When to stop link building because page authority is low - open site explorer

[BobGW]

Hi,

I'm link building with Open Site Explorer. I'm really picky in get links from only high quality sites.

When do you stop going down the list of possible backlink providers because the page authority is too low.

I usually stop at 40, but what do you do, why, and what does it depend on?

[EGOL]

Lots of people come to these forums looking for numbers and formulas.

If the link is going to be on what looks like a quality site then it doesn't matter what the page authority is...

.... and if the site has a high page authority but it looks like a crappy manipulative site then why would you want a link on it?

[deltasystems]

Disregard page strength, acquire links.

...as long as the page is relevant. The fact that cheaper forms of SEO like article marketing are still effective proves that poor page strength shouldn't sap your efforts so quickly. I use page strength more of an indicator of where on my priority list I should put acquiring a link, if possible, and also assuming the page is relevant.

I understand not wanting to be associated with bad neighborhoods. Page strength is not a strong indicator of a bad neighborhood. One common SEO tactic is to create contests, correct? One recent contest I developed required participants make a review of a product, and naturally that meant linking to the client website. Most of these reviews came from personal blogs and general websites that did not have a lot of domain authority. Yet it was still a boost to rankings and domain authority.

Use your own judgement by looking at a website and determining if you want to be associated with it. Don't pick and choose based on the website popularity alone.

[PeterAlexLeigh]

Someone else may be able to give you an 'absolute stopping point', but I really play it by ear if there's something that looks relevant and good, then I'll try and get a link.

I obviously wouldn't put as much effort into getting a link with a lower PA/DA as a high one. If I was to put a lower limit, I'd always use domain authority rather than page authority as this to me is a much better indicator, especially if you're looking for a link on the site in general, not just specifically on the same page as your competitor's link.

If I was to use a lower limit, I'd probably stick around the 40 mark for domain authority to be worth putting time and effort into getting a link, but I would still consider a lower DA if the link was relevant and fairly easy to get.

[BobGW]

Good response. That helps. Yes, I will use gut instinct. There's one thing, though - I don't want any new sites. One of my requirements is age. Does that change your response? Also, where do you absolutely stop? PA 25? PA 20? I'd like to have a stopping place to rely on.

[PeterAlexLeigh]

A link can still be good regardless of page authority, simply because there are many other ranking factors involved to determine the quality of a site which simply aren't available to OSE. You could easily get a spammy directory much higher in the OSE listings than a good quality content rich site that's lacking links further down.

I would use a combination of page authority and gut instinct. 40 is probably a good level to use as a marker, however there may be some newish or good content sites further down that you can make a judgement on; it's just that they may be fewer and farther in-between