What are average backlink metrics and how we calculate them?

You might have come across the avg_backlinks_info object in the responses of DataForSEO Labs API. It can be found in the following endpoints:

• Keyword Ideas;
• Keywords for Site;
• Related Keywords;
• Keywords for Categories;
• Keyword Suggestions;
• Top Searches.

 
Here is what the object looks like:

{
  "avg_backlinks_info": {
    "se_type": "google",
    "backlinks": 23.428571428571427,
    "dofollow": 16.714285714285715,
    "referring_pages": 22.714285714285715,
    "referring_domains": 14.857142857142858,
    "referring_main_domains": 13.714285714285714,
    "rank": 124.42857360839844,
    "main_domain_rank": 573.4285714285714,
    "last_updated_time": "2022-07-29 15:30:40 +00:00"
  }
}

In the following paragraphs, we explain what this object is about and how its metrics are calculated.

What are average backlink metrics and how are they calculated?

The avg_backlinks_info object returns the average backlink-related metrics calculated for the top 10 webpages ranking organically for the returned keyword. These metrics can give an SEO expert a sense of how competitive a certain keyword is so that they can estimate their chances to rank in the top 10 organic search results for it.

The object provides the following data:

• backlinks — average number of backlinks among the top-10 webpages;
• dofollow — average number of dofollow links;
• referring_pages — average number of referring pages;
• referring_domains — average number of referring domains;
• referring_main_domains — average number of referring main domains;
• rank — average rank (learn more about Rank and how it is calculated in this help center article);
• main_domain_rank — average main domain rank.

 
To provide the avg_backlinks_info, we first take individual backlink-related metrics for each webpage from our database. Then we calculate the arithmetic mean. For instance, if page A had a rank of 234, page B had a rank of 350, and page C had a rank of 443, the average rank would be calculated as follows: (234 + 350 + 443) / 3 = 342.333333333

Hope this article has cleared things up for you!