The #1 Google result has 3.8x more backlinks than positions 2-10
Backlinko analysed 11.8 million Google search results, still the largest publicly released dataset on ranking factors, and found that the page ranking number one for any given query held, on average, 3.8 times more backlinks than the pages ranking from positions two through ten combined. The gap is not a small edge; it is a structural break in the link economy of the SERP, and it explains why so many SEO teams under-invest in link acquisition and then quietly stall at position five or six. For anyone competing in a niche where the top result is also a household brand or category leader, the practical read is that you should plan a backlink budget pegged to roughly four times what positions two through ten already have, not parity with them. Closing a 50% gap to position three is rarely enough to take page one.
Methodology: Backlinko analysis of 11.8 million Google search results. About LinkPanda.
How Many Backlinks Do I Need to Rank?
There is no fixed number: the realistic target is set by your competitors. This dataset shows the number one Google result has 3.8x more backlinks than positions 2 to 10, the clearest backlinks ranking correlation in public data. So do backlinks improve rankings? At the top of page one, decisively. To estimate the backlinks you need to rank on the first page, study how many referring domains the current top results have and plan to close that gap with quality rather than volume.
Do backlinks still improve rankings?
Yes. Across 11.8 million results, backlink count separates the top result from the rest of page one more sharply than any other public factor.
How many backlinks do I need for the first page?
Benchmark the current page-one results for your keyword. If they average 40 referring domains and you have 5, that gap is your working target.
