Quality vs Quantity: what makes a good backlink?

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If backlinks were currency, then all webmasters would be saying that more is better. Just acquire sufficient links, and rankings will sort themselves out magically.

Backlinks, when it comes to SEO, are confidence votes. Not all votes are created equal, though — some come from respected authoritative voices, others from the darker corners of the web. It’s not so much a question of having such a number of backlinks as it is about what they are. And that’s where the struggle between quantity and quality starts.

The case for quality backlinks

A quality backlink is from an authoritative, relevant, and trustworthy site. Think about being referred by someone in your industry who is well-respected — their referral carries weight.

What makes a "good" backlink?

Relevance

If you’re in the health clinics business, a link from a serious medical journal or popular wellness blog is a much better signal than from some general lifestyle blog. Google does take into account context – the more relevant the source, the higher the signal weight.

Authority

Backlinks from authoritative sites (i.e., older sites with reputations) are able to pass more SEO value. This is typically measured in terms of metrics such as Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR), but Google also makes its credibility assumption based on its signals.

Trustworthiness

A link from a website with a clear conscience — no spammy tactics, malware, or suspicious outgoing links — speaks well of your own website’s trustworthiness in the eyes of the search engines.

Natural Placement

A good backlink naturally occurs within content, providing actual value to readers. It’s not a “link drop” in some random paragraph; it’s a resource that belongs logically to the discussion.

Why more quantity can backfire?

In the early 2000s, “more links = better rankings” was the golden rule. Individuals spammed link farms, directories, and forums to get numbers. But Google got smarter.

More without quality can:

Lead to penalties

Google algorithms, like Penguin, devalue or penalise

spammy link profiles.

Dilute your authority

A sea of low-quality links can counter the effect of your quality handful.

Waste time and effort

Spending time chasing hundreds of non-existent links wastes effort that could be spent on achieving good-quality ones.

In brief, a thousand faint votes from unknown sources don’t eclipse a handful of brilliant endorsements by authorities in your niche.

Finding the right balance

That is not to dismiss quantity entirely — good backlinks will often have both quality and quantity. But think about it in social media followers: 10,000 fake profiles won’t interact with your posts, but 500 true fans will.

The following is how to balance quality and quantity:

Quality, not quantity – Your goal is to obtain links from good quality, relevant websites. A few can have a tremendous effect.
Keep a stable link flow – Obtain links at a consistent rate and not in batches that might seem unnatural to search engines.
Vary sources – Mix it up with guest posts, industry mentions, directories (for local search SEO), and press coverage for a natural landscape.
Audit regularly – Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to find and disavow toxic backlinks.

In backlinks, chasing pure quantity is like filling your wallet with Monopoly money — it might look good, but it will get you nowhere.

Instead, focus on obtaining quality backlinks. A handful of those are likely to beat out a bunch of duds. As the engines become more intelligent, they’re rewarding relevance, authority, and trust more than ever.