Link building remains the most powerful and controversial practice. Despite countless algorithm updates, backlinks continue to be the only source of authority in search engines. Understanding how this authority system works is crucial for developing effective SEO strategies that drive sustainable results.
What Exactly is SEO Authority?
SEO authority originates from the fundamental architecture of the web as an interconnected network of links. When the creators of Google needed a way to determine which pages deserved to rank highly, they turned to citation analysis from academic publishing, where frequently cited papers are considered more authoritative.
This principle became PageRank. Pages with more backlinks from already-authoritative sources gain more authority (PageRank) themselves. This citation-based model remains the backbone of search ranking systems, even as algorithms have grown more sophisticated in evaluating link quality and relevance.
In fact, Google’s original name was BackRub, showing how their backlink-driven approach to ranking pages is foundational to their core algorithms.
In the context of authority, we are referring to standard backlinks that don’t have attributes such as “Nofollow”, “Sponsored” and “UGC” attached to them, as those links likely don’t pass PageRank.
Domain Authority vs. Page Authority for Ranking
Search results are determined by a complex interplay between domain-level and page-level authority. While domain authority provides a foundation of trust that benefits all pages on a site, individual pages must also accumulate their own authority to compete for highly contested keywords.
This explains why new pages on authoritative domains can initially rank well but may be overtaken by pages with stronger page-level signals. The ideal scenario combines strong domain authority with targeted page authority, creating a compound effect that’s difficult for competitors to overcome.
Domain authority is the rising tide that lifts our keyword rankings. However, one thing to always remember is that Google ranks pages, not websites. Sometimes a super-authoritative website can rank any newly created page without any backlinks pointing to the page, but most websites are not Amazon.com!
I once had a new client ask why they weren’t ranking #1 for their most lucrative keyword. This client was first in the market and essentially coined the keyword they were competing for. They had a higher domain authority using all SEO tools and even had 10x the number of backlinks pointing to their product page as any of the top three ranking pages.
When I compared the referring domains (websites giving backlinks) that all the competing pages had, one thing became clear: Despite having far fewer backlinks, the top 3 ranking pages all had much more authoritative backlinks pointing at them than my client’s product page.
Homepage vs. Inner Pages: Where to Direct Your Backlinks
Form what I’ve written above we can understand that, while homepage links are great, as they build domain-level authority that benefits all pages, direct links to inner pages like product or category pages provide targeted authority that is essential for competitive keywords.
For optimal results, I maintain a balanced distribution. Homepages naturally attract more links and serve as ‘authority hubs’ that pass value to other pages. However, deliberately building links to key inner pages dramatically improves their ability to rank for specific terms, especially in competitive SERPs where domain authority alone isn’t sufficient.
Try to mimic the ratio of homepage-to-inner-page backlinks that you see from high-ranking competitors. The aim is for our link building to look organic. But always keep in mind that Google ranks pages, not websites.
In my experience, people tend to link less to commercial pages, so having too many of these backlinks can look unnatural. One tactic I use is to build backlinks to a related piece of informational content on the client’s site, then use an internal link in that content to funnel the authority to the commercial page I want to rank.
The Anchor Text Balancing Act: Relevance Without Over-Optimization
Anchor text – the clickable text in a hyperlink – is a powerful relevance signal (arguably the most powerful). Using keyword-rich anchor text helps search engines understand what your linked page is about. However, excessive use of exact-match anchor text creates an unnatural pattern that can trigger penalties.
The ideal approach mimics natural linking patterns. This typically means a mix of branded anchors (your company name), naked URLs, generic phrases (“click here,” “learn more”), and some relevant, descriptive text.
The more competitive your target keywords, the more cautious you should be with exact-match anchors, as natural link profiles rarely contain high percentages of keyword-optimized links. However, pages tend to pick up backlinks naturally once they are ranking, so these natural links should also help to randomise the mix, or “distribution”, of anchors.
Going back to the example of the new client not ranking in the top three for the keyword they pioneered, when I looked at the anchor text distribution to their page, the story was complete. They had zero instances of exact match, or even partial match, anchor text. Their page lacked both authority AND relevance signals, so they were almost fortunate to be ranking on the first page of Google at all.
SEO Vendor Metrics ≠ PageRank
Domain Rating (DR), a metric created by ahrefs, is often misunderstood as equivalent to Google’s PageRank. However, DR is merely an approximation based on visible backlink data, while PageRank incorporates proprietary data only available to Google.
