Link building is an integral part of Search Engine Optimization, and link velocity plays an important role in it. Let us dive deeper into this post to find out more about link velocity and how it can give your website the edge over competitors, influence your SEO ranking, and much more.
What is Link Velocity in SEO?
Link velocity refers to the rate at which backlinks are added to a website, and its origin can be traced back to the discovery of a Google patent in 2003.
The authority and trustworthiness of a website are essential factors considered in search engine optimization (SEO). The amount of links you are acquiring or referring to each month is commonly used to determine link velocity. A high link velocity indicates that the website is well-liked and has the capacity to gather lots of links quickly.
Although it can help you move up the Google Search Engine Result Page (SERP), it should be noted that high link velocity doesn’t ensure that you will be there. It will be challenging for you to rank at the top if your website doesn’t contain any high-quality links. But, if you really want your website to be seen, you should not rely on the number of links gained but rather focus on the quality.
How to check link velocity for a website or page in Ahrefs?
If you want to check your or your competitor’s link velocity, you can utilize an SEO tool like Ahrefs. It offers a feature that will help you determine the link velocity with only one click.
To do this, you can use the Site Explorer in Ahrefs.
Step 1: Enter the domain name or the URL into Site Explorer.
Step 2: Switch to the Backlink Profile to view the graphs of Referring Domains and Referring Pages.
Step 3: Check the link velocity of the page by calculating the difference in the number of backlinks between two months in a row.
Does Link Velocity really matter in Google Ranking?
Search engine rankings are influenced by a number of criteria, including the quality and relevance of the linked website, anchor text, and content, in addition to link velocity, which is just one of many. As a result, there is an ongoing debate within the SEO community regarding the significance of link velocity in determining the quality of a website. While many emphasize its advantages and believe that it is important, for some people, it is the opposite.
Link velocity is important for some since it can affect how well a website performs in search results. However, if your link profile is not displaying a natural link growth pattern and there is a sudden increase in the number of backlinks, search engines will consider it a potential sign of manipulative behavior.
Backlinks that naturally increase over time are generally considered to be a better sign of a high-quality website.
Some of its positive sides include:
● As long as the connecting websites are of good quality and relevance, increased visibility as a gradual increase in backlinks can improve a website’s visibility on search engines.
● A website’s credibility can be increased with a moderate link velocity. This is because a website with a lot of high-quality backlinks is seen by search engines as more reputable and trustworthy, which might raise the website’s search engine rating.
● Because it is more likely to include useful and insightful information, a website with a large number of relevant and high-quality backlinks can offer a better user experience.
● Backlinks can assist you in increasing referral traffic since they can direct that traffic to a website, making it more visible and well-liked.
However, experts consistently agree that a moderate and natural link velocity, as opposed to a quick and unnatural increase, is ideal. Although it takes time and work to develop a high-quality backlink profile, the results are worthwhile in the long run.
Quality was not as valued in the past as quantity. In other words, your chances of ranking highly on SERP increase as your backlink network expands. However, because of the expanding industry and Google’s awareness of the strategies businesses use, things have slightly evolved and replaced this notion.
Businesses would add backlinks to their websites without seeing their relevance and quality in the olden days. Because of this, now, your website has fewer possibilities of ranking highly if you don’t have any indicated relevant backlinks.
To think about it the other way around, consider these link velocity cons:
Increased link velocity may raise a red flag for search engines. This is because sudden spikes or negative link growth in your link profile may trigger a manual review or penalty.
Even if a website has a substantial quantity of backlinks, if the connecting websites are of poor quality or irrelevant, it will not have a positive effect on the website’s ranking because search engines favor quality over quantity.
It may trigger spam alerts because search engines use link velocity as one of the indicators for detecting spammy link campaigns or manipulative behavior, which can result in a penalty or even a ban from search engine results.
What are the ways in which Link Velocity can affect your SEO Ranking?
Because search engines evaluate link velocity as an indicator of the site’s authority and popularity, it can impact a website’s SEO rating. A website with a healthy link velocity is one that quickly builds a strong backlink profile due to its high-quality and relevant content. This positive link velocity growth can signal to search engines that the site is credible and trustworthy, leading to higher search engine rankings.
Link velocity is only one of several variables that search engines consider when ranking websites.
A high search engine ranking does not mean having a higher link velocity. Other factors that impact your SEO tactics, such as the quality and relevance of the content, the relevance of the links, and the overall user experience, also play a role in determining a website’s ranking and can impact SEO ranking in the following ways:
Link diversity:
Acquiring links from various sources shows search engines that the website is credible and valuable.
Link relevancy:
Having links from websites related to the content on the target website can improve relevance and ranking.
Link quality:
Having links from high-quality and trustworthy websites can improve the website’s reputation and ranking.
Link spam:
Acquiring links too quickly or from low-quality websites can raise red flags and negatively impact ranking.
Link saturation:
Having too many links in a short period of time can make the website look spammy and lead to a drop in ranking.
