Link velocity plan for new domains: a practical 90-day schedule

Why link velocity matters for a brand-new domain

Link velocity is the pace at which new backlinks show up over time. It’s less about your total link count and more about what your growth looks like week to week.

For a brand-new domain, that growth curve stands out. Older sites get a steady trickle of mentions from old posts, new content, partnerships, and random citations. A new site doesn’t have that background noise yet. So if a fresh domain suddenly picks up a big batch of links in a tight window, it can look manufactured, even when the links are good.

A practical link velocity plan is about avoiding obvious spikes while still showing steady progress. You’re aiming for a pace that looks believable for a new brand that’s publishing, getting indexed, and starting to be discussed.

In the first 90 days, a healthy pace usually feels like this:

• Small, consistent gains beat big one-time jumps.
• A gradual ramp-up as content grows and pages get indexed.
• A mix of sources and target pages (not everything to the homepage).
• Normal quiet weeks.
• A plan you can repeat, not a one-off push.

This doesn’t promise instant rankings or overnight traffic. New domains often take time to earn trust, and progress can come in steps. The goal is steady, measurable growth and fewer “why did we do that?” moments.

Example: if you launch a new SaaS and get 30 links in week one, then nothing for a month, that pattern looks odd. A slower start that builds week by week usually matches real-world growth.

Get your site ready before you build links

Link growth works better when the site looks real and complete. If someone clicks a backlink and lands on a thin or confusing page, you lose conversions and your link growth looks less natural.

Make sure a first-time visitor can answer three questions in 10 seconds: what you do, who it’s for, and how to reach you.

Before you start building links, confirm you have:

• A clear homepage with your main offer and basic proof (even a short founder story helps)
• A core product or service page that explains what you offer
• About and contact pages with real details
• Privacy policy and terms (if you collect signups or payments)

Then handle indexing basics so you don’t waste links. Make sure key pages can be crawled, you’re not blocking bots by accident, and your preferred site version (with or without www) is consistent. Keep test pages, staging copies, and thin tag pages out of the index.

You’ll also want a small content base so links have good targets. A handful of useful pages is enough to start. For example, a new invoice-reminder tool could publish 3 to 5 short guides (setup steps, common mistakes, comparisons). That gives you places to point links besides the homepage.

Finally, set up simple tracking. Keep it lightweight: a few keyword positions, referral visits, total referring domains, and notes on anchors and target pages. Those notes make it easier to vary targets and anchors later without falling into repetitive patterns.

Set a realistic pace using competitor patterns

The safest way to choose pacing is to mirror what already looks normal in your niche.

Pick 5 to 10 competitors. Don’t only choose the biggest brand. Include a few “middle of the page” sites sitting around positions 5 to 20. Their growth is often the most realistic model for a newer domain.

For each competitor, capture a few basics:

• Estimated new referring domains per month (the last 3 months is usually enough)
• Whether growth is steady or bursty
• What likely caused any bursts (launch, PR, a big piece of content, seasonal demand)

You’re not trying to match their total authority. You’re borrowing their rhythm.

Once you have the numbers, set a range, not a single fixed target. Ranges look more natural and are easier to hit without forcing low-value links.

Example: if mid-level competitors add 8 to 15 new referring domains per month, a reasonable start might be 4 to 8 in month one, 6 to 10 in month two, then 8 to 15 in month three.

Treat that range as your “speed limit.” If you keep landing at the top of the range, increase slowly. If you’re below it, don’t panic. Consistency beats overbuying links just to hit a number.

Choose a link mix that looks normal

New sites rarely earn only one kind of backlink. Real growth looks a bit messy: a few basic mentions, some niche references, and later the occasional bigger placement.

Start with foundational signals that make you look like a real entity: relevant business profiles, legitimate directories, and local citations (only if you serve a location). These usually won’t move rankings by themselves, but they help your site look less like a brand-new project built only for SEO.

Then focus on topical links that match what you do. A niche blog mention, a community post referencing a useful guide, or a resource page in your category can send strong relevance signals.

Authority links matter too, but they shouldn’t be your whole profile early on. If every backlink is from a famous publication, that can look strange for a new domain. Treat higher-authority placements as “controlled spikes”: rarer, spaced out, and supported by more normal-looking links around them.

