How Many Backlinks Do You Need to Rank? – Local SEO Study

By

Backlinking is the most important aspect of local SEO. Over 90% of your time doing local SEO is likely going to be spent building backlinks.

However, it’s still wildly misunderstood and one of the most common questions there is regarding them, besides “What is considered a good backlink?” is how many backlinks do you need to rank your local business on top of Google?

And after replying to probably around 1,000 posts and comments on SEO forums these last few months discussing them, I’ve decided to try and help people better understand just what it takes to rank in competitive local SEO SERPs.

I looked at over 9,000 URLs (9,042 to be exact) ranking #1-#10 in their target markets and analyzed how many backlinks they have on average. Here’s the result.

~4 Minute Read

Key Findings from The Study

In a hurry? Here are the key findings from the study:

  • The average URL ranking on page one of Google in 2025 has 2,035 backlinks and 107 referring domains.
  • A root domain ranking on page one of Google in 2025 has a median* number of 5,574 backlinks and 622 referring domains.
  • The average URL ranking #1 on Google in 2025 has 2,848 backlinks and 120 referring domains.
  • A root domain ranking #1 on Google in 2025 has a median* number of 8,749 backlinks and 803 referring domains.
  • The average domain authority (Moz) on page one of Google in 2025 is 39.
  • The average domain authority (Moz) of a domain ranking #1 on page one of Google in 2025 is 40.

Median* – Given that some ranking domains, like Yelp, for example, have millions of backlinks to their domain but often very little to none to the exact ranking URL, I used median values when analyzing all backlinks to an entire domain in order to not skew the data.

If I’d used the average instead of median values, it’d have seemed that you needed hundreds of thousands of backlinks to your domain to rank on page one on average, which is simply not true.

Why Backlinks Even Matter

Backlinks pass PageRank (often referred to as “authority” in SEO), which Google has stated is the “fundamental” to Google’s ranking in their SEO Starter Guide. The only way to build your website’s authority is with backlinks. 

Backlinks are the currency of SEO and serve as a 3rd-party validation for Google.

Think of it this way: every single one of us could say, “We’re the best at [x]” or “Our product is the best for [y],” but how does Google know?

The truth is they don’t, meaning that whatever you put onto your website won’t matter if it doesn’t have other websites “validating” you by linking to you.

Number of Backlinks Required Per Industry

This study involved analyzing over 100 different industries in the 10 largest cities* in the US.

Here’s the average number of backlinks and referring domains it takes to rank per industry:

IndustryReferring domainsBacklinks
Home security61323,219
Insurance companies38310,386
Personal injury lawyer3506,432
Orthopedic surgeon2752,496
Real estate agent23618,890
Architect2231,457
CPR classes2073,314
Moving company2016,499
Interior designer1962,087
Maid services1941,039
Addiction treatment1931,284
Criminal lawyer1912,895
Plastic surgeon190852
Dermatologist167657
Funeral home1583,437
Dance classes1558,411
Lawn care1521,256
HVAC contractor1501,934
Bankruptcy lawyer1442,128
Veterinarian136727
Immigration lawyer1331,403
Dentist1291,509
Family lawyer1221,650
Driving lessons121801
DUI lawyer1201,389
Financial planning services1151,547
Plumber1142,678
Private preschool1121,984
Yoga classes1101,262
Solar companies108661
General contractor10613,383
Language schools1061,496
Pest control106589
Locksmith1051,341
Ophthalmologist105463
Landscaping104841
Tattoo shops104587
Hair salon103433
Computer repair99479
Disability lawyer99763
Roofer98997
Optometrist97887
Pool builder971,869
Accountant95588
Primary care physicians953,337
Garage door repair93715
Labor lawyer921,117
Appliance repair90959
Orthodontist901,054
Foundation repair895,550
Electrician881,241
Painter883,082
Nail salon84589
Podiatrist84279
Auto repair shop82357
Dog boarding82288
Personal trainer821,125
Business lawyer811,879
Chiropractor81629
Kitchen remodeling81939
Window repair802,176
Malpractice lawyer791,107
Fencing services782,173
Carpet cleaning77554
Physical therapist77678
Dog training76414
Weight loss clinic75576
Towing73434
Allergist72255
Window cleaning72318
Acupuncturist71198
Water damage restoration711,021
Real estate lawyer701,923
Flooring contractor68672
Car detailing66776
Audiologist65557
Litigation lawyer65772
Estate lawyer64940
Ip lawyer64522
Home inspector624,851
Piercing shops60341
Tree removal59424
Auto body shop576,307
Daycare571,720
Home theater installation56639
Storage56803
Nutritionist54151
Traffic lawyer54622
Massage therapist53368
Bathroom remodeling52303
Tire shop52186
Laser hair removal48186
Dog grooming45166
Pool service453,549
Junk removal44203
Barber shop4390
Spray foam insulation40164
Handyman386,197
Tutor38638
Siding contractors29344
Occupational therapy2264
Contract lawyer834

Cities* – I looked at SERPs with companies from New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Dallas, San Diego, San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville. The keywords were searched in the format: [industry] + [city] + [state abbreviation] (for example: home security Chicago IL)

Study Limitations

So it’s very important for me to clarify that while this study has been as extensive as I could possibly do it in a reasonable enough timeframe, it may not be applicable to your target market.

Meaning, you may need a lot more or a lot fewer backlinks.

Why?

  • Not all backlinks are equal. One link can pass more PageRank than 1,000 others.
  • I’ve only analyzed the more competitive markets, and while I’ve gone over a lot of them, you still may be in an industry and a city where you can rank with very little effort (population-wise, the analyzed market represents 8% of the US).
  • Not all backlinks are visible by the SEO tools (in my case, Moz). There’s also the case of PBNs being blocked by SEO tools’ crawlers.

How Was The Study Conducted

The data was collected through Mangools, which utilizes Moz for its backlink data. The data was collected over a span of 20 days, leaving minimum room for discrepancy.

I analyzed the organic SERPs, not the websites from top-ranking Google Maps listings. That’s a topic for another study.

Each URL was scanned for the following metrics automatically through Mangools:

  • Moz Domain Authority
  • Moz External Links (backlinks to the ranking URL)
  • Moz Root Domains Linking (referring domains to the ranking URL)
  • Moz External Links to Root (all backlinks of a domain)
  • Moz Root Domains to Root Domain Linking (all referring domains of a domain)

I picked industries that are eligible for Local Services Ads, meaning that the demand for them is big and enough SEO competition is present to study.

That’s it – simple and easy, both for me to present and for you to understand. Hope you found some value in this study; see you next time.

Scroll to Top