There's no fixed number of backlinks that puts a page on Google's first page, and Google publishes none. The useful benchmark is how many referring domains (different websites) link to the pages already ranking for your exact keyword, how relevant those links are, and how strong your site is next to theirs. For some low-competition keywords that number is close to zero; for competitive ones it runs into the hundreds or thousands.
- Benchmark the top 10: look up the referring domains of each ranking page and use the median, not the outlier.
- Count sites, not links: ten links from one site are one referring domain.
- Easy keywords exist: at KD 0 to 5, Ahrefs says "Top-ranking pages barely have any backlinks".
- Quality and content still decide: one relevant, editorial link beats several from sites nobody reads.
- Build steadily: there's no safe links-per-month quota, and bought or automated links are link spam.
Disclosure: DirPilot sells directory submissions, so we have an interest in links. That's why the numbers below come from Ahrefs, Backlinko and Google's documentation, and every directory figure from our directory pages as of our October 2026 checks.
Why there's no single number
Links are one input among many. Google's ranking systems guide describes "various systems that understand how pages link to each other as a way to determine what pages are about and which might be most helpful in response to a query", PageRank among them. Its SEO Starter Guide adds that "there's much more to Google Search than just links. We have many ranking signals, and PageRank is just one of those," and that "Creating content that people find compelling and useful will likely influence your website's presence in search results more than any of the other suggestions in this guide."
Google's How Search works page says "one of the factors used to determine quality is understanding if other prominent websites link or refer to the content," and "The weight applied to each factor varies depending on the nature of your query." So the links you need change with the keyword and the competition.
Backlinks vs referring domains
A backlink is one link from another site to yours (see backlink examples); a referring domain is a site that links to you at least once. One blog linking to you from ten articles is ten backlinks and one referring domain. Referring domains are the count that matters:
- Ahrefs builds Keyword Difficulty from them: "We pull the top 10 ranking pages for your keyword and look up how many websites link to each of them."
- Backlinko's ranking study found "the number of domains linking to a page had a correlation with rankings," backing the view that "it's better to get 10 links from 10 different sites than 10 links from the same domain."
- Ahrefs' Domain Rating counts only the first link from each domain.
What the data says, and what it doesn't
Ahrefs' search traffic study found "96.55% of all pages in our index get zero traffic from Google," with "The page has no backlinks" among three common reasons. Its index held "~20 million pages with no referring domains, yet only 2,997 of them get more than 1K search visits per month. That's roughly 1 in every 6,671 pages with no backlinks." Pages with traffic but no links were "almost all" about low-competition topics, and its examples sat on high-DR sites that pass PageRank through internal links. Ahrefs' two options: "Target uncompetitive topics that you can rank for with few or no backlinks" or "Target competitive topics and build backlinks to rank."
Backlinko's study of 11.8 million Google results, with Ahrefs as data partner, found "the #1 result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2-#10," and that a site's overall link authority correlated with rankings more strongly than the page's own.
Before you turn either into a target:
- Correlation, not cause. Ahrefs asks whether its data proves backlinks help you rank, and answers "No, because correlation does not imply causation." Backlinko calls its work a correlation study.
- Third-party indexes. The link counts come from Ahrefs' crawler, not Google's, and Ahrefs says its traffic numbers "are estimates."
- Dates. The Ahrefs study is from December 2023; Backlinko's page was last updated in April 2025.
How to estimate how many backlinks you need for a keyword
Ahrefs' rule of thumb: "if you want to rank in the top 10 search results for a given keyword, you'll have to acquire as many backlinks as the current top-ranking pages have (if not more)." To estimate the backlinks needed to rank on the first page for your keyword:
- Search the exact keyword and read the results. Note what kind of pages rank. Ahrefs' "backlink checker" landing page never ranked above #8 until it became a free tool, then went to #1. Links don't fix a page that misses the intent.
- Look up referring domains for each top-10 URL. Check the ranking page, not its domain, in a backlink tool, and note the site's DR.
- Take the median, not the outlier. Ahrefs notes KD scores "represent the average Referring Domains of the top-ranking pages", and one famous page can skew an average.
