Are you building backlinks but don’t know if they’re actually doing anything? Are you spending money and time with nothing to show for it?

A link building campaign should increase your site’s authority, rankings, and traffic. But unless you track your progress, you won’t know if your efforts are paying off. Worse, low-quality links can hurt your site more than they can help it.

This guide will demonstrate how to measure success. You’ll discover how to test if your backlinks are effective, how to monitor the right metrics, and how to adjust your strategy for better results.

What is a Link Building Campaign?

A link building campaign is a simple plan to get other websites to link to yours. These links tell Google and other search engines that your site is trustworthy, which helps your site rank higher in search results.

But it is not about getting any links. You need quality links from sites within your niche and with a good reputation. A good backlink campaign boosts your site’s authority and brings more traffic.

The main goal? To get better search rankings, more people visiting your site, and to grow your online presence using smart link building strategies.

Why Should You Track the Success of Your Link Building Campaign?

In this section, we’ll show why it’s important to track your link-building results. It helps you see what’s working, improve your strategies, and save time and money.

1) To Know What Works

Tracking your link-building campaigns helps you see which strategies actually work. Some backlinks improve your rankings and traffic, while others don’t.

For example, you might notice that guest posts on trusted websites drive more traffic than random blog comments. Or niche edit links from industry sites give better results than unrelated backlinks.

Once you understand what is effective, you can concentrate on those methods and not waste time. Ahrefs and Moz are tools that enable you to see what links are driving your site and which ones are not.

2) To Enhance Your SEO Campaign

By monitoring your link-building campaign, you are able to easily view what is effective for your SEO and what is not. If your rankings or traffic is not increasing, it is a sign that you need to shift your approach.

For instance, if certain links don’t boost your site, try focusing on better sources or different strategies. Small changes, based on real data, can lead to stronger SEO results over time.

3) To Justify Your Investment 

Link building costs time and money. To know if it’s worth it, you need to track what you’re getting in return. Are your rankings improving? Is traffic increasing? If yes, your investment is paying off. If not, it’s a sign to adjust your strategy.

Tracking results helps you spend wisely and focus on what brings real value to your business.

4) To Avoid Google Penalties

Bad backlinks can harm your website. If you get links from spammy or irrelevant sites, Google might penalize you, and your rankings can drop. Regularly checking your backlinks helps you find and fix these issues before they cause damage.

By spotting low-quality links early, you can remove or disavow them. This keeps your site safe and ensures your link-building efforts actually help your SEO.

How to Plan & Measure Your Link Building Efforts?

This section will guide you in setting goals and tracking your progress effectively.

1️⃣Define Clear Goals Before You Start

Know what you want before starting your link-building campaign. Without clear goals, it’s hard to tell if your efforts are working.

Ask yourself simple questions:

• Do you want more visitors to your website?
• Are you trying to rank higher on Google?
• Is your focus on getting your brand noticed more?

Your goals might include:

• Earning backlinks from respected websites.
• Boosting your domain authority (DA) or domain rating (DR).
• Getting more traffic from other websites linking to yours.
• Building local or national brand recognition.

For example, if you own a local café, you might aim for links from local food blogs. But if you have an online store, you’ll want links from popular websites in your niche.

Setting clear goals helps you choose the right strategies and lets you track if your link-building campaign is working.

2️⃣Benchmark Your Current Performance

Before you start building links, check how your website is doing right now. This helps you track if your link-building efforts are working later on.

Here’s what to check:

• Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR): Check using Moz or Ahrefs how powerful your site is.
• Backlinks You Already Have: Check how many links you have and whether they’re from quality sites or spam sites.
• Keyword Rankings: Check where your keywords rank on Google.
• Website Traffic: Check using Google Analytics how many visitors you get and what pages they view.

Having these metrics in mind before you begin makes you appreciate the improvements once your link-building campaign takes effect.

Knowing these numbers before you start helps you see the improvements clearly once your link-building campaign kicks in.

3️⃣Use the Right Tools to Track Progress

To know if your link-building is working, you need the right tools. These tools show if you’re getting new links, more traffic, or better rankings.

• Google Analytics: Tracks how many people visit your site and where they came from. It helps you see if backlinks are bringing in traffic.
• Ahrefs & Moz: These tools check your backlinks, domain authority, and keyword rankings. They also show if your links are from good websites.
• SEMrush: This tool tracks backlinks and rankings but also helps with link audits. It finds bad or spammy links that can hurt your SEO and helps you remove them.
• Google Search Console: Shows how your site performs in Google search. It tracks keywords that bring traffic and if your visibility is improving.

📌 Bonus Tip

 

Semrush also includes a Backlink Audit Tool that checks the health of your backlink profile. It checks links on over 50 parameters and assists you in finding and dealing with potentially toxic links that would damage your site performance.

4️⃣Evaluate Brand Awareness & Mentions

Link building isn’t just for SEO; it helps people recognize your brand. When trusted websites link to yours, it boosts your visibility.

Here’s how to track if your brand is getting noticed:

• Mentions in Blogs and Articles: Are other websites talking about your brand, even without links? Use tools like Google Alerts or Mention to find out.
• Social Media Mentions: Verify if there are individuals posting about your content or talking about your brand on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.
• Media Mentions: If you’re guest blogging or doing PR, verify if your brand is mentioned in industry news or in authoritative websites.

