Think link building is a thing of the past? Think again!
Google has long used backlinks as one of its primary signals for deciding where to rank a website. But the way we build and earn them has changed considerably.
So, what still works and what doesn't? In our latest blog, our strategy specialists, Jordan and Katie, catch you up to speed on how to make the most of backlinks in 2026 and how to boost your brand presence further.
What are backlinks?
In a nutshell, backlinks (otherwise known as inbound links) are hyperlinks from one website to another. Think of them as a vote of confidence. The more links you earn from reputable sources, the more trustworthy your site appears, increasing the likelihood of ranking highly.
Link building isn’t over, it’s evolving
Here's what's changed. Backlinks aren't just being read by search engines anymore. AI platforms are citing them too.
At their core, AI platforms use the information available to them to predict what comes next. So, the more sources that corroborate a brand's message, the more likely those patterns form and the more likely Large Language Models (LLMs) are to feature them in their responses.
As many fellow marketers will know, there are four factors that Google uses to determine whether your content deserves a prime spot in search results: Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness (EEAT). By acquiring high-quality backlinks, you demonstrate your website's authority and trustworthiness to search engines and AI platforms.
But gone are the days of chasing backlink numbers. Google is a lot more clued up now and will instead penalise your site for using spammy tactics, such as link farms. If you want to see real results in 2026, legitimate link-building is the way forward.
Algorithms now reward:
Niche relevance
Authoritativeness of the referring domain
Editorial placement (was the link earned or forced?)
Leveraging industry publications
With what we now know, it’s never been more important to leverage the power of PR. Digital PR supports wider SEO strategies by building authority, increasing brand mentions and reinforcing relevance.
Earned media (getting your brand mentioned on third-party sites) is the crème de la crème of backlinks. And consistency matters too. We’ve found that brands securing monthly coverage are outperforming those relying on one annual feature. When as many as 80-90% of citations come from earned media, it’s worth investing in.
Of course, owned media is still a vital part of the SEO puzzle, but as the chart to the right shows, coverage from respected third-party sources remains one of the most reliable ways to influence how AI platforms understand and talk about your brand.
Don’t let good content go stale
AI assistants show a clear preference for fresher content too, as this helps ensure the most accurate, up-to-date information gets featured in results. That means your older blog posts or evergreen guides might be getting overlooked. Not because they lack quality, but because they’ve not been refreshed for a while.
It's always worth going back through older content regularly to incorporate recent research or data, add new sections, check for broken links, refresh metadata and update the publication date.
The power of people
In the AI era, subject human experts could be your brand's secret weapon.
As we’ve spoken about, AI tools are increasingly looking for signals that your content is informative, trustworthy and reinforced across multiple channels.
Search and social are no longer separate channels, as confirmed by Google Search Console’s latest update, Platform Properties, which allows you to track social visibility. If you aren't leveraging both together, you could be sitting on untapped potential.
Employee advocacy is increasingly appearing as a strategic lever to enhance the authenticity and trustworthiness of a brand. This means empowering your team to share smart, quality content with their own social networks. It may not sound like much until you realise that employees' networks typically have 10x more connections than a company's own follower count, according to LinkedIn.
It should come as no surprise that people trust people more than brands. Nielsen's Global Trust in Advertising Report found that 92% of people trust recommendations fabove all other forms of advertising.
That’s why it’s important to encourage executives and SMEs to show up and speak up. This could mean reposting company content with their own thoughts, sharing their expertise on relevant industry topics or joining conversations and comment threads within their niche. Even in the age of AI, nothing can replace human-to-human interaction!
Where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here?
To recap, mastering backlinks is less about chasing numbers and more about maintaining trust.
If you're wondering where to put your time and energy, here are our top tips:
Keep content fresh and relevant to what matters to your audience right now
Repurpose PR into blogs, case studies and LinkedIn articles for longer-term impact
Lead with data and real people's perspectives for added authority
Link up your web and social activity for maximum reach and brand awareness
Encourage leadership to show up on LinkedIn to extend organic reach
Algorithms reward consistency, so post regularly rather than sporadically
Structure content around the questions people are actually asking, such as Q&As and FAQ formats.
As with all things SEO, staying visible isn't a one-and-done exercise. It requires consistent effort. Fancy a chat about how to boost your brand awareness?