The number of backlinks you gain should look as natural as possible. So if your site consistently attracts 20 links a month and then you suddenly start getting 1000 links a day, it could trigger some alarms (unless, of course there is something that the additional links can be attributed to, such as a viral linkbait piece).

Another consideration is the number of inbound links your competitors have. If the top 10 sites in your niche all have, on average, between 100 – 500 inbound links and you come along and in the space of a few months gain 5000 inbound links, it could also appear unnatural.

Link quality always outweighs link quantity – so my advice would be to aim for the better quality of links, grow your your inbound link profile gradually over time, keep your link building goals inline with the other sites in your niche… and if you’re sourcing links in ways that the search engines may not endorse, then try and make it look as natural as possible.

I stumbled onto your website while researching backlinks. I just had a quick question. What is a good amount of backlinks that a website should have to get say 5,000 visitors a day and is the quality or the quantity of the links more important?