- Check the quality. Ahrefs warns: "The sheer quantity of backlinks can often be misleading because some backlinks cast a stronger vote than others. So this number is merely an estimation." Are the links of the pages nearest you editorial, or listings and profiles you could match?
- Compare site strength. Strong sites pass authority through internal links, so their pages need fewer links of their own. Compare DRs (see what a good domain rating is) and look for "cracks" such as forums or low-DR sites ranking among big names. Ahrefs calls this your "Personal Keyword Difficulty": "if you're a new player, even mid-range scores will require extra effort."
- Count links to the page and to the site. Google says its ranking systems "work on the page level" and that "Site-wide signals and classifiers are also used". Your target is referring domains to the page you want to rank, on a site that isn't far behind. More in Ahrefs UR vs DR.
A worked example, with hypothetical numbers
Say the top five pages have 8, 12, 15, 20 and 40 referring domains. Illustrative numbers, not data:
| Position | Referring domains to the page | Site DR |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | 80 |
| 2 | 20 | 60 |
| 3 | 15 | 30 |
| 4 | 12 | 70 |
| 5 | 8 | 25 |
The average is 19, the median 15, and #1 is the outlier. Positions 3 and 5 sit on DR 30 and 25 sites, the realistic comparison for a young site, so a sensible first target is 10 to 15 relevant referring domains to your page, with content at least as good as #3's. If all five had hundreds of referring domains on DR 80 sites, the honest move would be a narrower keyword first.
Rough expectations by keyword difficulty
Ahrefs' own benchmarks for its 0 to 100 KD score:
| Ahrefs KD | What Ahrefs says | What it means for a new site |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | "Top-ranking pages barely have any backlinks" | Content and intent decide; few or no links can be enough |
| About 50 | "Top-ranking pages have a couple of hundred backlinks" | "even mid-range scores will require extra effort" |
| 90+ | "Top-ranking pages have thousands of backlinks" | A long-term goal; Ahrefs' own KD 70+ rankings took "many years of patience" |
Three caveats from the same page: KD is "based on linking domains to top-ranking pages", although the benchmarks say backlinks; tools share the 0 to 100 scale "but each one calculates it differently"; and KD "doesn't account for your specific website's authority." To find uncompetitive topics, the search traffic study suggests filtering for KD 20 or less, with "Lowest DR" set to your own DR.
How many backlinks per month? Pace and patience
There's no required or safe monthly number. Google's starter guide says "Other sites linking to you is something that happens naturally over time," and its spam policies define link spam as "creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings," including "Buying or selling links for ranking purposes", "Using automated programs or services to create links to your site" and "Low-quality directory or bookmark site links". The consequence: "Sites that violate our policies may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all."
So pace is a question of method. A handful of listings, a launch and a few mentions in your first month is ordinary; hundreds of links from a package is the pattern the policy describes.
- Spread submissions over a few weeks. As our guide to submitting your startup to directories says, "It's not that Google counts your submissions per day; it's that directories review at different speeds".
- Earn the next links with something worth citing: a free tool, original data, expert answers.
- Measure monthly. Google says "Some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months," and "you likely want to wait a few weeks to assess whether your work had beneficial effects".
In Ahrefs' study of how long it takes to rank, only 1.74% of 1 million random URLs seen in September 2023 reached the top 10 within a year, down from 5.7% in 2017; for non-empty English pages created in October 2023, 6.11% did. 72.9% of top-10 pages are more than 3 years old, and the average #1 page is 5 years old. Plan in quarters, not weeks.
Which links count toward your number
Before you add a link to your tally, check:
- Relevance: the site covers your topic or serves your buyers.
- Editorial review: a person chose to link, or approved the listing.
- Real visitors: people read the page.
- Link type: Google treats nofollow, ugc and sponsored as hints, so it may crawl a nofollow link and ignore a followed one. Our dofollow vs nofollow study explains why it's one factor, not the main one.
- Nothing cancels it: a followed link on a noindex page, behind robots.txt or through a redirect may not count. Our free dofollow link checker checks all of these; how to check dofollow backlinks covers the manual methods.
