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Remember a simpler time when Google Search relied on links for ranking?
According to Google search quality expert Duy Nguyen, links have very little impact on Google Search rankings these days. In a recent Google office hours clip, Nguyen explains that compared to Google’s beginning, backlinks are significantly less impactful when it comes to ranking.
Why Are Backlinks Still a Thing?
This isn’t a complete shock. There’s been hum for years now about the importance of linking.
For instance, recently, Google experts have been saying that links will most likely become even more insignificant in the coming years. Search Engine Roundtable reports that Google has said previously that links aren’t the most important Google search ranking factor.
Here’s the Google office hours clip covering a discussion on backlinks.
This may have you all wondering why Google continues to use backlinks as a signal if they aren’t as impactful as they used to be. The short answer is that it’s a ranking tactic that just hasn’t been phased out yet.
Although if backlinks aren’t working as well as they used to it makes sense why Guy says it is a waste of money and resources to continue. Here’s what he has to say on the matter:
“link building campaigns are essentially link spam according to our spam policy. We have many algorithms capable of detecting unnatural links at scale and nullifying them. This means that spammers or SEOs spending money on links truly have no way of knowing if the money they spent on link building is worth it or not”
Based on Nguyen’s comments on backlinks, alongside many other search ranking experts, don’t be surprised if links become less and less useful.
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