For backlinks think brand authority not domain authority
Many websites approach backlinks for SEO in a completely wrong way. They focus on arbitrary metrics like domain authority in developing their linking efforts.
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Too many websites approach backlinks for SEO in the wrong way. They focus on arbitrary metrics like domain authority in developing their linking efforts and completely disregard any sense of credibility or legitimacy. They assume the links “work” and keep spending on these efforts because they think it is required.
Over my consulting career, I have met many companies that have spent seven figures on links without any measurable impact. As I explained to them, the fact that they had seven-figure budgets to waste on links meant they invariably had enough budget and a large enough customer base to have brand awareness, which was likely a more significant factor in their SEO visibility than the links they deliberately obtained.
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I even told one company that it would likely have a greater SEO outcome if it set its link budget on fire in a busy intersection or simply gave it away in a sweepstakes. Both of those activities would drive brand searches, which would translate into links and more non-brand searches.
With this advice, I have saved clients and potential clients millions of dollars on link budgets by just giving them the air cover to turn off these efforts. With the dozens of companies where I have suggested turning off these paid link campaigns, I have never seen any negative impact from the pause. (Even if the past paid links were effective, pausing the continued accrual of more links had zero effect on the existing links.)
Decades-old thinking
Google has also been saying for years that too many websites overestimate the power of links, but there are those in the SEO world who think that Google makes these statements to try to trick them, and they use narrow and specific examples of links working as evidence to Google’s subterfuge.
Logically, it always blew my mind that marketers could credit Google with having a brilliant algorithm that supposedly listened to their spoken conversations, read their emails, and understood the deep intent behind searches enough to advocate topical-based search strategies, but was also susceptible to subtle manipulation that came from purchasing links on obviously irrelevant webpages.
While it’s impossible to know the value of any single link because nothing on the web happens in an air-gapped test environment, many linking strategies don’t pass the 2025 sniff test.
Links will always matter
Companies should still focus on links as one of the pillars of SEO; they just need to be the right ones. I believe links, or, more specifically, mentions, will always matter. Many websites, services, and articles can all say the same thing: a link is the external vote of confidence that declares which one is the most credible and authoritative.
This becomes even more important as AI search engines become more popular. When AI evaluates content, it's not just counting backlinks or checking domain metrics. It's analyzing language patterns, factual consistency, and how deep expertise goes. These systems can spot the subtle signs of absolute authority beyond single-dimension domain authority metrics.
If you want to understand how AI might evaluate a link, you need to understand the intent of AI: it aspires to think like a human. While AI is not yet and probably never will think exactly like a human, if you apply human-level intellect to building a backlink profile, you are likely well on your way to aligning with AI first engines and Google.
Credibility
First and foremost, a website with the outbound link has to be credible. In the same way that you as a human can glance at a website and instinctively know that you would never trust a word written there, AI likely has some of the same sort of sniff tests. It can pattern-match what a legitimate site should look like in the same ways that you do subconsciously.
Additionally, the word patterns and language usage that might trigger you to think that there could be factual inaccuracies could also be replicated by AI. AI can effectively "read between the lines" to spot real expertise versus fake authority. It picks up on subtle language patterns that reveal whether content comes from actual experts or content farms trying to game a bot or user.
In this arena, AI might even be smarter than humans, if not now, eventually. While a human could be duped by unscrupulous medical or financial advice, AI will have an even better read on the credibility of that content based on its broader knowledge base. As you can imagine, a link from content lacking in credibility will likely be discounted by a smart algorithm.
It’s possible that Google can already assess the credibility of individual pieces of content today, but either way, it’s coming. Needing to maintain a bar of credibility is what makes it so hard to get links on the best websites. That extra effort is a good thing for the Internet.
Relevance
A link on a site relevant to an industry or vertical has likely been a factor for a long time. In 2012, I used a Whitehouse.gov link to manipulate internal links to a specific page on SurveyMonkey.com to increase search traffic (via increased rankings and broader impression base). In 2016, I tried to repeat this success when the White House again linked to SurveyMonkey, but there was no measurable impact this time.
