Why It’s Okay To Not Buy Or Obsess Over Links Anymore

There are many businesses relatively new to SEO that eventually face the decision to build or buy links because they are told that links are important, which, of course, links are important. But the need to buy links presupposes that buying them is the only way to acquire them. Links are important, but less important than at any time in the history of SEO.

Links Still Matter

Just to be clear, links are still a part of Google’s algorithms and links still matter. Links continue to be a ranking factor.

But, it’s also become increasingly clear that the prominence of links for ranking have diminished over the past several years for many reasons. A big reason is the use of neural networks, machine learning and AI to better understand user queries and web documents.

Neural Networks, ML And AI

RankBrain, Neural Matching, BERT, and MUM all contribute to understanding queries and documents.

External User Behavior Signals

Another reason is because Google uses external user behavior signals to identify trustworthiness. In fact, user behavior signals have been in use by Google as ranking related factors since at least 2004 through the use of systems like Navboost where user interaction signals are used for ranking purposes.

Contrary to some of the hypotheses of some SEOs, clicks aren’t a simple ranking factor that tells Google to rank a web page higher for all users. The DOJ antitrust documents show that user interaction signals like clicks are noisy but that useful patterns emerge when aggregated at the level of billions of clicks. Clicks are ranking related factors, but not in the simple manner some have believed.

In 2012 Google filed a patent for using branded navigational queries as ranking factors called implied links.

The importance of user behavior as a ranking-related signal is so integral to Google that its original PageRank research paper states that Page Rank can be thought of as a model of user behavior.

Strong Hints About The Declining Importance Of Links

Googler Gary Illyes has been forthcoming about the role of links over the years.

• 2019 – Gary Illyes confirmed that Google’s decision to use nofollow links as a hint was motivated by trying to find a useful link signal. This was a bit of  wake up call about the quality of links that were out there and how Google was searching for links that can be used.
• 2024 – Illyes confirmed that they only need very few links to rank web pages and also said, “Over the years we’ve made links less important.“

How Do I Know So Much About Links?

I have been doing SEO for 25 years, at one time specializing in links. I did more than links, but I was typecast as a “links guy” because I was the moderator of the Link Building Forum at WebmasterWorld under the martinibuster nickname. WebmasterWorld was at one time the most popular source of SEO information in the world. Being a WebmasterWorld moderator was an honor, and only the best of the very best were invited to become one. Many top old-school SEOs were moderators there, like Jennifer Slegg, Greg Boser, Todd Friesen, Dixon Jones, Ash Nallawalla, and many more.

That’s not to brag, but to explain that my opinion comes from decades-long experience starting from the very dawn of link building. There are very few people who have as deep hands-on experience with links. So this is my advice based on my experience.

Short History Of Link Building

Google’s link algorithms have steadily improved since the early days. As early as 2003, I was told by Google engineer Marissa Mayer (then at Google, before becoming CEO of Yahoo) that Google was able to distinguish that a link in the footer was a “built by” link and to not count it for PageRank. This crushed sites that relied on footer links to power their rankings.

• 2005 – Statistical Analysis
  In 2005, Google engineers announced at the Pubcon New Orleans search conference that they were using statistical analysis to catch unnatural linking patterns. Their presentation featured graphs showing a curve representing normal linking patterns and then a separate cloud of red dots that represented unnatural links.
• Links That “Look” Natural
  If you’ve ever read the phrase “links that look natural” or “natural-looking links” and wondered where that came from, statistical analysis algorithms is the answer. After 2005, the goal for manipulative links was to look natural, which meant doing things like alternating the anchor text, putting links into context, and being careful about outbound link targets.
• Demise Of Easy Link Tactics
  By 2006, Google had neutralized the business of reciprocal links, traffic counter link building, and was winding down the business of link directories.
• WordPress Was Good For Link Building
  WordPress was a boon to link builders because it made it possible for more people to get online and build websites, increasing the ability to obtain links by asking or throwing money at them. There were also sites like Geocities that hosted mini-sites, but most of the focus was on standalone sites, maybe because of PageRank considerations (PageRank was visible in the Google Toolbar).
• Rise Of Paid Links
  Seemingly everyone built websites on virtually any topic, which made link building easier to do simply by asking for a link. Companies like Text-Link-Ads came along and built huge networks of thousands of independent websites on virtually every topic, and they made a ton of money. I knew some people who sold links from their network of sites who were earning $40,000/month in passive income. White hat SEOs celebrated link selling because they said it was legitimate advertising (wink, wink), and therefore Google wouldn’t penalize it.
• Fall Of Paid Links
  The paid links party ended in the years leading up to 2012, when paid links began losing their effectiveness. As a link building moderator, I had access to confidential information and was told by insiders that paid links were having less and less effect. Then 2012’s Penguin Update happened, and suddenly thousands of websites got hit by manual actions for paid links and guest posting links.

