How Many Backlinks Do I Need to Rank? (2026 Guide) Simple Breakdown for Beginners

How many backlinks do I need to rank #1 on Google?

Sometimes you require 5 backlinks, sometimes 50, 500, or more!

This is the most frequently asked question, especially by those who are just getting started with SEO.

SEO takes time, effort, skills, and the right strategy.

If you simply want to rank on Google via building backlinks, that’s impossible!

Similarly, totally relying on high-quality content to rank on Google has become tougher.

Recently, Google’s algorithms have been favoring websites with higher authority.

This authority is different from Domain Authority by Moz and Domain Ratings by Ahrefs.

However, backlinks are the main contributing factor to that authority.

After denying this for years, a Google algorithm leak in 2024 finally unveiled that Google actually does consider authority for ranking pages.

The question “How many backlinks do I need to rank?” isn’t a simple one.

So, I’ll divide it into two questions:

• How many backlinks does a website need to rank?
• How many backlinks does a web page need to rank?

Now, let’s discuss this in more detail.

How many backlinks does a website need to rank?

The answer to this question is pretty simple.

Google doesn’t rank websites but webpages.

A website tends to contain a lot of pages, and they rank in different places.

Let’s assume there’s an eCommerce website with thousands of products.

Yeah, Amazon.com!

Simply go on Google and search for different products.

I searched for “books for kids under 5.”

You can see that Amazon’s result is at number 2.

Now I will search for another product, “cordless phone.”

You can see this time the Google SERP doesn’t have Amazon results at number 2.

Moral of the story? “Google doesn’t rank websites but webpages.”

That is why Amazon isn’t ranking at number 2 for every product.

How many backlinks do a web page need to rank?

There are a lot of ranking factors, and “backlinks” are perhaps the strongest.

We earlier discussed that Google takes into account “authority” for ranking pages.

The number of backlinks required to rank in the first position depends on several things.

You can simply type your keyword on Ahrefs, and it will show you the number of backlinks you need to rank on the first page of Google!

I checked for the keyword “how to lose weight,” and Ahrefs suggested that I would require 619 referring domains to rank among the top 10.

Wow. 619 referring domains just to rank one blog page!

If you’ve been building backlinks, you probably know how difficult it is to build one quality backlink.

Although you can buy quality backlinks using reputable posts, it still requires time, money, and effort.

Now, let’s find out whether you actually need 619 referring domains to rank among the top 10 for the same keyword.

I Google-searched this keyword, and it showed me the results.

All those results ranking on top have a lot of referring domains pointing to the page.

Although the majority of the websites do contain over 619 referring domains, check result no. 2 and no. 5.

The result at number 2 contains 225 referring domains.

The result at number 5 contains just 14 referring domains!

This clears a few things:

The #1 ranking page on Google doesn’t necessarily contain the most backlinks.

Ahrefs’ suggestion isn’t always correct.

There’s no straight answer to this question.

Sometimes, you need no backlinks to rank. And sometimes, you need to build a lot of them.

What are the key things besides the backlinks that helps you rank?

Backlinks alone can’t help you rank number 1 on Google. Here are some other things besides the backlinks that are extremely important:

• High-quality, unique, and relevant content
• Fast loading speed and mobile optimization
• Well-structured, user-friendly website design
• Efficient internal linking for navigation
• Secure website with HTTPS protocol
• Optimized metadata and keyword usage
• Positive user engagement and low bounce rates
• Schema markup for enhanced SERP features
• Regular updates and fresh content additions
• Accessibility compliance for broader usability

How many backlinks do I need to rank #1 on Google

In case you’re doing all the above things the right way, your pages will ultimately start beating the competitors.

Just like this:

You can see that the ahrefs online tool is ranking number one with only 10 referring domains beating the website that has 375!

But in case you want to rank for an extremely competitive keyword like “weight loss”.

Your website’s topical relevance alone won’t help you rank number 1.

In such cases, you can look for the referring domains your competitor page already has.

Get an idea of how many links you should build.

If your competitor is solely ranking with higher backlinks, you can’t beat their number.

Although at ReputePost we help webmasters & SEO agencies with white label link building solutions, in such cases this alone won’t help.

You have to create a solid content around that keyword or cluster.

Build backlinks to your main page and distribute link equity with internal links.

We recommend you to buy niche edits for a quick and better outcome.

Note: Don’t count every single referring domain. Majority of the links simply come from review sites.

6 things not to do when it comes to backlinks

Building backlinks is extremely crucial for a website’s SEO. But if you’re dealing with higher competition, here are some things you should not do.

1. Avoid low-quality backlinks
2. Do not rely on web 2.0 backlinks
3. Say no to blog commenting backlinks
4. Do not get links from websites that are on Google’s red list
5. Don’t build backlinks from PBNs
6. Do not consider domain authority as an only link building metric

Link building has to be a slow and careful procedure. You have to carefully analyze a website before getting a backlink.

Wrapping up

Good backlinks make SEO easier. And, low-quality links prove costly for your website. As an SEO specialist or website owner, avoid building backlinks just for the sake of increasing domain authority. Simply, you can’t beat a website only by backlinks as you have to work on lots of other aspects. When a website has topical authority, its pages tend to rank higher without links. Focus on your content strategy and build backlinks wisely.