Is Link Building Still Relevant to SEO?

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June of 2024 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

When the Google search engine first launched in 1998, it used a formula called PageRank to determine the importance of a webpage based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to it.

PageRank was based on the idea that information on the Internet could be placed into a hierarchy based on link popularity. A page that received links from many other high-quality pages was deemed more authoritative and rank-worthy.

Given the centrality of links in Google’s early algorithm, link building became the go-to strategy for marketers looking to improve their search rankings. 

Today, Google’s ranking systems analyze hundreds of factors to determine where a page should appear in its search results. 

Although it continues to use PageRank as one of its core ranking algorithms, the model has been integrated into a more complex system that also considers signals such as user experience, content relevance, and machine learning insights. 

In this article, I’ll share why links still matter in 2025 and my five (5) top strategies for link building. 

Google’s Latest Stance On the Importance of Links

In light of Google’s changing algorithm, the company has gradually placed less emphasis on the role of links in determining search rankings.

Here’s a timeline of recent statements made by Google officials about the diminishing importance of links:

• In 2020, Google’s John Mueller stated that “links are not the most important SEO factor.”
• During a 2022 Google SEO office-hours video, Google’s Duy Nguyen said that “backlinks as a signal have a much less significant impact compared to when Google Search first started many years ago.” 
• At a 2023 search conference, Google’s Gary Illyes stated, “I think people overestimate the importance of links,” and links are not a “top three” ranking signal. Illyes also mentioned that “it is possible to rank without links,” citing an example of a page ranking in position 1 for “Porsche cars” that Google had only discovered via a sitemap.
• In March 2024, Google updated its spam policy documentation. The new version says, “Google uses links as a factor in determining the relevancy of web pages.” Previously, it had described links as “an important factor in determining the relevancy of web pages.”  
• At an April 2024 conference, Gary Illyes said, “We need very few links to rank pages… Over the years, we’ve made links less important.”
• In June 2024, Google rolled out a spam update to detect and remove spammy links from the search results. The update also targeted black-hat SEO tactics such as buying or selling of links to boost backlinks. 

So, if links are no longer the most critical ranking factor, what is? Well, according to Gary Illyes, the single most important ranking factor is content: 

“Without content, it literally is not possible to rank. If you don’t have words on the page, you’re not going to rank for it.” 

Assessing Google’s Latest Claims About Links

Many members of the SEO community have responded to Google’s narrative that links are losing importance with a healthy degree of skepticism.

In June 2024, a study by Internet Marketing Ninjas looked at the feasibility of ranking on page one without many backlinks.

They found that over 96% of websites in the top 10 of Google had at least 1,000 referring domains, which are links from other unique sites. Meanwhile, only 0.3% of top-ranking sites had 100 or fewer referring domains.

In other words, the quantity of links pointing to your domain still strongly correlates with rankings.

Of course, cause and effect are hard to untangle here. For example, the study doesn’t tell us whether the website in question ranks well because of its backlinks or whether it ranks well because it contains valuable content (which organically attracts backlinks).

That said, the study definitely calls into question the idea that links are irrelevant to rankings.

Another research from Ahrefs proves that links matter, but it depends on the type of queries. They analyzed over 1 million pages on the search results, and discovered that the page ranking #1 has the highest number of backlinks:  

The research also pointed out that links matter for informational queries, compared to other types: 

How to build links in 2025  

Link building in 2025 requires building a sustainable foundation that naturally attracts links over time. This includes creating linkable assets, building relationships, and digital PR to increase your digital footprint. Let’s discuss this in detail: 

1. Create EEAT content that naturally attracts links 

The first step in your link-building efforts is to create high-quality content. “High-quality,” according to Google, refers to content that meets their EEAT guidelines. 

That is, your content should show: 

Experience: 

This shows firsthand, proven experience in the subject matter or topic. This can be through the author’s bio, sharing personal experiences, for example, a detailed product review based on actual use. 

Often, content with real-world perspectives is more likely to top the search rankings over generic ones. This is because Google rewards “originality.”

Expertise: 

This proves you have an in-depth understanding of the topic and can provide actionable recommendations to searchers when needed. This can be citing scientific sources, or ensuring that the content is reviewed (or written) by a subject matter expert. 

You can demonstrate expertise through a detailed author’s bio. This can include their professional background, experience, credentials, or certifications in the subject matter. See this example from Search Engine Journal: 

Demonstrating expertise is also important for Your Money Your Life (YMYL) topics such as health, finance or law.  

Authoritativeness: 

This shows that you have proven credibility in a topic or field. When other websites or experts reference your content, it sends signals to Google (and users) that your content is accurate and reliable. 

You can show authoritativeness by creating link-worthy assets such as eBooks, research reports, or some proprietary state of [industry] reports. 

Trustworthiness: 

Trust is the new gold. Google wants to rank trustworthy websites on the search results, and users patronize websites that they trust. With the rise of LLMs and AI overviews, creating trustworthy content can help you stand out and attract brand loyalists, instead of visitors.  

There are different ways to build trust: 

• Add the author’s bio to your content, with links to their professional profiles. 
• Add citations and references to your content, especially in YMYL content.  
• Ensure your website has an SSL certificate for secure browsing.  
• Display relevant certifications, testimonials and industry awards to increase trust, like this: 

2. Use Digital PR to Increase Your Online Footprint 

Digital PR is one of the best ways to expand your online presence and acquire high-quality backlinks to your website. BuzzStream’s 2024 State of Digital PR report surveyed over 150 digital PR professionals and found that more than 80% use digital PR to build backlinks and increase brand awareness. 

