“More links equals better rankings.” – Many brands still operate under this wild misconception. So naturally their instinct is to build links fast – get that SEO traction as quickly as possible. But here’s where things get tricky. There’s a lesser-discussed, often misunderstood factor at play: link velocity.
Move too fast, and you could trip the alarms. Move too slow, and you might never gain momentum.
We will break it down to you why simply accumulating links isn’t enough, and how a nuanced approach can be the difference between ranking on page one or being lost in the digital wilderness.
What is Link Velocity?
Link velocity is the rate at which a website gains or loses links over time.
A high link velocity is often seen as a signal of virality or rising popularity, suggesting that your content is being noticed and shared across the web.
But it isn’t just about the total number of backlinks – it’s also about your pattern of your link acquisition, which signals search engines whether you’re experiencing organic growth or attempting to manipulate rankings.
Where Does Link Velocity Come From?
The concept of link velocity dates back to 2003 when Google released a patent entitled Information Retrieval based on historical data. As boring as the title is, it outlined many ways search engines could evaluate websites based on their link growth patterns – one of those is link velocity.
According to an implementation consistent with the principles of the invention, one or more link-based factors may be used to generate (or alter) a score associated with a document. In one implementation, the link-based factors may relate to the dates that new links appear to a document and that existing links disappear. The appearance date of a link may be the first date that search engine 125 finds the link or the date of the document that contains the link (e.g., the date that the document was found with the link or the date that it was last updated). The disappearance date of a link may be the first date that the document containing the link either dropped the link or disappeared itself.
These dates may be determined by search engine 125 during a crawl or index update operation. Using this date as a reference, search engine 125 may then monitor the time-varying behavior of links to the document, such as when links appear or disappear, the rate at which links appear or disappear over time, how many links appear or disappear during a given time period, whether there is trend toward appearance of new links versus disappearance of existing links to the document, etc.
Using the time-varying behavior of links to (and/or from) a document, search engine 125 may score the document accordingly. For example, a downward trend in the number or rate of new links (e.g., based on a comparison of the number or rate of new links in a recent time period versus an older time period) over time could signal to search engine 125 that a document is stale, in which case search engine 125 may decrease the document’s score. Conversely, an upward trend may signal a “fresh” document (e.g., a document whose content is fresh—recently created or updated) that might be considered more relevant, depending on the particular situation and implementation.
By analyzing the change in the number or rate of increase/decrease of back links to a document (or page) over time, search engine 125 may derive a valuable signal of how fresh the document is. For example, if such analysis is reflected by a curve that is dropping off, this may signal that the document may be stale (e.g., no longer updated, diminished in importance, superceded by another document, etc.).
Source – Google Patent – Document scoring based on link-based criteria.
The concept is simple;
- Webpages that gain links are likely more popular than those that don’t get any.
- Webpages that gain links quickly (high link velocity) are considered more popular than those that gain links at a slower pace (low link velocity).
- Webpages that consistently gain links over time are the strongest of all, showing sustained authority and relevance.
In a nutshell, getting links is a good thing, getting more links is even better, and getting lots of links consistently is the BEST. As long as your link growth trend stays positive, it’s highly likely your rankings will improve, too.
Why Does It Matter?
When it comes to links, SEOs throw the word quality around a lot. Any blog post you find on link building will outline a strong emphasis on building “quality” links and set out some special blend of criteria to define what “quality” is and warn against building or buying large quantities of links.
That’s generally good, safe advice. But, it’s not the most effective way to link build for a website, and we don’t need a patent to prove it, just raw logic.
Think about it like this;
Google is designed to find you a destination website that matches your search intent and expectations based on the words you put in their search box. But our expectations and desires can change rapidly for many reasons – bad press, a scandal, poor recent reviews of a company, or just seasonality, to name a few.
Because of this, Google has to be aware of sites that are growing rapidly in popularity so it can meet our expectations.
For example, if there’s a new viral product, people are searching for it, but it can’t be found on page 1 of search results, that’s a bad experience for users. So, Google needs a way to monitor what’s popular and what’s not in their algorithm.
That is where the links come in. Popular things are talked about more and receive more links in blogs, articles, news and on social media. Therefore, links can be used as one indicator of popularity.
If overall links to a site begin to increase and the trend holds, Google can assume the product is currently popular, and while it is, people are going to expect to see it on page 1.
To hockey-stick the growth of a website, SEOs will try to mimic that popularity increase.
Is Link Velocity a Ranking Factor?
Google has said no.
Despite this 2003 Google Patent mentioning,
“This rate (referring to link growth) can be used to score (rank) the document (a page on your site), for example, giving more weight to documents to which links are generated more often”,
After all, that patent is more than 2 decades old, and since then, Google’s algorithm has evolved dramatically. So what worked in 2003 isn’t necessarily what works today.
But in our experience, link velocity does help move the needle. Whether Google admits it’s a direct ranking factor or not.
There are caveats to that, though, and we do not recommend going and buying 50 links per month just to meet a velocity metric.
The same patent 2003 patent also said that an attempt to manipulate this “link growth” factor could tank your rankings instead of improving them;
“While a spiky rate of growth in the number of backlinks may be a factor used by search engines to score documents, it may also signal an attempt to spam search engines. Accordingly, in this situation, the search engine may actually lower the score of a document(s) to reduce the effect of spamming.”
