Verified Confidence: medium
Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.
Safe rephrasing
Backlinko's analysis of 11.8 million Google results found the #1 result averaged 3.8x more backlinks than positions 2–10; it is a correlation, not proof that links alone cause rankings.
What the source says
We recently analyzed 11.8 million Google search results ... the #1 result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2-#10.
Backlinko — We Analyzed 11.8 Million Google Search Results
- Commonly cited as
- "#1 results have nearly 4x more backlinks"
- True origin
- Backlinko — We Analyzed 11.8 Million Google Search Results
- Type
- Stat check: A widely repeated statistic traced back to its origin.
- Year
- 2025
- Data as of
- Study page last updated Apr. 14, 2025
- Last checked
- Method & sample
- Correlation analysis of 11.8 million results using Ahrefs link data.
- Drift between quote and source
- Correlation: top pages attract links because they rank, as well as the reverse
- Interest
- Backlinko (owned by Semrush) sells SEO software; data partners were BuzzSumo/Ahrefs/Clearscope.