Are backlinks still important? The short answer
Yes. A backlink is a link from another website to yours, and Google still treats it as a vote of confidence. Links are no longer the whole game the way they were a decade ago, but they remain one of Google's core trust signals. What has changed is that quality now dominates quantity: a few relevant, editorially earned links beat thousands of thin ones, and the schemes that used to work now invite a penalty.
- Links still matter because PageRank, the model Google was built on, still shapes how authority flows between pages.
- Judge a link on four dimensions: site authority, topical relevance, the linking page's own traffic, and placement.
- Earn links, do not buy them. Paid links that pass PageRank break Google's spam policies.
The rest of this guide covers why links still carry weight, how to tell a valuable link from a worthless one, what the followed and nofollowed distinction actually means, and how to check whether the links you earn are translating into rankings and clicks.
The Foundation of Algorithmic Trust
Google was built on PageRank, a model that treats every hyperlink as a vote of confidence from one page to another. Ahrefs documents the evidence that a version of PageRank still operates today, now sitting alongside signals for content quality, relevance and user experience rather than running the show alone.
No AI update has changed the underlying idea: when a reputable site chooses to link to your content, it is an endorsement Google cannot manufacture on its own. That is why links remain hard to fake, and valuable when real.
The Four Dimensions of Backlink Quality
Not all links are equal. A single link that scores well on all four of these is worth more than a thousand that score on none.
Authority of the linking site
The strength of the domain pointing at you, judged by the quality of its own links. Third-party scores such as Ahrefs Domain Rating or Moz Domain Authority are useful proxies here, not Google metrics. A link from a recognised industry publication carries real weight.
Topical relevance
A link from a directly relevant site in your field, even a modest one, often outweighs a link from a large but unrelated site. Google values the context of the endorsement, not just the size of the site giving it.
Traffic of the linking page
Does the page linking to you actually get organic visitors? Ahrefs found links from pages with traffic tend to correlate with a bigger ranking benefit than links from pages Google has effectively ignored. A live, ranking page is a stronger vote.
Placement on the page
An editorial link inside relevant body content is stronger than a footer link, a sidebar link, or one buried in a long citation list. Where the link sits tells Google how deliberate the endorsement was.
How to Actually Earn Links
Understanding why links matter is the easy part. Earning them is the work. This beginner walkthrough from Ahrefs covers the main approaches, from guest contributions and digital PR to building something genuinely worth citing, and the mindset that keeps you on the right side of Google's spam policies.
For the methods that are safe to pursue in detail, see our guide to white-hat link building, and keep an eye on your anchor text ratios so your profile reads as natural.
Link velocity: watch the pattern, not a number
Link velocity is how fast you earn new links. There is no public safe rate, and no specific velocity penalty. What Google's link spam systems react to is the pattern: hundreds of low-authority links appearing overnight after years of nothing looks bought or automated, because it usually is.
Earn links at the pace your content earns attention. A steady trickle that tracks your publishing and your mentions reads as organic discovery. If you ever feel the need to ask what rate is safe, that is usually a sign the links are not being earned.
Which Links Actually Pass Value
Not every link passes ranking signals, and Google tells you which do. A normal followed link can pass value from the linking page to yours. Three rel attributes change that, and Google's own documentation on qualifying outbound links explains when each applies.
| Link type | What it tells Google | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Followed (default) | Treat this as an endorsement; pass ranking signals. | Editorial links you stand behind. |
| rel="sponsored" | This link was paid for or is an affiliate; do not pass signals. | Ads, paid placements, affiliate links. |
| rel="ugc" | User-generated; treat with caution. | Comments, forum posts, profile links. |
| rel="nofollow" | A hint not to pass signals or crawl for ranking. | Links you cannot vouch for. |
The practical takeaway: the links that build authority are followed, editorial, and placed by someone who chose to cite you. Buying a followed link to pass PageRank is exactly what the spam policies prohibit. If a profile does turn toxic, the disavow guide covers the rare cases where cleanup is warranted.
Where Murkuz fits, and where it does not
Murkuz does not audit backlinks. It is a read-only connector for your own Search Console, Analytics and Bing data.