This distinction matters because strategies built around maximizing DR may not align with actual ranking factors. Rather than pursuing high DR scores as an end goal, focus on acquiring quality links that could naturally occur and provide genuine value. The most effective link building strategies prioritize relevance and authenticity over metric manipulation.
Different tools (Moz, Ahrefs, Majestic) each have their own proprietary measures of domain- and page-level authority. Look across the tools to get a rough gauge of authority. and also look at the websites themselves to get a qualitative understanding.
One warning: Do NOT use SEMrush’s authority metrics! They also incorporate the amount of traffic a website gets into their link authority metrics, so the values are distorted as a result – they are not truly independent variables (which are what we need to have predictive power).
One extra thing I do is also look at the referring domains (the external websites pointing backlinks to a page) to get a qualitative understanding of their relevance and quality. This is an area where beginner SEOs often fail, and it leads to them acquiring useless backlinks from sites with manipulated authority metrics.
Referring Domains vs. Backlinks: Which Metric Matters More
When evaluating link profiles, the number of unique referring domains typically carries more weight than the total number of backlinks. Search engines recognize that acquiring links from diverse sources is harder to manipulate than getting multiple links from the same domain.
A site with links from 100 different domains generally demonstrates broader recognition than a site with 500 links from just 10 domains. This preference for link diversity explains why strategies focusing on acquiring a high volume of links from a small pool of sources tend to underperform vs. approaches that prioritize expanding the range of referring domains.
If you scroll back up to the example I gave (of the new client wondering why they weren’t ranking in the top three for the keyword they essentially invented), you’ll see how I use the terms backlinks and referring domains almost interchangeably – but what I’m really focused on are authoritative backlinks from unique referring domains.
How Authority Flows Through Pages with Fewer Outbound Links
The authority passed through links follows the economic principles of scarcity. Pages with fewer outbound links pass more authority per link because their authority (often called, “link juice”) is distributed among fewer recipients. This is why links from focused, selective pages typically provide more ranking benefit than links from pages with hundreds of outgoing links.
Quality also matters in this equation. Pages that themselves have high authority can pass more value through their links. A link from a highly authoritative page with few outbound links represents the ideal scenario, passing maximum authority to your site.
This is why “easy” links, like backlinks available on a menu from a vendor, those placed on directory pages, and spammed in blog comments are useless. Extra links can be added to these pages, so the authority passed through each link tends to get more and more diluted over time.
Another reason why I avoid easy links is the risk that spammy sites add backlinks to these pages. Sharing referring domains with spammy websites is to be avoided as much as possible, as it would make our own website look suspicious. Suspicious sites are more likely to be penalized, and a penalty renders all our SEO work useless – the unofficial #1 rule of SEO is to avoid penalties at all costs.
Making Your Link Building Look Natural: Patience vs Promotion
Search engines have become increasingly sophisticated at identifying unnatural link patterns. The most effective link building avoids detectable patterns by incorporating randomness in timing, anchor text, link types, and referring domains.
Waiting for other people to link to your site achieves this goal but, if you don’t promote your content, your site will lack the authority to effectively compete for rankings. Promotion involves outreach, typically by email, actively soliciting links but not directly controlling their creation – this is how some randomness can be obtained.
Remember: Content quality does not boost rankings; only authority boosts rankings. An argument is often made that good-quality content can naturally acquire backlinks. However, if that content is not ranking in the first place (which needs authority), the content will never be seen and will never acquire natural links.
Natural-looking link profiles show irregular acquisition rates, diverse anchor text, and links from varied sources. They don’t exhibit sudden spikes followed by complete inactivity, nor do they display perfectly optimized anchor text distribution. By introducing controlled randomness into your link building strategy, you reduce the risk of pattern-based penalties while building sustainable authority.
Wrap Up
Some will tell you that content-led SEO works, but that’s a myth unless producing content for a super-authoritative website. You cannot rank for competitive keywords without authority, and authority requires backlinks from authoritative websites – end of story.
This is where I’m supposed to tell you that you should hire me… Nope! Read all my SEO 101 articles before you contact me… Please! I only work with clients that really understand SEO. Fortunately, if you read my articles, you will qualify, because SEO is not rocket science! Also, there aren’t that many articles to read, so it won’t hurt. Put it like this, if you contact me, and you don’t mention that you have read all my articles (which I have put a lot of effort into), I may not reply, or if I do, I will simply ask you to read all my articles.