Link velocity is the rate at which a site gains backlinks over time. Google’s spam policies state no link threshold, so this page gives a working-heuristic pacing table by profile size, explains why a steady rate reads as natural, and lays out a four-step method to schedule links across months. Every number here is our working heuristic, not a Google threshold.
What is link velocity?
Link velocity is the number of new backlinks or new referring domains a site gains per period, measured monthly, and its shape over time matters more than any single month. A steady curve and a sudden spike describe different histories.
Count referring domains, not raw links, as the primary unit. One site that links to you forty times adds one referring domain. The distinction is explained in the guide on what a backlink is.
Is there a safe link velocity?
No safe link velocity is published: Google’s spam policies state no threshold for links per month or per period, so every pace figure from a provider, including the table on this page, is a working heuristic and not a Google rule.
Google’s SpamBrain system neutralizes the impact of unnatural links at scale, and Google’s spam policies define link spam by purpose, not by pace: links created primarily to manipulate rankings.
What makes a link spike look unnatural?
A link spike deserves a review when many new links arrive in one short window with no event behind them, share a footprint or repeat one anchor. These signs are our working reading, not Google statements, and a spike with a visible cause has an explanation.
- No cause: the profile grows by a large share in a week and the site published nothing newsworthy.
- Shared footprint: the new links come from sites with the same hosting, templates or authors.
- Repeated anchor: one keyword phrase carries most of the new links.
- Silence after: the growth stops the week the order completes.
Each cause has a counter: a stated reason for the growth, varied hosts and varied anchors.
What pace fits each stage of a link profile?
A pace fits when monthly growth stays proportional to the existing profile: a handful of new referring domains for a new site and a small percentage of the total for an established one. The table states our working heuristic by stage.
| Profile stage | Referring domains today | New referring domains per month |
|---|---|---|
| New site | Under 20 | 3 to 5 |
| Growing site | 20 to 100 | Up to 15% of the total |
| Established site | Over 100 | Up to 10% of the total |
The table sets an upper edge, not a quota. A month below the edge matches the heuristic, and a month above it needs a visible cause. Measure in referring domains and read the total across a full quarter.
How do you schedule link building across months?
Schedule link building in four steps: set the monthly ceiling from the table, split each month into weekly batches, mix link types and anchor types in every batch, and review the profile at the end of each month. The schedule keeps pace and pattern steady together.
- Ceiling: read the referring domain count, then take the monthly edge from the table.
- Batches: split the month into weekly deliveries so that no single day carries the month.
- Mix: combine editorial placements, citations and profile links, and vary anchors by the distribution bands.
- Review: export the profile monthly, compare the curve with the plan and adjust the next month.
Campaigns delivered as off-page campaigns arrive in one bundle of mixed methods, and retained campaigns spread the same work across months on a fixed cadence. The guide on what links actually cost shows how the budget sets the monthly ceiling in practice.
What about natural spikes from news or launches?
Natural spikes follow news coverage, a viral post or a launch, and the links come from many independent sites that cover the same event. Keep a dated record of the cause, such as the date, the event and the sites that covered it.
The record answers the review question before anyone asks it: what happened that week, and which sites covered it. Do not pad a natural spike with ordered links in the same month. Pause the schedule for that month and resume the following one.
The link building fundamentals hub lists the planning guides that sit around this one.
Related: link planning for category and product pages, safe pacing for software sites, monthly link packages, when new links start counting, and support links and pacing.