{"id":1391,"slug":"moz-buzzsumo-2015-75pct-zero-external-links","title":"Moz / BuzzSumo 2015 study (>1M articles; random 100K sample) — over 75% had zero external links (\"3 in 4 posts got zero referring domain links\")","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["seo-content","editorial-discipline","linkable-assets"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** The **2015 Moz / BuzzSumo study** of over 1 million articles found that, in a randomly selected sample of 100,000, \"**over 75% had zero external links**\" (BuzzSumo's own phrasing: \"**3 in 4 posts got zero referring domain links**\") — the empirical backbone for why a purpose-built linkable asset (a tool) beats an ordinary page.\n\n**Source:** Moz / BuzzSumo 2015 study.\n\n**Confidence:** Industry-consensus — Moz/BuzzSumo both sell SEO tools, but the finding is widely cited and methodologically transparent.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Strongest single empirical justification for the linkable-asset thesis. **Most content earns zero external links** — purpose-building for citability is the exception, not the default. Anchors [[rule-build-for-citation-not-just-utility]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"moz-link-building-low-value-pages-fail","title":"Moz Beginner's Guide to Link Building — \"all link-building campaigns must start with something worth linking to; very difficult to build links to low-value webpages\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-interactive-tool-mechanisms-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: why interactive tools deepen a business's relationship with its audience — a mechanism-level research package (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-build-for-citation-not-just-utility","title":"R4 — When SEO is part of the case, build for CITATION not just utility — the public quotable number earns the links; the private personal answer does not","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T18:18:57.528Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T18:18:57.528Z"}