Is building links still worth it now that GenAI is changing the way people search? The short answer is yes!

The importance of backlinks

Google has consistently confirmed that backlinks are a core signal for ranking. In recent documentation Google notes that links help its crawlers discover content and evaluate authority & trustworthiness.

Several independent SEO research firms have published large-scale studies that show the value of backlinks:

Ahrefs Study

• A recent ahrefs study on search traffic identified that there’s a clear correlation between the number of websites linking to a page and its traffic
• Whilst correlation doesn’t imply causation, ‘most SEO professionals will tell you that it’s almost impossible to rank on the first page for competitive keywords without backlinks’

Backlinko Analysis

Analysing 11.8 million Google search results, Backlinko concluded:

• A site’s overall link authority (via Ahrefs Domain Rating) strongly correlates with better rankings
• The #1 result typically has about 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2-10
• The number of unique referring domains is directly correlated with ranking performance

Studies by Moz & SEMrush also show that high-ranking pages tend to have more quality backlinks than lower-ranking pages.

Backlinks are central to how search engines assess trust and authority so its worth investing time and effort in link building.

Why backlinks are still important in the age of GenAI

Backlinks play a meaningful role in how websites are discovered and trusted by both traditional search engines and generative AI.

The output of GenAI models like ChatGPT and Gemini is influenced by content quality and authority. These are attributes often established by well-placed backlinks.

Backlinks are seen by GenAI as:

• ‘Trust signals’ – ‘votes’ of authority and importance
• Citations and brand signals that help associate you with key topics

Your brand will be easier for GenAI to find when its mentioned often in authoritative contexts; your ideas, articles or research are cited by trusted sources; and your mentions are a part of relevant high-quality discussions.

How to align a link building strategy with your business objectives

Building links indiscriminately is outdated and can be counterproductive. Focus instead on earning high-quality, relevant backlinks and recognised mentions that build credibility, visibility, and trust in ways that map directly to the goals of your business. Taking a well-structured approach grounded in your business objectives will help achieve that. 

Some examples of how you could align link building with your goals:

Goal - revenue growth

• Objective: Drive more qualified leads or sales
• SEO goals: Build links to high-converting product/service pages
• Link acquisition strategy: Focus on digital PR, product-led content, reviews, and affiliate partnerships

Goal - brand authority

• Objective: Become a recognised thought leader in the industry
• SEO goals: Earn placements on industry-leading publications
• Link acquisition strategy: Publish original research, thought leadership, and guest posts on authoritative sites

Goal - Market expansion

• Objective: Enter new territories or niches
• SEO goals: Secure backlinks from local or niche-specific sites in new regions
• Link acquisition strategy: Build local citations, region-specific guest posts, and collaborate with local influencers

Goal - Building customer trust, retention and loyalty

• Objective: Build trust and credibility
• SEO goals & link acquisition strategy: Get cited on review sites, reputable blogs, or news outlets

Once you’ve developed and implemented a link building strategy aligned to the goals of your business it’s essential to keep track of it with business-aligned metrics which look at elements like:

• Referral traffic that converts
• Links from domains with topical relevance (not just high Domain Authority/Domain Ranking)
• Percentage of links on sites your target audience visits
• Growth in brand mentions and brand sentiment
• Share of voice in search results vs. competitors

Using backlinks to maximise visibility in both ‘traditional’ search and AI responses.

A strategy that combines backlinks, content tactics, and structured signals can help make your website more visible to GenAI as well as boosting your traditional SEO efforts:

1. Reframe backlinks as signals of authority

Strong backlinks help your site rank in search engines. Since AI systems often pull from the top results, backlinks indirectly boost AI visibility. Prioritise:

• High-authority, topic-relevant sites
• Journalistic coverage (digital PR)
• Industry association, .gov, and .edu mentions

Also pursue backlinks that come with brand mentions (with or without a link) since AI models often use mentions as markers of credibility.

2. Create AI-friendly linkable assets

AI loves citing structured, data-backed insights. All these are attractive to AI-powered search:

• Original research, surveys, and studies 
• Explainers and clear authoritative definitions 
• Tools and calculators
• Thought leadership content (interviews, whitepapers, and reports that journalists and bloggers want to link to)

Publish content in formats that are AI-friendly using headings, lists, structured data and clear summaries.

3. Optimise content for AI retrieval

• Use structured data like FAQ pages, how to articles and product schema to help get content featured in AI snapshots
• Entity optimisation - ensure your brand, products, and key people are tied to recognised entities in Google’s Knowledge Graph (people, places and things) e.g. consistent Name Address Phone number info, LinkedIn profiles etc.
• Enhance E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) by attributing content to real authors with bios and credentials and gaining citations in authoritative publications (backlinks and mentions)

4. Expand beyond backlinks with brand mentions and citations

AI models don’t just look at links, they also surface brands that they ‘trust’:

• Use PR campaigns to get mentions in media (even if nofollowed or unlinked)
• Appear on podcasts and webinars - transcripts often get indexed
• Feature in directory listings, awards, and rankings (trusted 3rd-party sites) 

5. GEO specific backlink tactics

• Earn links and brand mentions in journalist-written pieces (AI loves citing news) by being active on Help A Reporter Out / Qwoted / Featured / Help A B2B writer
• Collaborate on research with universities or trade associations for co-branded studies
• Build local authority links – particularly useful for location-based queries in AI search
• Data visualisations are highly shareable, and AI tends to summarise them
   

Summary: Link building still matters

Backlinks still matter, but in the GenAI era they’re just one part of a bigger authority ecosystem. A winning strategy builds:

• Quality backlinks from authoritative sources
• Brand mentions and citations that AI trusts
• Structured, AI-optimised content that’s easy to retrieve and summarise
   

Summary of the role of backlinks in a GenAI context