Are Backlinks Important for SEO?

By Sabahat Ali – Link building expert since 2009 – 668+ clients served

The Nuanced Answer: Yes, But Less Than Before

Backlinks still matter. The data is clear: pages with more referring domains rank higher [Backlinko]. But Google has been systematically reducing their weight.

In March 2024, Google quietly changed their documentation. The old version said links are “an important factor.” The new version says links are “a factor” [Search Engine Land]. One word removed. Huge signal.

Gary Illyes was even more direct at Pubcon 2023: “I dont agree that they are in the top three. They havent been for some time” [SEO.ai]. In April 2024, he added: “We need very few links to rank pages. Over the years, weve made links less important” [Search Engine Land].

First Page Sage confirms this shift quantitatively: backlinks dropped from 15% to 13% of algorithm weight between 2024 and 2025 [First Page Sage]. Meanwhile, content quality (23%) and searcher engagement (12%) gained weight.

My take after 17 years: Backlinks are still necessary for competitive keywords. But the bar for “what counts as a quality link” keeps rising. Ten relevant, editorially-earned links outperform 1,000 low-quality ones by a wide margin. Our data from 100,000+ outreach emails confirms this: the links that move rankings come from sites with real traffic, real readers, and genuine topical relevance.

Are backlinks important for SEO? The short answer is a resounding yes. While modern search algorithms have evolved, the importance of backlinks as a primary trust signal remains undisputed for any competitive niche.

Let’s dispel the rumors and look at the data-driven reality of link building in 2025.

Are links necessary for SEO?

Featured Snippet: Backlinks are critical for SEO because they act as “votes of confidence” from other websites. While Google can rank pages without them, high-quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative sources significantly boost rankings, improve crawlability, and establish brand trust, making them essential for competitive search visibility in 2025.

Speaking at Pubcon Pro 2023, Gary Illyes, a Google Search Analyst, noted that it is technically possible to rank pages without a single link. Even in 2025, SEO experts continue to prove this for low-competition queries.

At SerpReach, we have several blog pages ranking on page 1 with zero external links. However, these are exceptions, not the rule.

When Gary stated, “Links are not a top 3 ranking signal and haven’t been for a while,” the SEO community listened. But don’t mistake “not top 3” for “not important.” Backlinks remain a cornerstone of Google’s core algorithm.

💡 GEO Impact: In the Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) era, AI-driven search engines use backlink profiles to identify authoritative sources. Surfer’s study confirms that pages cited in AI Overviews often share the same strong link profiles as top organic results.

How are backlinks important to search engines?

Search engines use backlinks to map the web’s authority. Here is why they matter:

1. Ranking factor: A core component of the algorithm.
2. Trust signal: Validates content accuracy.
3. Brand exposure: Increases digital footprint.
4. Relationship-building: Connects industry leaders.
5. Competitor analysis: Benchmarks your site against rivals.
6. Crawling and indexing: Helps bots find new content.
7. Domain authority: Boosts the site-wide ranking potential.
8. Referral traffic: Drives direct, targeted users.
9. Website growth: Accelerates organic reach.
10. First-page results: Essential for high-volume keywords.

Ranking factor

Backlinks serve as a “vote of confidence.” When Site A links to Site B, it tells Google that Site B is a reputable source. This creates a compounding effect: more votes equal higher authority, which results in better rankings.

Trust signal

In an era of AI-generated content, trust is the ultimate currency. A link from a powerhouse like Forbes or The New York Times acts as a digital seal of approval for both search engines and users.

Brand exposure

Visibility goes beyond the SERPs. If a high-traffic niche blog links to you, you gain access to their loyal audience. Even with Google’s recent core updates impacting organic CTR, being cited in AI Overviews and top-tier blogs ensures your brand remains top-of-mind.

Relationship building

Link building is fundamentally about networking. Outreach allows you to connect with influencers and journalists, often leading to long-term collaborations and natural mentions that don’t require further pitches.

Competitor analysis

By auditing your competitor’s backlink profile, you reveal their “road map” to success. If they are ranking for a keyword you want, seeing who links to them tells you exactly where you need to earn links to close the gap.

Search engine crawling and indexing

Googlebots navigate the web via links. If you have a new page with no internal or external links, Google may never find it. Reputable backlinks act as “express lanes” for indexation.