Ranking Where You’re Supposed To Rank

The Penguin Algorithm marked a turning point in the business of building links. Internally at Google there must have been a conversation about the punitive aspect of catching links and at some point not long after Google started ranking sites where they were supposed to rank instead of penalizing them.

In fact, I coined the phrase “ranking where you’re supposed to rank” in 2014 to show that while sites with difficulty ranking may not technically have a penalty, their links are ineffective and they are ranking where they are supposed to rank.

There’s a class of link sellers that sell what they call Private Blog Network links. PBN sellers depend on Google to not penalize a site and depend on Google to give a site a temporary boost which happens for many links. But the sites inevitably return to ranking where they’re supposed to rank.

Ranking poorly is not a big deal for churn and burn affiliate sites designed to rank high for a short period of time. But it’s a big deal for businesses that depend on a website to be ranking well every day.

Consequences Of Poor SEO

Receiving a manual action is a big deal because it takes a website out of action until Google restores the rankings. Recovering from a manual action is difficult and requires a site to go above and beyond by removing every single low-quality link they are responsible for, and sometimes more than that. Publishers are often disappointed after a manual action is lifted because their sites don’t return to their former high rankings. That’s because they’re ranking where they’re supposed to rank.

For that reason, buying links is not an option for B2B sites, personal injury websites, big-brand websites, or any other businesses that depend on rankings. An SEO or business owner will have to answer for a catastrophic loss in traffic and earnings should their dabbling in paid links backfire.

Personal injury SEO is a good example of why relying on links can be risky. It’s a subset of local search, where rankings are determined by local search algorithms. While links may help, the algorithm is influenced by other factors like local citations, which are known to have a strong impact on rankings. Even if a site avoids a penalty, links alone won’t carry it, and the best-case scenario is that the site ends up ranking where it’s supposed to rank. The worst-case scenario is a manual action for manipulative links.

I’ve assisted businesses with their reconsideration requests to get out of a manual action, and it’s a major hassle. In the old days, I could just send an email to someone at Google or Yahoo and get the penalty lifted relatively quickly. Getting out of a manual action today is not easy. It’s a big, big deal.

The point is that if the consequences of a poor SEO strategy are catastrophic, then buying links is not an option.

Promotion Is A Good Strategy

Businesses can still promote their websites without depending heavily on links. SEOs tend to narrow their views of promotion to just links. Link builders will turn down an opportunity to publish an article for distribution to tens of thousands of potential customers because the article is in an email or a PDF and doesn’t come with a link on a web page.

How dumb is that, right? That’s what thinking in the narrow terms of SEO does: it causes people to avoid promoting a site in a way that builds awareness in customers—the people who may be interested in a business. Creating awareness and building love for a business is the kind of thing that, in my opinion, leads to those mysterious external signals of trustworthiness that Google looks for.

Promotion is super important, and it’s not the kind of thing that fits into the narrow “get links” mindset. Any promotional activity a business undertakes outside the narrow SEO paradigm is going to go right over the head of the competition. Rather than obsessing over links, it may be a turning point for all businesses to return to thinking of ways to promote the site, because links are less important today than they ever have been, while external signals of trust, expertise, and authoritativeness are quite likely more important today than at any other time in SEO history.

Takeaways

• Link Building’s Declining Value:
  Links are still important, but less so than in the past; their influence on rankings has steadily decreased.
• Google’s Increasingly Sophisticated Link Algorithms:
  Google has increasingly neutralized manipulative link strategies through algorithm updates and statistical detection methods.
• Rise and Fall of Paid Link Schemes:
  Paid link networks once thrived but became increasingly ineffective by 2012, culminating in penalties via the Penguin update.
• Ranking Where You’re Supposed to Rank:
  Google now largely down-ranks or ignores manipulative links, meaning sites rank based on actual quality and relevance. Sites can still face manual actions, so don’t depend on Google continuing to down-rank manipulative links.
• Risks of Link Buying:
  Manual actions are difficult to recover from and can devastate sites that rely on rankings for revenue.
• Local SEO Factors Rely Less On Links:
  For industries like personal injury law, local ranking signals (e.g., citations) often outweigh link impact.
• Promotion Beyond Links:
  Real promotion builds brand awareness and credibility, often in ways that don’t involve links but may influence user behavior signals. External user behavior signals have been a part of Google’s signals since the very first PageRank algorithm, which itself models user behavior.

Learn more about Google’s external user behavior signals and ranking without links:

Google’s Quality Rankings May Rely On These Content Signals

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Luis Molinero