Google’s algorithm works like a policeman on a freeway. If you’re over-speeding, you’ll get caught. Same with link velocity in SEO. Essentially, link velocity is another determining factor to measure if you’re building links naturally.
But, be careful when going too fast. It’s “unnatural” for the eyes of search engine crawlers to build links at an extreme rate. That’s why you have to be knowledgeable about how link velocity can be maintained.
In this article, we will go through the technical aspect of link velocity. We will also give a couple of tips to manage your link velocity when building links. To know more about link velocity in SEO, read through the whole article!
In this article, you’ll find
- Link Velocity in SEO: Faster is Not Always Better
- Some Tips for Maintaining an Optimal Link Velocity
- Final Word
- Related Reads
Link Velocity in SEO: Faster is Not Always Better
In a race, the faster you go, the more chances you have of winning the sport. However, in SEO, link velocity should always be maintained. Always remember the words, “slow and steady wins the race”, and you’ll benefit from it.
Technically speaking, link velocity is the rate of receiving backlinks from different domains. It determines how fast websites link to your site at a certain period of time.
There are 3 types of link velocity based on how fast a website receives backlinks. These are:
- Positive Link Velocity – pertains to the gain of backlinks over a certain period of time. Good for SEO but only at some point.
- Optimal Link Velocity – this is when you are gaining and losing backlinks at an optimal rate. Optimal link velocity is the best link velocity for SEO.
- Negative Link Velocity – this happens when you are losing backlinks at a constant rate. This is bad for SEO compared to the other types of link velocity.
To know your link velocity, you should calculate the link velocity trend (LVT). You must have the data for the growth of your linking root domains (LRD). Use this formula to calculate this:
Variables:
LV24m = average growth rate of LRD / change in the last 24 months
LV4m = average growth rate of LRD / change in the last 4 months
LVT = LV24m / LV4m
Google is aware of the growth rate of your backlinks. You can also check your link velocity using SEO tools like Ahrefs. Check our article about backlinks management to learn more about the different tools to check link velocity.
What if I Build Links Too Fast?
Just like in a car, you can crash and destroy your website if you go too fast on building links. Acquiring links at an absurd rate will get Google’s attention. In turn, they might crawl and investigate your website and the quality of your backlinks.
However, it’s important to note that Google only penalizes websites that link to irrelevant sites for fast links. Thus, if you’re linking to relevant websites, you’re safe from Google’s punishments. No need to worry about manual actions to relieve your penalties.
What Is the Optimal Link Velocity for My Website?
If you have a small website, consider managing your link velocity trend to be realistic. If you have a large website, it’s “normal” to get backlinks from high-quality websites from time to time.
It’s more of a personal choice if you want to link to high-quality websites at the same time or partition it. But it will look awkward for search engines if you have tons of backlinks in a month and have zero on the next month.
Knowing the optimal link velocity for your site is important for link building campaigns. Getting greedy with high-quality links can be detrimental for your campaign especially if Google finds no relevance between your backlinks.
Some Tips for Maintaining an Optimal Link Velocity
Tip #1: Monitor Inbound Links Regularly
The rate of gain (or loss) for your inbound and outbound links is crucial for SEO. That’s why you have to monitor it regularly to see if there are any sketchy links on your site. You will also see the quality of the won and lost links from your site.
This way, your link velocity won’t look fishy. You’d want to avoid instances such as having tons of backlinks even for your startup website.
Always watch for new inbound links and check their quality. Your website should grow alongside the quality of your backlinks. The more valuable content you have, the more inbound links you get. Thus, higher link velocity for your website.
Tip #2: Use SEO Tools to Manage Backlinks and Optimize Link Velocity
Aside from building links with other webmasters, you should also manage the backlinks you get from them. Using SEO tools will help make your task more efficient. Here are some SEO tools you can use to optimize your link velocity:
- Ahrefs – for computing link velocity trends
- MajesticSEO – for checking the relevance of backlinks
- Google Disavow Tool – for removing unwanted backlinks
Tip #3: Look Into the Perspective of a Search Engine
Search engines have algorithms, yes. But by using common sense, you will also notice if a website suddenly has tons of backlinks to it. You just have to view it from the perspective of the search engine.
Google sees if you gained your backlinks naturally. You won’t be able to trick your way into the top of the SERPs through tons of low quality backlinks. If you think Google will be suspicious of how fast you get backlinks, chances are you’re right.
Tip #4: Strategize Your Link Building Campaigns
Carefully think about your link building campaign to control the number of links you get. For link builders, we normally get link orders with a specified number of backlinks. These numbers came from a strategic and well-thought campaign.
To avoid an overflow of links to your website and look suspicious, you have to plan out your campaigns. Limit the number of links that you have to achieve to maintain an optimal link velocity.
Final Word
A negative link velocity will affect your SERP negatively. A positive link velocity might bring manual penalties. Thus, for maximum SEO value, you have to maintain an optimal link velocity.
We hope you enjoyed and learned something from the article. LinkDoctor™ brings useful articles for link building and SEO. You can check our blog to learn more about the best practices in link building.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and we’ll answer them as fast as we can. Good luck on building links!