A simple mix that tends to look natural:

• Foundation: profiles, citations, and basic listings where you truly belong
• Topical: niche blogs, community mentions, resource pages
• Authority: well-known sites used sparingly
• Targets: split across homepage, core pages, and a few guides
• Anchors: mostly brand and plain URLs, with a smaller share of descriptive phrases

If you publish a beginner guide, it’s normal to send a few topical links to that guide, keep some links to the homepage for brand signals, and send a smaller number to your main conversion page. For anchors, “YourBrand” and “yourbrand.com” mixed into real sentences usually looks safer than repeating the same keyword every time.

How to structure your 90-day plan (simple rules)

Your plan should feel boring on purpose. Steady growth looks more believable than a sudden burst that screams “campaign.”

Start with a weekly cap you won’t exceed, even when you’re impatient. For many new sites, 2 to 6 new referring domains per week can be a reasonable starting point, but your safest cap depends on your niche and competitor activity.

Then spread placements out. If you’re getting five links in a week, avoid having them all appear on the same day.

Also coordinate links with content timing. Publish or refresh the page first, strengthen internal links next, then add external links after the page has been live long enough to be crawled and understood.

Rules that keep most new domains out of trouble:

• Set a weekly maximum and stick to it.
• Use 2 to 4 placement days per week instead of one big drop.
• Link to a mix of pages, not only the homepage.
• Rotate anchors: mostly brand and URL, some partial-topic phrasing, minimal exact-match.
• Leave room for the unexpected (a real mention or PR hit).

Track everything in one spreadsheet so you don’t guess later. Date, source type, target page, anchor style, and a short note is enough.

A practical 90-day link velocity schedule (week by week)

A useful 90-day plan has three phases:

• Days 1 to 30: foundational trust plus a few topical mentions
• Days 31 to 60: more topical links and a limited number of higher-authority placements
• Days 61 to 90: slowly increase authority links while keeping variety

Here’s a pacing template you can adapt:

If you’re unsure, start at the low end of each range. Step up only after you see steady indexing and a smooth growth curve.

How to ramp up without creating obvious spikes

A safe ramp-up is about predictability. Search engines can handle uneven growth, but they notice patterns that look manufactured.

Avoid repeating the same footprint: the same source type, the same target URL, and the same anchor style week after week. Spread links across a few source categories and a few page types (homepage, a core page, and 1 to 2 strong guides).

Anchors are a common giveaway. Early on, keep them mostly branded and URL-based. If you repeat the exact same keyword phrase over and over while you’re still new, it looks forced.

Small step changes beat sudden jumps

If you want to increase pace, do it in small steps and hold each level for a bit. If you averaged 2 links per week in month one, move to 3 per week for a couple of weeks, then 4.

A simple ramp-up approach:

• Add about 1 new referring domain per week, then hold for 1 to 2 weeks.
• Rotate targets across 2 to 4 internal pages, not just the homepage.
• Keep anchors mostly brand/URL and use descriptive phrases occasionally.
• Vary timing so links don’t always land on the same day.

A quick scenario

If you publish two genuinely helpful guides in week 5, it’s natural for link activity to lean toward those guides. That gives you a real reason for a mild increase without forcing extra volume.

What to do if you get an unexpected link spike

A link spike isn’t always bad. It can happen after a press mention, a launch, or a partnership announcement where multiple sites list you at once.

The goal is to avoid turning a real event into a fake-looking pattern.

Confirm what actually happened

Do a quick audit and write down the story behind the spike.

• What triggered it (press, launch, partner, newsletter, community post)?
• Do the links look relevant and editorial, or random and low-quality?
• Which pages got linked most, and on what dates?

If you can explain the spike in one sentence, it’s easier to keep your plan logical.

Adjust without “chasing” the spike

If you had planned placements that same week, pause briefly. A short pause often looks more natural than stacking even more links on top of an already busy week.

A simple approach for most new domains:

• Pause planned placements for 7 to 14 days.
• Keep publishing and improving the site as usual.
• Don’t try to “match” the viral week with paid links right after.
• Resume at your previous pace, then step up gradually.

