Quantity vs Quality of Links What’s more important in Digital PR BLOG HEADER

7th October 2024

Quantity vs Quality of Links: What’s More Important in Digital PR?

Digital PR has changed dramatically in recent years. It first evolved from traditional PR— which originally dealt with offline media—combining it with digital tactics, like SEO.

Earning links has always been a core priority in Digital PR strategies, but their value has changed over time. Previously, gaining a certain number of links, no matter the quality, was the goal, whereas now, the impact of each link is much more significant.

However, there is still a common misconception that securing more links automatically results in SEO success. In this blog post, we’ll explore why quality is king when link building, what caused this shift and how to actually measure a link’s value.

In the earlier years of Digital PR, a high volume of links pointing to a site was a strong indicator of authority. However, many websites began using spammy practices to manipulate their rankings for a quicker result. These black-hat SEO tactics caused irrelevant, poorly written, and low-authority content to rank higher.

As search engine algorithms developed, especially with Google’s 2012 Penguin update, it changed how links were measured. A greater focus on the quality of links was introduced to ensure the most trusted and credible sites reached the top of the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).

It’s also now much harder to gain the same volume of links as previously achieved. As well as changes to Google’s algorithm, Digital PR is much more saturated as an industry, and publications now have a much greater understanding of a link’s value and the damage of a spammy link.

Like Oasis tickets, Birkin bags, and first-edition Beanie Babies, the huge demand and lack of supply drive up the value of quality backlinks.

What happens if you do prioritise quantity over quality?

It’s not to say that lower-quality links will necessarily harm a website, although they can if they have a high spam factor or Google suspects black-hat practices. It’s more likely that Google will ignore these links and, therefore, won’t contribute to your site’s SEO performance.

So, if you’re focusing on a numbered link target regardless of quality, it’ll likely have little SEO impact. Especially considering the difficulty of earning a high number of links, it’s not an effective use of project time.

Now that we’ve addressed how and why quality became more important than quality, what are the requirements for a quality link?

Relevance has always been a factor in Digital PR, but now it’s one of the most important components. Defining relevance for link building is tricky, as there are no set rules, and most people have different opinions.

However, a crucial aspect is how the publication relates to the linked target page. While a gardening website linking to an accounting website wouldn’t make sense, links earned from finance niche sites are clear quality indicators due to their topical relevance.

A relevant niche can also apply to local and regional publications if they report on the area of your business. Links earned from location-specific sites show Google that you’re a trusted source for local users. However, if your content is featured on a regional site with no ties to your company’s location, Google would likely ignore any links included.

Relevance can still apply to general publications covering various topics as long as they have a section specifically devoted to your niche and the content itself is relevant to your company. For example, The Independent is described as an online newspaper, but it does have a fashion section, making a link to a clothing brand still relevant.

As well as signalling to Google that a link is relevant, it reaches an audience that aligns with your target market and is more likely to become customers/clients. Additionally, relevant coverage is excellent for branding, as it can position you as an industry leader.

Links and authority go hand in hand — gaining ‘good’ links can build a site’s authority, but to class a link as ‘good’ it must come from an already trusted site. When link building, you can check a site’s authority with metrics like organic traffic and the domain age. Although it isn’t a failsafe method, the domain rating is also recognised as a way to check authority.

Ideally, the link would come from a high-quality site that is also relevant, but that’s not always possible or the only option. The required sector might have limited niche publications, or the sites may not have a huge audience. Additionally, you may also want to expand your brand exposure to a new demographic.

Many clients and Digital PR executives will have a list of dream publications to aim for, as the association with well-established national news sites and digital magazines can amplify a brand’s credibility. This type of coverage is also a trust signal to both readers and Google.

As well as the publication itself being of high quality, the content featuring the link also needs to offer value to readers. A link is worth much less if it’s included in a poorly written article covering a topic unrelated to your business.

Readers are also unlikely to click on the link if it doesn’t seem to offer them something outside of the article, such as extra information or a product discussed in the piece.