- A new domain: the first link from a site adds a referring domain; the tenth doesn't.
How many backlinks for a new website? Start with a baseline
A new domain usually can't close the gap from step 2 in a month. Target keywords where top pages have few links, and build a baseline while your content earns the rest. Our first backlinks playbook covers the tactics: "A useful first goal is 20 to 40 referring domains from relevant directories, launch platforms and partners, then a steady trickle of editorial links." For the directory part, our best startup directories ranking compares 30 with a dofollow link on at least one plan. A few starting points from our October 2026 checks:
| Directory | DR | Link | Price | Stated approval | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Hunt | 91 | Nofollow (ugc) | Free | Not stated | You're there for the launch-day audience |
| Startup Fame | 84 | Dofollow | Free; paid from $19 a month | About 7 days | Free plan needs its badge on your homepage |
| Uneed | 76 | Dofollow | Free; $14.99 for a date about two weeks out | Not stated | Free launch keeps its followed link only with 20 upvotes on the day |
| Build voyage | 43 | Dofollow | Free, with paid options | About 2 days | Micro-SaaS only |
DR describes the whole directory, not your listing page. To pick more, use our high-DR and free dofollow lists, the full directory data or the free directory shortlist builder. As the free dofollow list says, a followed link from a relevant directory "is a normal part of a site's links, but it isn't a ranking shortcut." Whether listings are worth it at all: do directory submissions still work.
How many directory submissions make sense?
Fewer than most packages suggest, picked for fit. From our own guides:
- Start small: "Start with the five to ten that fit your product best," then check after a month which went live, kept a followed link and got indexed.
- Cover your audiences: "For most products, 20 to 40 well-chosen directories cover the audiences that matter."
- Skip filler: "Ten relevant listings, each with its own description, do more than fifty pasted ones."
DirPilot's plans come in three sizes: Economy covers 30+ directories ("Medium DR free directories only"), Business 60+ and First 100+ ("Only high-DR free and paid directories", paid listing fees included). A bigger plan buys wider coverage and paid listings, not a better shot at a backlink target, so match the size to how many audiences your product fits. You see the list before we start and can swap any directory out.
FAQ
Can you rank with zero backlinks?
Yes, for low-competition keywords. Ahrefs found pages getting traffic with no backlinks, "almost all" on low-competition topics. But only 2,997 of about 20 million pages with no referring domains got more than 1,000 search visits a month.
How many backlinks per month is safe?
No number is safe or unsafe on its own; Google's policies are about how links are made. Links from reviewed, relevant sites are normal growth; bought, swapped or automated links are link spam at any pace.
Is 100 backlinks enough to rank?
It depends on the keyword. At KD 0 to 5 it's more than the top pages have; around KD 50, they have "a couple of hundred backlinks". And 100 backlinks from 5 sites are 5 referring domains.
Do nofollow links count?
Google treats them as hints and may ignore them, and Ahrefs leaves them out of DR. They still send visitors, so keep them, but count them separately.
How long until backlinks affect rankings?
Usually weeks to months. Google says some changes "could take several months" and suggests waiting "a few weeks" before you judge.
Are directory backlinks enough to rank?
For keywords where top pages "barely have any backlinks", they can help get you there. For competitive keywords, no: Ahrefs writes that most SEO professionals consider it "almost impossible to rank on the first page for competitive keywords without backlinks." Treat directories as the first layer.
Rather hand it over?
If you'd rather spend launch week on the product, DirPilot handles the first layer. We pick the directories that fit your product, send you the list before we start, write a different description for each, submit by hand and report which listings are live, which links are dofollow and which pages Google has indexed at day 30.
- Economy, $99: 30+ free, medium-DR directories.
- Business, $149: 60+ high-DR free and paid directories, listing fees included.
- First, $199: 100+ directories, plus help on launch day.
Each plan is a one-time payment, and work starts within one business day. If a directory rejects you, we replace it with one of similar authority at no extra cost. Compare the plans, or use the method above to set your own target first.