Example: your SaaS launches on Product Hunt and you pick up 12 links in 3 days. If you had three paid placements scheduled, push them to next week. Restart with 1 to 2 placements, then return to 3 once the spike cools off.

Common mistakes that create risk and wasted spend

Most backlink problems come from patterns, not one single “bad link.”

Front-loading is a common waste. Buying a big bundle in week one and then going quiet creates a sharp spike with no matching growth in content, searches, or mentions. Even if nothing “bad” happens, the site often isn’t ready to convert or hold the gains.

Anchor repetition is another trap. Exact-match anchors are tempting, but early on they can create an obvious footprint. Brand anchors, URL anchors, and plain-language anchors usually work better for new domains.

Source mix matters too. If everything comes from one channel (only directories, only guest posts, or only one network), your profile looks manufactured. Variety in site types and contexts is safer and often more effective.

Finally, don’t point links at weak pages. If the page is thin or unclear, the link has nothing solid to support.

A quick self-audit:

• Are links arriving in a steady rhythm, not one big burst?
• Do anchors read like real writing?
• Do we have more than one source type?
• Are we linking to pages that deserve attention?
• Can we explain the plan simply and stick to it?

Weekly quick checks (a short checklist)

Review pacing weekly, not just at day 90. You’re looking for steady growth, early warning signs, and obvious patterns.

Check these items on the same day each week:

• Timing: are all links landing on one day, or spread across a few days?
• Targets: are links going to more than just the homepage?
• Anchors: is the mix mostly brand/URL with only a small amount of keyword-style phrasing?
• Site health: any sudden ranking drops, deindexing, or manual action messages?
• Content pace: does site growth roughly match link growth?

If one week shows six new links, five appeared the same day, all point to one page, and anchors look similar, slow down next week and diversify timing, targets, and anchors.

Example: a simple 90-day plan for a new SaaS site

Imagine a new B2B SaaS domain with five core pages (Home, Pricing, Features, Integrations, Security) and three helpful guides. The goal is trust without sudden jumps, plus early traction to the guides.

A good rule is to start with fewer links than you think you need. Increase only after you see steady indexing, a clean backlink profile, and no strange ranking swings.

One practical pacing model:

• Month 1 (Days 1-30): 4-6 links total. Mostly foundational citations plus a couple of low-pressure topical mentions to 1 to 2 guides.
• Month 2 (Days 31-60): 6-10 links total. Keep a steady rhythm, add more topical links, plus 1 higher-authority placement to the homepage or a strong core page.
• Month 3 (Days 61-90): 10-14 links total. Maintain variety and add 2 to 3 authority placements spaced out.

A simple cadence could be 1 link per week in month 1, 2 per week in month 2, and 2 to 3 per week in month 3, with at least one quiet week each month.

If you get a press mention in week 7, treat it as a bonus. Don’t try to match it by buying a batch of links that same week. Keep your plan steady and shift any planned authority placement by 1 to 2 weeks so the overall curve still looks smooth.

Next steps after day 90 (and where SEOBoosty can help)

Day 90 is a checkpoint. If your growth has been steady, the next goal is to keep the same calm pattern while you slowly earn the right to move faster over months 4 to 6.

A simple extension:

• Keep your weekly average steady, then increase slightly every 2 to 4 weeks (only if indexing and rankings are stable).
• Keep publishing or improving content so new links don’t point at a stale site.
• Maintain variety in targets and anchor text.
• Keep the same weekly checks and set a monthly review date.

As you grow, you’ll usually balance two types of spend: authority placements (to push trust) and topical coverage (to support more pages and keywords).

If you want to add authority placements without turning your plan into a messy sprint, a service like SEOBoosty can fit into a paced schedule. SEOBoosty offers premium backlinks from authoritative websites through a curated inventory and a subscription model, so you can choose domains and point each backlink to the page you want to build over time. If you go this route, treat it like any other link source: schedule placements to match your month 4 to 6 cadence instead of stacking them in one week. (You can find it at seoboosty.com as plain text.)

If the last 30 days are flat, change what you’re linking to (or what you’re publishing) before you simply increase volume.