Links have historically been one of the most influential SEO ranking factors, right up there with optimized content and having a secure, speedy, mobile-friendly site. However, as Google’s algorithms are adjusted and updated, certain SEO factors tend to become less important.
Thus, some have begun to question the importance of links, wondering whether they’re quite as valuable as they once were.
Well, the short answer is that links 100% do still matter for SEO in 2024. But the longer answer is a little more complicated than that. So, without further ado, let’s dig in, exploring the role of backlinks for 2024 SEO strategies.
The Historic Significance of Backlinks for SEO
There are a lot of different factors that impact SEO results. It’s not just about keywords or making sure your site is secure and stable. Google takes much more into account, including, but not limited to the following:
- Whether or not your site has an SSL certificate
- How well it runs on mobile devices
- How fast the pages load
- Technical on-site factors like header tags, meta descriptions, and image alts
- Content quality and optimization
- How old your website is
All of these factors, and more, come into play when processing that complex calculation that determines how high a page appears in Google search results. But some factors are naturally more impactful than others, with greater bearing on the result.
Historically, links have been one of those top-tier factors that have a lot of influence. That goes all the way back to the mid-1990s when Google first started. Back then, one of the company’s co-founders, Larry Page, implemented the PageRank system, which he’d worked on at Stanford.
The idea of PageRank was simple: to count both the number and quality of links leading to a website in order to work out how important that site is (and how high it should rank). Even as the years have gone by, PageRank has continued to form a fundamental part of Google’s ranking algorithm.
The Value Links Bring
It’s not hard to see why links have been so highly prized by Google over the years. Their importance can be summed up in a single word: authority.
Links show trust. If lots of websites all link to one other site and are happy to provide traffic to that site, it shows the site must have a certain level of trust. Or, at the very least, it shows that the site is big enough to be talked about and engaged with by others.
It’s almost like a business that gets mentioned multiple times in the press and media. Some of those mentions might be positive, others might be negative, but they all create some sort of publicity for the business. They play a part in building the business’s reputation and standing – links work the same way.
Questions and Confusion Over the Continued Influence of Backlinks
Given all of the above, it might seem strange to even pose the question of whether or not links still matter. After all, they seem so crucial in determining the value and importance of a site, and they’ve been part of Google’s algorithm for decades.
However, with recent updates to the algorithm, there’s certainly a debate to be had about how relevant and valuable links still are. Indeed, throughout SEO circles, many experts have shared their thoughts on the subject, with some strongly contrasting positions.
For some, links are just as important as ever, if not more so. Those of this viewpoint to Google’s own published philosophy, which specifically cites links and the PageRank system as making up a massive part of their ranking algorithm.
For others, links have lost value. They say that, as new factors have been taken into account and gained importance, the influence of links has declined. They also argue that the rise of paid link-building services and similar sneaky techniques for sites to get more links has forced Google to put less emphasis on link value.
Do Backlinks Still Matter?
So, which is it? Are links still an invaluable, intrinsic element that no SEO campaign can do without? Or are they a waste of time, effort, and money, with site owners better served by focusing on other aspects, like content and technical factors?
Well, the truth lies somewhere between those two extremes. Links still matter, without a doubt, but their importance may not be quite as significant as it once was.
Let’s look at a few things Google itself has said on the subject, as well as explore some studies into the subject, to find out more.
What Google Has to Say
To get the bottom line on anything related to Google’s algorithm, it makes sense to go directly to the source. While Google has a history of sometimes being a little confusing or vague in its statements, it has repeatedly made clear that links are a crucial part of how it ranks sites and pages.
On its “Ten things we know to be true” philosophy page, Google states:
“Google search works because it relies on the millions of individuals posting links on websites to help determine which other sites offer content of value.”
Over the years, Google has also repeatedly listed links as important and influential factors in determining the ranking of a website. They even ranked links as one of the top three biggest factors.
However, in more recent times, the company’s attitude has notably shifted.
In 2024, for example, the company updated its spam policies documentation. The documentation had originally stated:
“Google uses links as an important factor in determining the relevancy of web pages.”
However, in the update, the word “important” was removed from that sentence.
What’s more, one of Google’s top search analysts, Gary Illyes, stated that links were no longer in the top three most important ranking factors. He said:
“I think they are important, but I think people overestimate the importance of links. I don’t agree it’s in the top three. It hasn’t been for some time.”
John Mueller, another Google search professional, echoed Illyes’ thoughts, stating:
“There are more important things for websites nowadays, and over-focusing on links will often result in you wasting your time doing things that don’t make your website better overall.”
Scientific Findings
If we look at what Google is saying, it seems that links still matter, but certainly not as much as they once did. But is this backed up by real, hard evidence? To find out, a bunch of big search engine specialists carried out their own studies into the subject, with some intriguing results.
Ahrefs, for example, which is one of the biggest platforms for SEO analysis, has found that sites with high rankings tend to be those with lots of backlinks. According to Ahrefs, there is a distinct positive correlation between how many links you get and how well your site ranks and that has continued into 2024.
Backlinko went even further, digging into almost 12 million Google search results to find out more about how they were ranked. It agreed with Ahrefs that sites with strong link authority (lots of backlinks) tend to have higher rankings. It even found that pages that claim the top spot in Google rankings tend to have over three times more links than those in the rest of the top 10.
Other leading names in SEO, like Semrush and Monster Insights, concurred. Semrush’s early 2024 study of ranking factors found that a page’s authority and the number of links it had were still hugely influential factors in determining ranking. Monster Insights, meanwhile, noted that sites with lots of links – especially from high authority sites – tend to rank well.
The Role of Backlinks in 2024
In a way, the findings of these big SEO specialists seem to contrast with what Google has been saying. The search engine giant has repeatedly downplayed the significance of links over the last year or two, but studies continue to show that links are still a big factor.
So, what’s the big takeaway from all this? Well, the simple fact of the matter is that, as stated several times, links do still matter in 2024. However, Google has clearly fine-tuned its algorithm to include other factors, and it’s started to put much more emphasis on the quality of links, rather than the quantity.
This was something that Backlinko and the other big SEO firms all found in their studies – to rank highly, sites need links from high authority sites, and a link from a trusted, established site is infinitely more valuable to Google than lots of links from low authority sources.
For example, let’s say an established and trusted media outlet links to your website. That’s worth much more, in ranking terms than the link being shared on online forums, in blog comments, or on social media sites, for example.
So, if you want to rank higher, old-fashioned and outdated methods like getting your links shared on forums or guest blogs just won’t work the way they once did. Instead, it’s much more important to earn and attract links from trusted, reputable sources.
Don’t Underestimate the Influence of Backlinks
By Google’s admission, backlinks may not be as important as they once were, but they’re still one of the core pillars of SEO. They should not be underestimated, but they shouldn’t be your sole focus, either, when trying to propel your pages up the rankings.
Instead, it’s much more sensible to adopt a holistic approach to SEO, working not just on links, but content optimization and technical fine-tuning to yield the best and biggest improvements to your site’s performance.
