What they did
Backlinko took 11.8 million Google search results and matched each ranking position to the backlink profile of the page, using Ahrefs link data. They then averaged the link counts by position to see whether more-linked pages ranked higher.
What they found
The number 1 result had, on average, 3.8x more backlinks than the pages in positions 2 to 10. The study also noted that roughly 95% of all pages have no backlinks at all.
How much weight to give it
This is a correlation, not proof that links move you up. Popular pages that already rank near the top tend to earn more links, so the link count could be a result of ranking rather than a cause of it. Treat it as suggestive background, not a lever you can pull with certainty.
What it doesn't prove
The figures come from one snapshot of SERPs with no before-and-after tracking. Link counts rely on Ahrefs' crawl, which is not the same index Google uses, so the exact multiples should be read as directional.