Drip-feeding links
When we are talking about link velocity, we should pay attention to one of the essential elements that maintain an optimal link velocity, known as drip feeding links. In a link-building strategy known as drip feeding, links are added to a website slowly over time rather than all at once. It is less possible for a website to gain a significant number of links in a brief period of time without any form of artificial manipulation. Therefore, the aim behind this method is to replicate a natural pattern of link acquisition.
How can drip-feeding links help?
A simple example to make you understand how drip-feeding links help is to imagine that you are trying to lose weight. You cannot complete all the workouts at once in a day after joining a gym as it will be harmful to your body and may have a negative impact.
You will eventually raise the bar by increasing the number of hours, exercises, and intensity of the workouts to reach your goal. Though this will take time, your body will be safe at the end of the day.
Similarly, gradually adding links over time can avoid raising any red flags with search engines and prevent any negative impact on the website’s ranking.
Therefore, to be on the safer side, SEO experts often use this technique to avoid penalties for unnatural link patterns and enhance the link-building campaign’s long-term performance.
What can be done to improve your site’s link velocity?
Now that you have an idea of what link velocity is, how it can help your website, its pros and cons, and the technique to maintain an optimal link velocity, you must be wondering how you can improve your link velocity. Improving link velocity involves increasing the speed and quality of link acquisition.
You can create high-quality, relevant, and engaging content, as this will naturally attract backlinks from other websites.
● By working with other websites in your niche to develop guest articles, link exchanges, and other content-sharing opportunities, you can establish relationships with other websites.
● To increase traffic and links to your website, you can use social media to promote your content on social media platforms and interact with other users.
● To boost visibility and draw links, you should aim to get listed in directories by submitting your website to directories relevant to your niche.
● You must engage in online communities by joining forums and discussion boards related to your niche and engaging in relevant conversations to build relationships and attract links.
Engage in Online communities.
● You should routinely review your backlink profile using tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs to monitor and analyze it to spot possibilities to add more high-quality connections.
● You must concentrate on link-worthy content by producing useful resources like infographics, eBooks, and shareable webinars that generate backlinks.
● You should pursue link building strategies by implementing ways such as broken link building, skyscraper technique, and other proven link-building strategies to attract links.
Measuring the results of Link Velocity SEO
Link velocity, as you are already aware, measures the rate at which links are being created. How will you, however, measure the impact of link velocity? There are various approaches you can take. To measure the results of the link velocity SEO strategy, you can use the following metrics:
Traffic: Monitor the number of visitors to your website and the sources of the traffic.
Rankings: Check your website’s ranking for targeted keywords on search engines.
Backlinks: Track the number and quality of backlinks to your website.
Conversion rate: Monitor the percentage of visitors to your website who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
Bounce rate: Check the percentage of visitors who leave your website after visiting only one page.
Dwell time: Measure the average amount of time visitors spend on your website.
Social media engagement: Track the number of shares, likes, and comments on your social media posts.
Using these metrics will give you a comprehensive view of the impact of link velocity SEO on your website’s performance.
To sum it up
Link velocity isn’t the sole metric you should use to assess your link-building performance; however, it is an excellent reference point for future link-building operations.
To prevent spammy websites from dominating SERPs, search engines like Google use many metrics that allow for a fair ranking of web pages. With relevant content that internet users are searching for, link velocity can help you rank your website higher on search engine results pages (SERP).
FAQs
Is there a score for having good link velocity?
No, there isn’t a set score or rate for what defines a good/ positive link velocity. It is tough to create a universal benchmark since different sources and techniques may have varying results of great link velocity.
Good link velocity is primarily aimed at consistent and healthy link growth speed. A competitor link velocity analysis is the most effective way to confirm how good the link velocity is.
Will all the links on the website impact the link velocity?
Yes, as both internal and external links are evaluated in calculating link velocity, any link you add to your website will impact its link velocity.
What are link velocity trends?
The speed at which your links are gained and lost over time is known as a Link Velocity Trend.
Is link velocity a Google ranking factor?
It’s not necessarily thought that link velocity alone plays a role in website rankings, yet it is connected to other factors that do. Keeping tabs on your link velocity can give you an idea of your backlink success compared to other websites.
How many links per month/day is safe to acquire?
The ideal number of daily backlinks for a website is not fixed and varies based on multiple factors, including the website’s niche, the level of competition, and its existing backlink portfolio. When engaging in backlink building, prioritizing the quality of links is more important than the quantity.
What is negative link velocity?
Negative link velocity refers to the rate at which a website is losing backlinks rather than gaining them. It’s a metric used in SEO to measure the decline in the number and quality of backlinks pointing to a particular website. Such a website has the possibility of being penalized by Google due to a negative SEO attack.
What is a reciprocal link?
Reciprocal link building refers to the purposeful swap of hyperlinks between web page owners. Through the utilization of reciprocal links, website owners aim to accelerate the indexing of their web pages by search engine bots.