To see your link profile itself, use Search Console's Links report or a dedicated backlink tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Moz. Murkuz has no view of who links to you and makes no claim to.
What it does answer is the question that actually matters after a link lands: are the pages and queries you built links for starting to move? Connect Search Console once, add Murkuz to Claude or ChatGPT, and ask:
Keyword_RankingsWhere you rank for a set of target queries, and how that has shifted since the links went live.Live_Quick_WinsQueries sitting just off page one, where a new authority link is most likely to tip you over.Search_AnalyticsClicks, impressions and position by page and query, so you can tie a link campaign to the page it was meant to lift.
Reading your own Search Console data is never metered, on any plan, and every answer carries the property and the date window.
Further reading
The most useful material on backlinks we found, starting with Google's own documentation. Each one was read in full before it was added here.
Official docsGoogle Search Central
SEO Link Best Practices for GoogleGoogle's own guidance on crawlable links, descriptive anchor text and internal linking. The baseline every link decision should start from.
Official docsGoogle Search Central
Qualify Your Outbound Links to GoogleWhen and how to use rel sponsored, ugc and nofollow. The clearest explanation of why some links pass ranking signals and some are treated as hints.
Official docsGoogle Search Central
Spam Policies for Google Web SearchThe link-spam section defines what counts as a link scheme: paid links that pass PageRank, excessive exchanges and automated links. The line between earning links and buying a penalty.
GuideAhrefs, Patrick Stox
The Evolution of Google's PageRank AlgorithmHow PageRank works and the evidence that Google still uses a version of it. Good grounding for the links-are-votes model this page rests on.
GuideMoz
What Are Backlinks In SEO and Why Are They Important?A clear beginner explainer of backlinks, followed versus nofollowed links, and what makes one link worth more than another.
StudyAhrefs, Tim Soulo
Do Links From Pages With Traffic Help You Rank Higher?A data study on whether a linking page's own traffic correlates with a ranking benefit. Evidence for the traffic dimension of link quality below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are backlinks still an important ranking factor in 2026?
Yes. Google still treats links as a core signal, and PageRank, the original link-based algorithm, still underpins how authority flows between pages. Links matter less in isolation than they did a decade ago, now weighed alongside content quality, relevance and user experience. But a strong page with no external links still struggles against an equally strong page that has earned them.
How do I measure the quality of a backlink?
Weigh four dimensions. First, the authority of the linking site, where third-party scores like Ahrefs Domain Rating or Moz Domain Authority are useful proxies, not Google metrics. Second, topical relevance: a link from a site in your field often beats a stronger link from an unrelated one. Third, whether the linking page itself gets real organic traffic. Fourth, placement: an editorial link inside the body beats one buried in a footer or sidebar. One link strong on all four is worth more than hundreds of thin directory links.
What is link velocity, and is there a safe rate?
Link velocity is the rate at which you earn new links. There is no published safe number and no specific velocity penalty. What Google's link spam systems target is the pattern: a sudden flood of low-quality links that looks bought or automated. Links earned steadily as you publish and get cited look natural; a burst bought overnight does not, which is why velocity is a symptom to watch rather than a dial to set.
What is the difference between a followed and a nofollowed link?
A normal followed link can pass ranking signals from the linking page to yours. The rel attributes nofollow, sponsored and ugc tell Google to treat the link as a hint and generally not pass signals: sponsored for paid or affiliate links, ugc for user-generated content such as comments, and nofollow for cases where you do not want to endorse the target. Editorial followed links from relevant pages are the ones that build authority.
Does disavowing toxic links still matter?
For most sites, rarely. Google says it ignores the vast majority of low-quality links automatically. The disavow tool matters mainly if you have a manual action for unnatural links, or you inherited a manipulative link profile you cannot get removed. If organic traffic dropped and your technical SEO is clean, diagnose the actual cause before reaching for disavow.
Can I just buy backlinks to rank faster?
Buying links that pass PageRank is against Google's spam policies and risks a manual action or having the links discounted. The links that hold up are earned: original research, a genuinely useful free tool, real relationships, and content worth citing. It is slower, and it is the only version that compounds instead of putting your site at risk.