This is more important in 2025 because large language models (LLMs) search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI scan the web for online mentions, citations, or references to determine your credibility and trustworthiness. 

This means that if your business is not being talked about online or is not well-dispersed enough, you risk being excluded from conversational search results, including the Google AI overview. In fact, Google’s search advocate, John Mueller, mentioned that digital PR is just as important as technical SEO: 

To expand your digital PR footprint, do these: 

1. Create guest posts for high-traffic blogs to get referral traffic. 

Guest posting is still relevant in 2025. Publishing high-quality, thought-leadership content on authoritative websites helps you to: 

• Build credibility. 
• Increase your search engine real estate. 
• Earn contextual backlinks. 
• Drive referral traffic to your website. 

There are various platforms where you can share your expertise and earn backlinks in return. For example, HARO (Help a Reporter Out), industry-specific blogs, news outlets like NPR, Business Insider, Yahoo, and the BBC, among others. 

2. Create newsworthy content. 

If you have newsworthy content, even better! A press release is a great way to build awareness, share updates with your community, and amplify your reach. 

3. Create visual assets. 

Aside from text content, you can also share infographics, podcasts, or video content to show expertise, expand reach, and keep your audience engaged. 

Visual assets are powerful because the human brain processes them 60,000 times faster than text. This makes it easier for your readers to understand and share your content with their network. 

3. Find and fix broken link issues to improve the user and search experience. 

When a visitor clicks on a link and lands on a 404 error page, they’re likely to leave your website and find information elsewhere. It also affects your SEO. For example, broken links disrupt the flow of link equity, and also hinder search engine algorithms from crawling your web pages effectively. This can affect your ranking potential on the search results. 

To solve this: 

• Conduct regular technical SEO audits to find broken links. This can be monthly, quarterly, or bi-yearly, depending on the size of your website. 
• Set up 301 redirects where necessary to direct users to the right page. 
• Monitor your published content to be sure the backlinks are still valid and not broken. 

4. Use Google’s Disavow Tool to Remove Spammy Links   

While digital PR and link building help boost your domain authority, spammy or low-quality links can do the opposite. According to Google’s spam policies, “spam” refers to techniques used to deceive users or manipulate the algorithm to rank content higher: 

This includes exchanging money or goods and services for links: 

For example, if you’re an e-commerce store, a spammy link from a low-quality coupon directory doesn’t add any value to your website. Instead, it can damage your website’s reputation and lead to penalties from Google. 

Google’s Disavow Tool allows you to notify the algorithm of poor-quality links pointing to your website. This helps the algorithm ignore the backlinks when crawling your website. 

Here’s how to use the Google disavow tool:

• Use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Screaming Frog to audit your backlink profile.
• Identify domains that are spammy, irrelevant, or harmful to your website. 
• List the links in a plain .txt file, with one URL per line. 
• Upload it via the Google Disavow Tool. 

Note: Only disavow links that you’re sure are spammy or harmful to your website’s SEO. This is because disavowing high-quality backlinks can affect your website rankings. If you’re not so sure, hire a link-building professional to assess your link profile.  

5. Use social monitoring tools to track and manage online brand mentions. 

As your link profile expands, it’s equally important to keep track of the mentions to ensure they contribute positively to your brand. The last thing you want is for inaccurate or negative mentions to circulate on the internet without your knowledge. This is more important if your website is centered around YMYL topics. 

By tracking online brand mentions, you can:

• Respond quickly to customer feedback, reviews, or media coverage.
• Spot unlinked brand mentions and request a backlink.
• Discover new partnership or guest posting opportunities.
• Understand how your brand is perceived across platforms.

Here are a few tools to help you stay on top of it:

• Google Alerts: Set up keyword alerts for your brand name, products, or team members.
• Ahrefs Alerts: Track new backlinks and mentions across the web.
• Sprout Social, Buffer, or Hootsuite: Monitor conversations and engage with users across multiple platforms. 

The Verdict: Are Links Still Relevant to SEO? 

In short, yes.

Even if we accept Google’s claim that links aren’t the all-important ranking factor they once were, they still appear to play a central role in its ranking algorithm.

In fact, links will remain relevant to SEO for the foreseeable future.

First, despite what Google has said about links in recent years, at no point has it claimed they don’t matter at all. Google continues to list link analysis and PageRank in the official guide to its ranking systems. 

Likewise, Google’s “How Search works” guide states that one of the ways it determines the quality of content is by “understanding if other prominent websites link or refer to the content.” 

Another clue that links will remain important to Google can be found in its Search Generative Experience (SGE) documentation. SGE is a new Google feature designed to enhance the way users interact with search results through the integration of generative AI.

The documentation states that: “SGE places even more emphasis on producing informative responses that are corroborated by reliable sources.” In other words, AI-generated results will rely on links to authoritative sources.

With this in mind, links are here to stay, and link building will continue to play a fundamental role in any successful SEO strategy. 

However, by de-emphasizing the importance of links, Google has highlighted an essential point. Good SEO isn’t only about accumulating links. It’s about creating relevant, high-quality content that naturally attracts links and delivers the best user experience possible. sources.

With this in mind, it looks like links are here to stay and that link building will continue to play a fundamental role in any successful SEO strategy. 

However, by de-emphasizing the importance of links, Google has highlighted an essential point. Good SEO isn’t just about accumulating links; it’s about crafting relevant, high-quality content that naturally attracts links and delivering the best user experience possible.