By tracking these mentions, you’ll see if your link-building efforts are also boosting your brand’s reputation.

5️⃣Compare Pre- and Post-Campaign Results

After you have completed your link-building campaign, you can now assess if it was successful. The best method to do this is by comparing your site’s performance prior to and after the campaign.

• Backlink Growth: Check if you’ve gained more quality backlinks. Focus on their relevance and authority, not just the numbers.
• Traffic Increase: Look at how much traffic your site is getting from those links. More visits from relevant sites mean your strategy is working.
• Keyword Ranking Shifts: Are your important keywords ranking higher in search results? This shows if your backlinks are boosting SEO.
• Conversions from Links: See if visitors from these links are taking actions like signing up or making purchases. This proves if your links are bringing real value.

By looking at these changes, you’ll know if your campaign is delivering results or if adjustments are needed.

5 Key Metrics for Measuring Link Building Success 

In this section, we’ll cover the key numbers that show real progress.

1) Number of Backlinks Earned 

A quick method of verifying whether your link building is successful is to look at the total of backlinks that you have. But it is not how many that counts—it is the quality of the links. Links from trusted, relevant websites help your site rank higher on Google. But links from spammy or unrelated sites can hurt your rankings.

Why This Matters?

If you are getting new, quality backlinks, then your strategy is on the right path. They tell Google that your website is trustworthy and can boost your ranks and drive more traffic.

How to Check Your Backlinks?

You can use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to track your backlinks. These tools show where your links are coming from and whether they’re from good, trusted websites. Keep an eye on them to spot both good and bad links.

2) Domain Authority (DA/DR) Growth

Another simple way to see if your link-building is working is by checking your Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR). These are scores that tell you how strong your website is based on the quality of the links pointing to it. The scores range from 0 to 100, and the higher your score, the more trustworthy your site looks.

Why It’s Important?

If your DA or DR goes up, it means you’re getting good links from trusted sites. This helps your site rank better on Google and brings in more visitors.

How to Check Your DA/DR?

Use tools like Moz to check DA and Ahrefs to check DR. Just type in your website’s URL, and you’ll see your score. Track how it changes over time to see if your link-building is helping.

3) Organic Traffic Increase

When your link-building works, you’ll notice more people visiting your site from search engines like Google. This is called organic traffic—it’s the traffic that comes naturally, without paid ads.

Why It Matters?

Good backlinks help your site rank higher in search results. The higher you rank, the easier it is for people to find your site, which means more visitors.

How to Track It?

Open Google Analytics. Go to “Acquisition” and then “Organic Search“ to see how many people are finding your site through search engines. If these numbers are going up after your link-building efforts, you’re on the right track.

4) Keyword Ranking Improvement

If your keywords are rising in Google search rankings, your link building is effective. Keywords are what or phrase people search for. If your website ranks higher for these, more people will view and visit your website.

Why This Matters?

Higher rankings mean more people can find your site. Being on the first page of Google helps you get more visitors, which can lead to more customers.

How to Check Keyword Rankings?

Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to see how your keywords are ranking. These tools show where your site appears in search results and how your rankings change over time.

How Outreach Monks Builds Links That Actually Work?

At Outreach Monks, we help businesses grow online by building high-quality backlinks. Here’s how we helped two brands achieve real success:

Case Study #1: REPRESENT CLO’s 400% Growth

REPRESENT CLO, a streetwear brand, struggled to stand out in a crowded market. Big competitors dominated search rankings, and spending on ads was getting too expensive. We built strong backlinks from trusted websites with a domain rating (DR) between 20 and 70. They started small with 5 guest posts and quickly expanded after seeing positive results.

Results

1) Traffic: From 70k to 355k visitors in under 20 months (407% growth).

2) Domain Rating: Increased from 50 to 57.

3) Keywords: Jumped from 3.5k to 24.1k, with over 1,300 keywords ranking in the top 3 pages.

Case Study #2: 420DC’s 10x Growth in the Cannabis Industry

420DC, a cannabis marketplace, struggled with tough competition, low search visibility, and strict advertising rules. We focused on cannabis-specific SEO. This meant securing backlinks from trusted industry sites and optimizing content for relevant keywords.

Results

1) Traffic: Jumped from 4,792 to 55,723 visitors (1,035% increase).

2) Domain Rating: Went from 21 to 51.

3) Keywords: Grew from 1,937 to 35,047, boosting their visibility in search results.

Whether you’re in fashion, cannabis, SaaS, or eCommerce, Outreach Monks can help you grow. We offer services like guest posting, blogger outreach, white-label link building, niche edits, and SaaS link-building to boost your rankings.

Want to see results like these? Let’s build links that work for you! 🚀

Conclusion

Tracking your link-building success helps you stay on the right path. It shows where your efforts are paying off and highlights areas that need improvement. By regularly checking your progress, you can build stronger links, improve your search rankings, and grow your online presence over time. Stay consistent, and the results will follow!

FAQs on Measuring Link Building Success