The Challenge: Platform Numbers Get Quoted Everywhere
Marketing guides, creator tools and agency blogs quote platform numbers all the time: how many people use TikTok, which age group watches YouTube, how often brands post on LinkedIn. A social media growth brand sits close to that conversation, yet a service page gives those writers nothing to cite.
The brand needed backlinks, ideally from the writers already quoting these numbers elsewhere. The question was whether a set of statistics pages, one per platform, could become the page those writers link to.
The brief: turn platform data into pages writers cite, then measure which platforms earn links and which do not.
The Strategy: One Statistics Page Per Platform
Each page covers one platform or one cross-platform topic and collects sourced figures in one place: user counts, demographics, usage habits. The rule going in: build the page a writer wants open in another tab while drafting a marketing guide.
The set has 21 pages: 17 platform and app pages (YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitch, Telegram, X, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Discord, Snapchat, Bluesky, Spotify, Threads and Quora) and 4 cross-platform pages on influencer marketing, AI, social media addiction and social media platforms.
The aim was never volume for its own sake. It was a reference page for each topic that a real writer would be glad to find.
Our HARO link building service answers journalist requests with sourced platform data and expert quotes, earning links from news and media sites.
The Build: 21 Pages, Tracked One by One
We checked every page individually in Ahrefs Site Explorer using the Backlinks report with one link per domain, so each number counts a linking site once per page, however many times it links.
| Page | Referring domains | Highest-DR referrer we read |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok statistics | 22 | amraandelma.com (DR 78) |
| LinkedIn statistics | 12 | smokeball.com (DR 71) |
| YouTube statistics | 11 | grin.co (DR 76) |
| Reddit statistics | 10 | searchenginejournal.com (DR 91) |
| Facebook statistics | 8 | impactwealth.org (DR 59) |
| Twitch statistics | 6 | sociallyin.com (DR 68) |
| Instagram statistics | 6 | speakrj.com (DR 81) |
| Telegram statistics | 4 | market.biz (DR 68) |
| X (Twitter) statistics | 4 | tecnoblog.net (DR 78) |
| WhatsApp statistics | 3 | enchantagency.com (DR 47) |
| Influencer marketing statistics | 3 | iqfluence.io (DR 56) |
| Pinterest statistics | 2 | sinclaircabinets.com (DR 30) |
| Discord statistics | 1 | squareholes.com (DR 39) |
| Snapchat statistics | 1 | startuprise.co.uk (DR 54) |
| AI statistics | 1 | brio-ai.com (DR 1) |
| Total | 94 |
No backlinks yet on 6 pages: Bluesky statistics, Spotify statistics, Threads statistics, Social media addiction statistics, Social media platforms, Quora statistics.
Where the Links Landed
Links did not spread evenly. The chart shows every page that earned at least one referring domain, and the table shows how concentrated they are.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Pages with 10 or more referring domains | 4 |
| Largest three pages | 45 of 94 (48%) |
| Largest five pages | 63 of 94 (67%) |
| Median linked page | 4 |
| Average linked page | 6.3 |
| Pages with no link | 6 |
Who Links to the Pages
The referring pages are guides, listicles, newsletters and explainers. Several quote one figure from the page and link back as the source. The highest-authority sites we found, by Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR):
| Referring site | DR | Links to |
|---|---|---|
| searchenginejournal.com | 91 | Reddit statistics |
| speakrj.com | 81 | Instagram statistics |
| tecnoblog.net | 78 | X (Twitter) statistics |
| amraandelma.com | 78 | TikTok statistics |
| grin.co | 76 | YouTube statistics |
| accio.com | 76 | TikTok statistics |
| smokeball.com | 71 | LinkedIn statistics |
| dayofdubai.com | 71 | X (Twitter) statistics |
The rest of the profile is wider and weaker: small blogs, regional sites and low-DR pages. We report both ends.
Writers quote specific, sourced figures, and so do answer engines. Our AEO and AI SEO service structures your statistics pages so ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can find and cite your numbers.
Explore Our AEO & AI SEO ServiceWhy It Worked
Three patterns stood out. We read them from the data and have not tested them in controlled experiments.
The biggest platforms earned the most links
TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit sit at the top, and the newer or smaller platforms such as Bluesky and Threads have none yet. Writers link to the pages about the platforms they write about most.
Quoted figures drive the links
Several referring articles lift one specific figure from a page and credit it, such as an audience age range inside a creator marketing guide. A number that is specific and sourced is easy to quote.
Count articles, not only domains
The YouTube page lists 11 referring domains, but they come from roughly six distinct articles, because several sites carry copies of the same guide. Distinct articles are the fairer measure of how many writers cited the page.
The Honest Caveats
We report what the data shows, including the parts a polished case study usually rounds away:
Copies inflate the count.
The YouTube page's 11 domains come from roughly six distinct articles, and six of the top referring pages on the Reddit page appear to be versions of one article. Ahrefs counts each copy as a domain.
Sister sites are included.
Three of the eight domains on the Facebook page belong to the same portfolio. We kept them in the total because Ahrefs does.
Concentrated, not even.
Four pages hold 55 of the 94 domains, the median linked page has 4, and six of 21 pages have none.
Links, not rankings or traffic.
This study measures referring domains in Ahrefs. It does not claim rankings or traffic, and some links are nofollow.
One snapshot, one date.
Checked on 11 October 2026. Totals add up each page's referring domains, so a site that links to two pages counts twice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which social media statistics pages earn the most links?
In this study the TikTok page earned the most with 22 referring domains, followed by LinkedIn with 12, YouTube with 11 and Reddit with 10.
Why do platform statistics pages earn backlinks?
Writers who quote a figure are expected to credit a source. A page that holds the figure gives them something to link to, and several referring articles in this study quote one number and link back.
Do platform statistics pages need updating?
Writers prefer current figures, and a page that looks dated is easier to skip. Refreshing the pages that already earn links is the sensible first step.
Does a statistics page guarantee rankings or traffic?
No. This study measures referring domains in Ahrefs and does not claim rankings or traffic.
Key Takeaways
Platform numbers are quoted constantly.
Writers across marketing, creator tools and agencies need them, and a single page per platform gives them a place to link.
Big platforms first.
TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit earned the most links. Start where writers already look.
Judge by distinct articles.
Copies and sister sites inflate raw counts. Check who actually wrote about the page.
Expect some zeros.
Six of 21 pages have no link yet, mostly newer platforms and broad topic pages.
Report links as links.
Show the count, the spread and the weak spots. Do not turn referring domains into promises about rankings.
Want Platform Statistics Pages That Earn Links?
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