Website domain authority

While “Domain Authority” is a third-party metric, Google’s internal version (PageRank) heavily weighs the quality and quantity of your link profile to determine your site’s overall “weight” in search.

Referral traffic

Unlike organic search traffic, referral traffic is pre-qualified. A user clicking a link on a relevant site is already interested in the topic, making them highly likely to convert.

Website growth

Strategic link building provides the foundation for long-term growth. High-quality links provide a “moat” that makes it harder for competitors to displace your rankings.

First-page results

Data consistently shows that the top-ranking results have significantly more referring domains than those on page two. Backlinks are the “push” needed to move from position 11 to position 1.

What makes a good backlink?

Not all links are created equal. To maximize the importance of backlinks, focus on these five pillars:

Link Quality Comparison

Topical relevance

A link from a gardening blog to a SaaS company is useless. Relevance is the #1 factor Google uses to determine link weight. Ensure your referring domains overlap with your target audience’s interests.

Trusted source

Authority isn’t just a DA score; it’s about real-world reputation. A link from a site with a million monthly visits is worth exponentially more than a link from a site with high DA but zero actual traffic.

Keywords in anchors

Anchor text tells Google what the linked page is about. Use a mix of exact-match, partial-match, and branded anchors to avoid triggering “over-optimization” filters.

Dofollow links

While “Nofollow” links offer referral traffic and brand exposure, “Dofollow” links are the ones that pass “link juice” and directly impact rankings.

Unique referring domains

Ten links from ten different websites are significantly more powerful than 100 links from the same website. Diminishing returns apply to repetitive links from a single domain.

How to create high-quality backlinks

1. Guest posting
2. Blogging (Linkable Assets)
3. PR link building
4. Broken link building
5. Competitor analysis
6. Influencer collaboration

Guest posting

Guest posting remains a top-3 strategy. Focus on “Parasite SEO” by publishing on massive authority sites like LinkedIn or Medium to rank for high-competition keywords quickly.

Interactive Asset: Guest Post Pitch Script

Copy and paste this template to improve your outreach success rate:

Subject: Suggestion for [Website Name] - [Your Topic Idea]

Hi [Name],

I’ve been following [Website Name] and loved your recent piece on [Topic].

I’m reaching out because I’ve drafted a comprehensive guide on [New Topic] that provides [Specific Value/Data] your audience would find useful.

I’ve previously written for [Authority Site 1] and [Authority Site 2]. Would you be open to a guest contribution?

Best, [Your Name]

Blogging & Linkable Assets

Create “ego-bait” or original research. Journalists and bloggers love citing data. If you produce a unique industry report, you will naturally earn editorial links without asking for them.

PR link building

Use platforms like HARO (now Connectively) or Featured.com to provide expert quotes to journalists. This is the most efficient way to land links on high-DA news sites.

Broken link building

Identify 404 pages on competitor sites, create superior content to replace them, and reach out to everyone linking to the dead page suggesting your link as a fix.

Real-World Case Study: The “Statistics” Strategy

Problem: A niche B2B software client was stuck on page 3 for their primary keyword.

Solution: Instead of standard guest posting, we created a “Industry Statistics 2024” page. We used Ahrefs to find bloggers who linked to outdated 2021 stats and offered our updated report.

Result: Earned 45 unique referring domains (including 3 from .edu sites) in 60 days. The main service page jumped to Position #2.

Search engine optimization is not a number game

Quantity without quality is a recipe for a Google penalty. For instance, notice how Yoast often outranks Moz despite having fewer total links for certain terms. This is because their link profile is highly concentrated with topically relevant, high-authority mentions.

Add GEO to your SEO efforts

To win in 2025, optimize for AI Overviews. Concise, data-backed answers are more likely to be cited by LLMs, creating a new type of “AI backlink” that drives high-intent traffic.

New Google link attributes

Properly tag your links using rel="sponsored" for paid placements and rel="ugc" for user-generated content. Transparency helps Google understand the nature of your relationships and protects your site’s integrity.

Verdict

Are backlinks important for SEO? Absolutely. They are the backbone of authority and the primary differentiator between ranking on page one or being invisible. Focus on relevance, authority, and unique domains to build a profile that stands the test of algorithm updates.

For how many backlinks you need by difficulty level, see our backlinks-to-rank analysis. For costs, see our pricing guide. For a complete starting framework, use our 20-point checklist.