One thing I know for sure about Google search rankings is that it is nearly impossible to know anything for sure about Google search rankings. The algorithm is a moving target. What worked last year might not work this year. What the SEO community believes today might be debunked tomorrow. But through all the changes over the past two decades, one factor has remained consistently important: backlinks.
Why Backlinks Still Matter
Google's search engine was originally called BackRub, named for its use of backlink analysis. From the very beginning, backlinks have been a core signal in Google's ranking algorithm. The idea is simple: if other websites link to your content, it is probably worth showing to searchers.
We know backlinks matter for several reasons:
- Google's original PageRank patent explicitly describes using backlinks as a ranking signal
- Google representatives have confirmed that links remain one of the top ranking factors
- Countless studies correlating backlink profiles with search rankings consistently show a strong relationship
- Sites with strong backlink profiles consistently outrank sites without them, all else being equal
In 2026, backlinks are still important, but the quality of those links matters far more than the quantity. A single link from a trusted, authoritative website in your niche is worth more than hundreds of links from random directories or low-quality blogs.
What Makes a Good Backlink
Not all backlinks are created equal. Here is what separates valuable links from worthless ones:
- Relevance. A link from a site in your niche is worth more than a link from an unrelated site. Google understands topical relationships and weights links accordingly.
- Authority. A link from a well-established site with its own strong backlink profile passes more value than a link from a brand new blog nobody has heard of.
- Editorial nature. Links that are naturally placed within content because the author genuinely found your resource valuable are the gold standard. Links that are bought, traded, or placed through automated schemes are what gets you penalized.
- Anchor text diversity. Natural backlink profiles have a variety of anchor texts. If every link pointing to your site uses the exact same keyword phrase, Google will flag that as manipulative.
How to Build Backlinks in 2026
The link-building tactics from 2008 are mostly dead. Directory submissions, article marketing link wheels, and blog comment spam stopped working years ago. Here is what works now:
- Create content worth linking to. Original research, comprehensive guides, unique data, and genuinely useful tools attract links naturally. If your content is better than everything else on the topic, people will reference it.
- Guest posting on relevant sites. Write valuable content for established blogs in your niche. This builds your authority and earns contextual links back to your site.
- Build relationships. Connect with other content creators in your space. Collaboration, interviews, and joint projects create natural linking opportunities.
- Digital PR. Get mentioned in publications, podcasts, and news outlets. These editorial mentions carry significant weight with search engines.
- Fix broken links. Find broken links on relevant sites and offer your content as a replacement. This helps the site owner and earns you a quality link.
The Bottom Line
Backlinks remain one of the most powerful ranking factors in SEO. The tactics for building them have changed dramatically, but the principle has not. Create something genuinely valuable, then actively promote it to the people who can amplify it. Quality over quantity, every single time. Your link building strategy should be a long-term investment in your site's authority, not a shortcut that might get you penalized.
Building backlinks? What is Google TOS saying about that *LOL*
A link get most value over time, on a related site, an old site, a site with “google trust” … AND You can build Your own “site network” to use when building backlinks to Your “money sites” 😉
I definitely make it a point to get as many backlinks to new sites and find it really does help push the sites up in the rankings.
Once links start coming naturally things seem to take care of themselves.
Going out and getting backlinks is against Googles terms of service. When you actively go out and get backlinks to your site you are trying to manipulate the search engine rankings and make your site appear to be more of an authority on whatever keywords you choose. This is seriously the fact.
@Patrik, Shawn — I think you guys are talking about the webmaster guidelines. The idea of a TOS does not make sense for webmasters as webmasters are not google customers (people searching for websites are). In any case, Google webmaster guidelines are a confusing mess IMHO.
Let’s look at the extremes. If you go out and build a spam blog network of 10,000 sites with no content and link them all back to your site (and pay for that) — this is clearly something that Google would not like. Just because they don’t like it does not make it wrong, but it can hurt your ranking in their search engine if they catch you. So that is one extreme.
In contrast, if you pay $300 to get listed in DMOZ, Google loves that. Don’t ask me why. I guess they figure the “peer review” helps control spam.
Then again, if you build a the best website ever and call CNN and they link to you because they agree, Google loves that too. Still, you solicited that link.
Also, Google seems to be OK with links from things like eZineArticles. That is essentially a paid link. You are trading traffic (eZineArticles gets traffic from your content) for backlinks in the footer.
So, I am not sure what the answer is on Backlinks.
I suspect the answer is that you need to do stuff that makes sense that does not interrupt Google’s revenue model. If your sites have high AdSense CPA that converts well for Google’s customers (advertisers), I suspect they will not look at you as closely…
Just my two cents.
Mark
Hey Forest — that makes sense. Thanks for dropping by. What is your link plan for the nutrition blog?
Courtney Tuttle got his own PERSONALIZED Google slap when he proclaimed that backlinks were better than content!
What Google WANTS to see is quality content that is SO GOOD that others NATURALLY link to it.
The ultimate “catch 22” is to get your content EXPOSED to other WEB SITE OWNERS who will willingly link.
Backlinks are EXTREMELY important – and the best kind are the 1 way kind. Get a one way link from an .edu site and you’ll be AMAZED what one or two of those will do for your PR!
To say that Google doesn’t want you to build backlinks is ludicrous. How else will people find your site if you don’t let people know about it? Backlinks whether it is from an article directory, guest post, blog comment, etc. let people know about your site. If people like your site, a lot, they may then help you build backlinks by providing you one, but for the most part it is a lonely affair.
Or maybe you have a lot of friends already, but that would seem to fly in the face of the above argument. For those that don’t believe you are supposed to build your own backlinks, please tell, what are you supposed to do?
@Ez — I’m not really proclaiming anything. Just reporting what happened.
Thank you so much for knowledge Mark Mason. I think it was really a good tip for beginner .Thank you for your trick. God bless you.
@Ez – Google have confirmed that backlinks helps your websites’ SERP’s.
And the have “nearly” confirmed that it doesn’t matter wether it’s a .edu or .net.
Go search the WF. There’s a post there about it. ( An interview of some Google guys)
– Prebz
thanks for sharing this tips, this realy useful for beginner like me