on a crawl validation study comparing SEO tool freshness by Ahrefs.
29.79% of websites have fewer than three backlinks, while 55.24% have zero backlinks at all, based on research cited in Meetanshi Link Building Statistics.

Regional and Workforce Statistics

Survey respondents in the 2025 Editorial.link study were primarily from Europe at 46.3%, followed by the United States at 25.5%, and the United Kingdom at 16.2%, based on a 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
Agency specialists and executives represent 44.4% of link building practitioners, while freelancers account for 24.9% and in-house experts for 29.9%, based on the 2025 survey of 518 SEO professionals by Editorial.link.
73.5% of link builders build fewer than 10 links per month, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
Experienced link builders produce 3.57 times as many links per month as beginners, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
Agencies have the highest proportion of experienced link builders, with 59.4% reporting more than five years of experience, based on a survey of 755 link builders by Authority Hacker.
A single digital PR link builder can generate an average of 15.58 links per month, while almost one-third of PR professionals can generate 31 or more links per month, based on 2025 first-party survey data by BuzzStream.
89.6% of digital PR professionals say digital PR is the most effective tactic for building backlinks, followed by brand awareness at 83.2% and driving organic traffic at 77.5%, based on first-party survey data by BuzzStream.

References

‍

Subscribe to our newsletter

Occasionally, we send you a really good curation of profitable niche ideas, marketing advice, no-code, growth tactics, strategy tear-dows & some of the most interesting internet-hustle stories.

Thank You.
Your submission has been received.
Now please head over to your email inbox and confirm your subscription to start receiving the newsletter.

Oops!
Something went wrong. Please try again.