Google likely included a relevance filter in its link calculation at that time. It determined that while the White House was an authority on governance and politics, it didn’t have much weight on topics related to software and surveys.
This made a lot of sense then, but understanding why it matters in an AI-first world is even more logical.
As a human, if I see a subject matter expert in one topic arguing on a topic outside their area of expertise, I might discount their advice. For example, I would trust a food critic’s recommendations of the best restaurants to visit, but I might not take their advice on stock trading ideas.
Getting links from contextually relevant sites should be prioritized, even if the domain isn’t necessarily a global brand. A link from a well-respected parent blog to a toy e-commerce website is more “effective” than a link from a national media site.
Citations and mentions
Even though the concept of “no-follow” links to prevent spam was created in 2005, a full two decades ago, some still think this attribute would impact a link's credibility. Not only do I believe that search engines choose to “count” links no matter how they are structured (despite what Google says), but I am also not convinced that an actual hyperlink matters.
Again, I think it’s complicated to measure the value of a single link, but in my arbitrary tests, I have seen pages without any actual hyperlinks, and only citations seem to be visible on search terms. A citation is just an unlinked mention of a website.
From a logical human perspective, as you read the content, you subconsciously absorb the credibility of any mentioned websites or entities without ever needing to click the link. AI embedded in Google’s algorithm and every other AI search product reads the entire web, can see these citations, and choose to measure them without the hyperlink.
As you build backlinks for SEO, don’t obsess over actual links. Using a PR agency (message me for recommendations) to get your brand, products, and webpages mentioned might be all you need to do. Of course, if you can get a hyperlink, it is undoubtedly better, but it might not be necessary.
Social media
When Google invented the page rank algorithm, blogging and online forums were the only ways to express ideas online. However, a lot has changed in the last twenty-six years. People can now express opinions and make recommendations on various web properties, from X to Yelp to messaging apps like WhatsApp.
Initially, social media had minimal impact on SEO visibility because the platforms were walled gardens and susceptible to manipulation. Yet today, I find it hard to believe that search engines wouldn’t find a way to utilize the vast amount of data found on social media to help them comprehend the authority of entities.
Google is already doing this with Reddit and I would assume X too. Signals like follower count and engagement metrics are still easily manipulated, but in the same way a human can instantly tell if a profile is real or fake, AI can as well. Search engines will still be limited to what is accessible to their crawlers, but just like Google partnered with Reddit and X, they can do so with other platforms too. More likely, those platforms, like Meta, will use that data themselves to make their own AI search engines.
Today, it’s possible that visibility on social media and influencer campaigns doesn’t have a significant impact on SEO visibility, but if you approach this from a logical perspective, this is an area ripe for disruption.
Don't neglect influencer efforts when you think about your backlinks efforts with an AI lens.
Backlinks in 2025
This week’s newsletter aimed to have you think of the outcomes of link building from a different perspective for an AI-dominant world. In an upcoming week, I will share ideas about attracting these links naturally, or you can just follow this framework wherever you obtain links.
Prioritize credibility - AI can now detect legitimate sites from questionable ones, just like humans can. The hardest links to get (from credible sources) are the most valuable.
Focus on relevance - Links from sites relevant to your industry carry more weight than random high-authority domains. A niche industry blog might drive better results than a national newspaper.
Value citations and mentions - Even unlinked brand mentions (citations) can impact SEO. PR efforts that get your brand mentioned may be as effective as hyperlinks.
Don't ignore social media - As search engines evolve, social signals and influencer mentions are becoming more important SEO factors, even if platforms are "walled gardens."
Search rankings have always been limited to the capabilities of linear algorithms, but as AI platforms show us how computers can do deep reasoning just like humans, it is not far-fetched to assume that search algorithms are already, and very soon will be doing the same for how they value links.
Instead of trying to beat the algorithms, think like them.
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