Ideally, the anchor and surrounding text should also help Google understand why a site has linked to your brand. Content mentioning the company name, a brief explainer of the brand and how it relates to the article adds contextual value to Google and the readers to avoid the link seeming irrelevant.

Branded anchor text is often the most valuable, as it increases brand awareness and authority. Anchor text using a keyword can be helpful in terms of offering context, but it can also be an indicator of spam if the keyword is overused. It’s also important not to stuff the anchor text with synonyms of different keywords or phrases and instead be concise, helpful, and relevant.

The inclusion of a spokesperson following a link can provide additional value, as the association with a real person is a sign of trust to readers. If the spokesperson is cited along with their quotes, it also positions the company as an expert in their field, providing further trust signals to Google and readers.

While you often have little control over how a publication displays your content, you can follow these steps in your campaign for them to hopefully mirror.

A link’s impact can also depend on the actual link itself. A follow link is most desired as it passes link equity (or link juice) from one site to another, which can increase Google search rankings. However, the authority and value a link possesses will still depend on the quality and relevance of the site.

In comparison, a no-follow link is less valuable as it prevents the precious link juice from passing to your site so it can reap the SEO rewards. However, it still has benefits, as it can bring traffic to your site. Additionally, a more balanced backlink profile with various link types, including no-follow, can look more natural to search engines and increase trust.

The target page of a link will also have different benefits and contribute to the relevance factor. If the site’s content links to a page on your site closely tied in terms of topic, it will be considered more useful to the readers and, as a result, more credible to search engines.

While you can provide journalists with the most helpful hyperlink to use, they might still use the homepage for various reasons. For example, it might be to prevent broken links as the homepage is likely to stay the same or because your content isn’t evergreen.

Another factor in determining the backlink quality is whether it’s marked as affiliated. Often used to track sales and provide commission to marketing partners, affiliated links are classed as a sales marketing tactic rather than SEO, so they don’t transfer link equity. However, they aren’t considered link spam if attributed as rel=”nofollow” or rel=”sponsored”.

Quality links are always preferable, but at times, a higher quantity might be the priority.

These scenarios might include earning a foundation of backlinks on a new website, as a lack of backlinks can make it difficult to improve Google search rankings. Earning a high quantity of diverse links can also help build an online presence and a baseline of authority.

Additionally, only acquiring high-quality links may look unnatural and suspicious. As long as the links don’t indicate spammy practices, a variety of links can look more authentic.

If the target is brand awareness, the SEO impact of links might not be a priority in your current Digital PR strategy. In this case, a high quantity of coverage might be the focus to increase visibility, with brand mentions and links on sites that may be lower quality but with an engaged community.

However, these aren’t long-term practices, and the goal should then gradually move on to acquiring high-quality links for long-term SEO benefits. It’s also still important to avoid extremely low-quality sites that could cause penalties, or that are completely irrelevant.

In a perfect world, your brand would acquire an abundance of high-quality links that meet each requirement, but this is rarely the case. Gaining authoritative links takes time, resources, and luck.

That’s not to say it can’t happen — stories can go viral and earn numerous great links, but this outcome is almost like winning the lottery. Unfortunately, it’s practically impossible to predict which stories will go viral. Even when campaigns take off, there’s no guarantee that they’ll attract the best links for your brand or even gain links at all.

While it’s great to get your company name in front of more people, if it isn’t the right demographic or on a trusted site, it likely won’t help your SEO.


While more links may sound appealing, in this case, less is more. Rather than trying to hit a number of links, regardless of quality, in your Digital PR strategy, focus on the links that will have the biggest impact and save yourself time, energy, and tears. If your client is intent on volume, ask them why that might be and inform them of the value in quality over quantity.

How we can help

If you’re a business looking to boost your link profile but don’t know where or how to start, we’re here to help. Our Digital PR team can produce a tailored strategy for your site focused on gaining high-quality links from trusted and relevant sources.

Get in touch to find out more about Digital PR and if it’s the best approach for your site.

Author - Chrissie Wood

Chrissie is a Senior Digital PR Executive with a background in agency and in-house Digital PR, as well as SEO and journalism.

Ben

Hi! I’m Ben, CEO of The SEO Works

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