Backlinks in 2026: Not Just About Google Rankings Anymore?

gary2

gary2

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I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
 
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gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
IMO, Building authority is the main focus now a days, rather than focusing only on dr and rankings. Relevant backlinks and brand mentions help build a stronger online presence
 
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I still think backlinks matter, but quality and relevance are more important than just DR or the number of referring domains. Relevant links and brand mentions can help people discover your website. It’s better to focus on natural, relevant links than building links just to improve rankings.
 
gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
backlinks do have their value but i believe that the real value lies in having ur brand mentioned on reputable websites. although the person may not click the link, he or she will at least recall ur brand nd look it up online later. i m quite interested to see how much these brand mentions will be of importance in ai based searrches.
 
gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
Of course! Link building is not becoming obsolete, but developing further.

The use of relevant links and legitimate brand mentions can be beneficial for SEO and brand discovery in an AI-driven search environment.
 
naber10 said:
In your opinion, what is the most effective way to conduct SEO? Is there a specific method? I know that, currently, what matters is not the quantity of links, but the strength of the links.
Click to expand...
However, quality is key here while relevance can be as important as the strength of links.

I only concentrate on niche-related backlinks, real organic traffic, good content, and solid SEO techniques.
 
Never looked at brand mentions that way before. yikib's point about someone remembering a brand and searching it later hits home, I've actually started testing that in AI search. Makes the ranking-only view feel narrow.
 
Couldn't agree more. It's less about raw DR or link count now and way more about entity recognition. If the big LLMs don't see your brand mentioned in relevant sites you basically dont exist in AI search answers.
 
I think backlinks still matter, but I wouldnt focus only on DR or rankings. A link from a relevant site can bring real visitors and help people find your brand too.
 
gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with you, you should approach website development and SEO in a "branding" sort of way, which means that you're basically building a presence in ALL the major social media and search engine platforms.
 
gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I don't think backlinks are dead; their role is just evolving. Relevant links, brand mentions, and genuine authority still matter. The focus should be on building real credibility across the web, not just chasing DR or the number of backlinks.
 
gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
Backlinks are still valuable, but their relevance still matters. editorial links, brand mentions, digital PR can support visibility and discovery across the web. So the main focus genuine authority and topical relevance than going behind the metrics alone.
 
gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
I've seen high-DR links little difference, while relevant placements bring real traffic and visibility. But should focus more on relevance and actual results than metrics alone. AI mentions worthy tracking too but they don't necessarily translate into ai citations.
 
gary2 said:
I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately about how backlinks are losing their importance, especially with AI search and LLMs becoming a bigger part of the picture.

Honestly, I think people are too quick to write off link building.

From what I see, backlinks still have an important role in SEO. But the way we look at them needs to evolve.

A few years ago, most discussions were focused on improving Google rankings, increasing DR, and building referring domains. Today, there's another angle worth discussing: how a website builds authority and gets discovered across the wider search ecosystem, including AI-powered search platforms.

Think about it.

When relevant websites mention your brand, reference your content, or link to your website, you're building a broader footprint across the web. Those mentions and links can help people discover your brand and may contribute to the wider signals search systems use to understand your website and its relevance.

This is where I think link building gets interesting in 2026.
Click to expand...
actually, I saw the example when some links with gud DR score did nothing, and the right placements brought traffic. the mention of AI could have been considered, but citations were a different story.
 
backlinks will definitely remain valuable in 2026 although the key is their quality instead of quantity
one relevant backlink from a reputable website can drive referral traffic to your website get more people acquainted with your brand and contribute to your general SEO strategy now that we are facing an increase in AI search popularity it will also be interesting for me to see how mentions of your brand in relevant websites will affect your website visibility.
 
A brand mention without a link can still be useful
Getting featured in a comparison article that ai search actually cites seems more valuable than another high dr guest post nobody reads
 
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