So, even if Google doesn’t admit link velocity is a ranking factor, it is somehow a potential penalty factor. That sounds suspect…
Now, given that link velocity can go very good or very bad, it’s up to your risk tolerance to decide if this is an SEO strategy for you.
How to Calculate Your Site’s Link Velocity
The formula for calculating your site’s link velocity is:
Link Velocity = Number of New Backlinks / Time Period in days
Calculating link velocity takes only 3 steps:
- Pick your time period. This could be a month, quarter, or any timeframe that makes sense for your analysis. We prefer a 90-day view for most cases.
- Next, count how many new backlinks you gained in that period. You can use any SEO tool (Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush) to pull your site’s data, but make sure you’re only counting new links – we’re measuring growth here.
- Finally, plug these numbers into our formula. For instance, if you gained 150 backlinks over 30 days: Link Velocity = 150/30 = 5 backlinks per day
For example,
If your website gained 1,516 backlinks over 33 days.
Here’s how we’d do the calculations;
Link Velocity = 1516/33 ≈ 46 backlinks per day.
Let’s say two websites both gained 100 backlinks. One got them over a month, while the other took a quarter. Same number, but completely different velocities. This time element is what makes link velocity such a critical metric to track.
How to Safely Increase Link Velocity and Improve Your Rankings
Don’t get burnt trying to scale too fast. As we’ve said before, Google considers excessive growth to be a signal of backlink spamming, so tread carefully when scaling your link-building. There is a right and a wrong way to do it.
While sustained and stable backlinks over time indicate good link velocity, that number needs to make sense for your business’s current position in the market.
If you are a small business getting 1-2 links per week and suddenly you decide to ramp things up by acquiring 100 links weekly, Google is very likely to catch on and view it as manipulation – even if you maintain that number over time.
So, the key is gradual growth paired with consistent content production. Here’s how:
How to Build Link Velocity Safely
- Begin with Competitor Analysis:
Start by looking into your competitors who rank higher on Google. Using Ahref’s site explorer, analyze their backlink profile and the rate at which they’re acquiring links.
This gives you a realistic benchmark to aim for. Are they getting 5 new links per month or 50? Use that as your guide while considering what stage you are at – as a business.
- Set Practical Link Velocity Goals:
Once you’ve done your research, set a realistic goal. For example, if you’re currently acquiring 2 links per week, aim to scale this to 4 – 5 links per week first, then 7 to 10, and so on. Focus on building a long-term trend over time, with milestones every 6 to 8 weeks.
- Create Consistent, High-Quality Content:
All this works best also while increasing your content production simultaneously. Remember, the aim is steady growth, not overnight spikes.
Start creating niche-relevant blog posts. 4 posts per month is a solid starting point. As you build momentum, you can scale up to 6 or 8 blogs monthly. Remember, quality and relevance matter more than quantity.
- Employ a Multi-Strategy Approach to Link Building
While your content team works on getting posts publish-ready, focus on employing diverse link-building tactics such as;
- Broken Link Building: Find broken links on high-authority sites in your niche and offer your content as a replacement.
- Guest Posting: Contribute valuable articles to other blogs in your industry, linking back to your site in the process.
- Connectively (HARO): Respond to journalists seeking expert quotes, which can earn you backlinks from reputable media outlets.
Takeaways
Links matter, and so does the rate at which you acquire them. While Google may not officially acknowledge link velocity as a ranking factor, it’s simple logic – they have to consider it. After all, links are direct signals of content virality, authority, and popularity.
But here’s the critical nuance many miss: link velocity isn’t the be-all and end-all of your SERP positions. It’s one piece of a larger puzzle – important, yes, but not the whole story.
In fact, it’s a double-edged sword. Used wisely, it can help you climb the rankings naturally. But try to manipulate it for quick wins, and you might find yourself in trouble. Google is smart enough to use the same patterns that signal authority to spot unnatural link-building attempts.
So, instead of trying to race up to the top using shortcuts, build a foundation that keeps you there – pair link-building with consistent quality content creation. That is what will set you up for long-term, recurring wins.
FAQs
How to calculate Link Velocity using Ahrefs
Head over to Ahref’s Site Explorer and drop in your URL. Once you’re in the Overview section, you’ll want to focus on two key metrics: referring pages and referring domains. These give you the full picture of your backlink situation.
To calculate your link velocity, simply:
- Pick your timeframe (months or weeks)
- Note how many new backlinks you’ve gained
- Place these numbers into our link velocity formula (new backlinks/days)
How to calculate Link Velocity using SEMrush
SEMrush offers another solid option for backlink analysis. The process is pretty straightforward:
Navigate to the Backlink Analytics section, enter your URL, and hit “Analyze.” The report breaks down your referring domains and backlinks over time, making it easy to track your velocity. The historical data is particularly useful for spotting trends in your link acquisition.
How to calculate link velocity using Moz
Like with Ahrefs, enter your domain in Moz’s Link Explorer and dive into the historical backlink data. You can easily track new links over any timeframe you choose and then use that data to calculate your velocity.