When it comes to ranking on Google, many factors influence where a webpage appears on the search engine results page (SERP). One of the strongest ranking signals is backlinks—links from other websites pointing to a page.
Think of backlinks like votes of confidence. The more high-quality backlinks a page receives, the more Google sees it as an authoritative and trustworthy source. This is why pages with more backlinks often outrank those with fewer.
Backlinks as a Voting Factor in Google’s Algorithm
Google’s algorithm is designed to organise search results based on relevance and authority. Backlinks help determine authority because they act as a signal that other websites trust and recommend a page.
To illustrate this, let’s take a look at a real-world example using the search term: “best headphones for running”. Below, we emulate a typical SERP ranking where the top result has the most backlinks, the second result has fewer, and the third result has the least.
Example: The Impact of Backlinks on Google Rankings
Rank Website & Title Number of Backlinks
As you can see, the website with the highest number of backlinks ranks in the top position, while the one with the least backlinks is ranked lower. This follows a common pattern in SEO, where pages that accumulate more backlinks tend to rank higher than their competitors.
Why Do More Backlinks = Higher Rankings?
There are a few key reasons why pages with more backlinks outperform others in search results:
- Authority & Trust: Google sees backlinks from reputable sites as a sign that your content is credible.
- Relevance & Popularity: The more links a page gets, the more it signals that the content is useful and in demand.
- Competitive Edge: If two pages have similar content, the one with more high-quality backlinks usually wins the ranking battle.
Backlinks Are Still One of the Strongest Ranking Factors
Many SEO studies—including research from Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz—have shown a clear correlation between the number of backlinks and higher Google rankings. While Google considers many factors in its algorithm, backlinks remain a core metric for determining page authority.
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