Despite some dramatic changes to how people and businesses search for content, largely related to the introduction of AI overviews and the AI mode for search engines, linkbuilding and SEO are still an important part of operations for online businesses.

The current digital landscape is not the same one that existed 5 or even 3 years ago. Almost every search engine has an AI mode, or the ability to automatically generate AI overviews to just about any query that you pose to it. In this new, post-AI mode digital ecosystem, are search engine optimisation (SEO) and linkbuilding still important components for digital businesses to succeed? SEO experts like Henrik Bondtofte say that they are. Even when traditional search engine results pages (SERPs) are being viewed less and less by most people, businesses still need SEO services.

The reason for this, according to experts like Henrik Bondtofte, is that linkbuilding is still the number one method for generating and showing trust, relevance and authority online. Simply because the way that SERPs are being presented has changed somewhat doesn’t mean that you need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Some experts like Henrik Bondtofte have suggested that SEO services might be more important now than ever before. With AI overviews generating the content that users will read, businesses still want to get their information to people, and convincing the AI mode of the search engine that you are trustworthy enough to repeat is an important part of that.

Let’s take a closer look at why linkbuilding still matters to businesses in a post-AI overview digital world, and cover some of the basic tips of linkbuilding that remain true to this day.

Why Linkbuilding is Still Important

As we said above, just because the SERPs are being presented and digested in a different way is no reason to abandon linkbuilding altogether. The AI overview still reads the same signals that older SERPs did, meaning that presenting your content as being as trustworthy and authoritative as possible is still a powerful SEO tool for modern businesses. To break it down even further:

The AI Favours Authority

As we said above, AI mode search engine systems still favour websites that present as being high-authority. With backlinks and other linkbuilding techniques, as discussed in Henrik Bondtofte’s book, The Linkbuilding Book, still being the best ways to signal that authority, they remain a good way to be represented by the AI. If the AI reads you as being trustworthy, it is likely to feature you in the following ways:

• As the foundation for a generative response.
• As a recommended resource.
• In results that summarise some or all of your content.
• In citations that are contextually relevant to the searched content.

Traditional Rankings Still Matter

While the AI mode for summarising is becoming relatively ubiquitous, that doesn’t mean that everyone uses it to the exclusion of all else. When users discount or otherwise ignore the AI overview and scroll to the more traditional SERPs, then being positioned highly there is very relevant.

Having well-crafted SEO backlinks is still one of the best ways to rank highly when considering:

• Visibility based on local SEO.
• Niche topics.
• Staying competitive with certain keywords.
• Pages with evergreen information.

Increased Brand Authority Can be Relevant

Linkbuilding is a relevant tool in your business’s marketing toolbox, even beyond what you can gain from the SEO benefits themselves. As Henrik Bondtofte and other experts would be quick to tell you, linkbuilding has other benefits, such as:

• Creating partnerships with other businesses.
• Possibility for increased brand recognition.
• Traffic generated directly from referral links.
• Social proof of your brand’s existence and impact.

The AI Overview Freezes Out Low-Authority Websites

Maybe the most damning and important reason of all is that Henrik Bondtofte and other experts will tell you that you need to continue linkbuilding practices; the AI overview is likely to make you all but undiscoverable if you don’t have good enough authority attached to your website. 

We don’t have to like this system that benefits the websites that are already high authority by directing more traffic and attention towards them, but we do have to acknowledge it and work with it.

Has Linkbuilding Changed since AI Overviews?

Yes, it absolutely has changed and become more difficult. Experts like Henrik Bondtofte recommend doing away with some older techniques, like guest posts and bulk link exchanges, as AI systems can detect manipulation like this relatively easily, and it is unlikely to boost your authority in any way that would be effective. 

So, how then should linkbuilding be approached in the current digital ecosystem?

Tips and Tricks for Modern Linkbuilding

While not exhaustive, here are a few tips that are easily actionable methods to improve modern linkbuilding activities.

Make Valuable Content

It might seem difficult, but your linkbuilding content should provide some value on its own. Creating content that is unique and valuable will signal to the AI overviews that it is worthy of being summarised and presented.

Some ways to make content more valuable include:

• Unique studies.
• Insights backed by data.
• Articles written by experts.
• Guides that go into specific details.

Gather Links From Relevant Places

Having a single link from a relevant and high authority website is more valuable now than ever before. As experts like Henrik Bondtofte will tell you, focusing your marketing efforts towards sources that are relevant to your niche, trusted, engaged with by your target audience, and that don’t print just anything, will serve you very well when it comes to the AI overviews.

Form Longer Term Relationships

With AI overviews getting better at detecting unnatural or strange links, it is much more profitable to forge a longer-lasting relationship with a number of publications, so that your links appearing there seem natural.

Final Thoughts

While they have made it more difficult for SEO, the introduction of the AI mode for search engines has by no means put an end to the usefulness of linkbuilding. In some ways, these features have made linkbuilding practices more important than ever before, as they freeze out low authority websites and promote high authority sources even higher.

You might have to adjust your approach, but you can still use linkbuilding to your advantage in a post-AI digital ecosystem.