Most teams track the wrong link building KPIs. Here are the ones that actually predict success.
Stop Counting Links. Start Measuring Impact.
"We built 47 links this month!"
Great. But did your rankings improve? Did traffic grow? Did revenue increase?
If not, those 47 links didn't do their job.
The KPIs That Matter
Tier 1: Business Impact
Organic traffic growth (the ultimate measure)Keyword ranking improvementsRevenue from organic channelOrganic conversion rateTier 2: Link Quality
Average DA of new linksRelevance score of new linksPercentage of followed linksAnchor text distributionTier 3: Process Efficiency
Cost per linkOutreach response rateLink placement rateTime from outreach to placementThe KPIs That DON'T Matter
Total number of links (without quality context)Domain authority of YOUR site (lagging indicator, not actionable)Number of outreach emails sent (activity, not results)Setting Targets
Based on 500+ campaigns, reasonable monthly targets for mid-sized companies:
8-15 quality links (DA 30+, relevant)10-20% outreach response rateAverage DA of new links: 35+Cost per link: $200-500 (including all labor and tools)Review Cadence
Review process KPIs weekly.
Review quality KPIs monthly.
Review business impact KPIs quarterly. Our guide on link building reporting shows you how to present these to leadership. Moz's beginner's guide to link building also covers KPI frameworks worth reviewing.
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