• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Dagmar Marketing

DAGMAR

877-753-0050

  • Services
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Pay Per Click Management
    • Local SEO
    • Content Development & Marketing
    • Inbound Marketing
    • Website Design
    • Social Media Advertising
  • Industries
    • Plastic Surgeons
    • Law Firms
    • Pest Control
    • Auto Repair Shops
    • HVAC
    • Dental Practices
    • Healthcare
    • All Industries
  • About
    • Meet The Team
  • Our Results
  • Blog
  • Guides
    • Law Firm SEO Guide
    • Plastic Surgery SEO Guide
    • Pest Control SEO Guide
  • Contact
Mobile Menu Toggle

Are Backlinks Still Relevant and Necessary?

Brian Valentin Categories: SEOReading Time: 6 minutes

  • Guides
  • Digital Marketing
  • Local SEO
  • SEO
  • Pay Per Click
  • Social Media

(Spoiler: Yep—but not like you remember.)

TL;DR: Yes, links still matter in 2025, but not nearly as much as they did years ago and Google’s getting even pickier, AI search is rewriting the rulebook, and “toxic-link” alarms aren’t the five-alarm fires the tools make them out to be. If you run a small or mid-size business, or are the marketing manager for one, here’s a practical, no-fluff rundown.

Why We’re Still Talking About Links in 2025

Every year someone in the SEO Twittersphere (sorry, X-sphere) or Redditsphere proclaims, “Links are dead.” Then another algorithm update hits, rankings shuffle, and then we notice the winners still have healthier link profiles than the “losers”.

Google has certainly cooled its public love affair with backlinks—in 2023, Googler Gary Illyes repeated his statement that links aren’t even in the top three ranking factors anymore and in March 2024, a spam-policy edit silently removed the word “important” from its link blurb.

But here’s the deal: de-emphasized does not equal irrelevant. Modern search still needs signals of authority it can verify quickly, and good links deliver that proof in ways on-page copy alone can’t.

What the Data Actually Shows

  • Backlinko’s 2025 study of 11.8 million search results found top-ranking pages carried significantly more referring domains than positions 5–10.
  • Semrush’s rank-factor study still lists multiple link metrics—referring domains, follow/nofollow ratio, authority score—in the Top 20 drivers of visibility.

Correlation isn’t causation, but if links were purely vestigial* we’d expect the relationship to have flat-lined by now. But it hasn’t. Instead, you might see diminishing returns: once your site hits a threshold of quality links, piling on more of the same caliber won’t give the rocket-boost it once did. *(I’m proud of myself for working that big word in to this paragraph)

Translation for busy owners:

  • Competing in a tough vertical with zero authority? Links can move the needle—and sometimes very fast.
  • Already a known player with solid topical coverage? Links may be the tie-breaker, but they’re not the primary driver of your results.

Quality, Context & Trust > Raw Volume

Old-school link building worshipped at the altar of “more.” It used to be more links = more rankings = more traffic. Not so much any more. 

Now, Google wants relevance, editorial placement, and real-human traffic (logically and rightfully so).

Think of each link as an introduction at a networking event:

  • Who’s talking you up? A respected industry journal outranks “mom’s free wordpress blog.”
  • Why are they mentioning you? Contextual mentions inside a well-read article beat footer links on a directory blast.
  • Does their audience overlap yours? A niche podcast backlink that sends converting visitors is worth ten generic listicles.

What about nofollow/dofollow? As long as today isn’t your first time thinking about backlinks, you’ve probably heard the terms “dofollow” or “nofollow” backlinks. Briefly: these are link attributes Google uses to decide whether to pass along authority when following where that link is going. 

I believe Google treats nofollow, sponsored, and UGC tags as hints or really strong suggestions—but not always hard walls. They rarely pass classic PageRank, but they still drive referral traffic, build brand awareness, and can spark follow links later if someone else references your piece. In practice, a relevant nofollow link from a major news outlet can still be more valuable than a random dofollow link on a low-traffic blog. So, understand them for what they are: indirect authority builders, not ranking silver bullets.

Now, need some link building inspiration? Check out these creative link-building tactics we’ve used for legal websites—many of these principles adapt perfectly to SMBs in any niche. 

Should You Worry About “Toxic” Backlink Reports?

Short answer: Probably not.

Most tools flag anything low-authority or remotely spammy as “toxic.” My guy, John Mueller, says Google basically ignores the vast majority of junk links unless they’re part of a clear, systematic attempt to manipulate Google’s rankings—the kind that earns a manual action.

Ahrefs (quoting Marie Haynes) put it bluntly: disavowing random toxic-score links rarely improves rankings (and could truly ruin rankings if good links are accidentally disavowed); it’s a safeguard for sites with shady link histories or active penalties. 

If you’re really worried about ‘toxic’ backlinks, here’s a practical workflow you can follow to review your links:

  1. Quarterly export of new links (use Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or another tool of your choice).
  2. Look for obvious garbage (casino comment spam, hacked gibberish).
  3. If you never paid for links and you’re penalty-free, you can and move on to more important things.
  4. If you did dabble in PBNs or paid for links in a past life—it might be time for a surgical disavow — even then, you only really need to disavow if there was a significant amount of links bought. If you bought a couple a long time ago and your rankings and traffic are fine, it’s probably best to ignore them and move on. 

Here’s the bottom-line: you really don’t need to worry about toxic or spammy backlinks UNLESS you’ve done some black-hat-like link building (at scale) in the past. As Marie Haynes points out here, disavowing is really meant for if your site has received a manual action or you’ve been buying links to improve rankings. 

OK — so we’ve hopefully convinced you that back links are still relevant and worthwhile…next let’s discuss how we can create a sustainable process for generating quality backlinks.


How Can AI Fit into Link Earning? (Not Farming)

Can AI Help You Earn Links? (Spoiler: Yes—if you use it the right way)

AI won’t magically create backlinks to your site—robots don’t build relationships (yet), people do. What AI can do is slash the grunt work, speed up your processes, and point you toward smarter, more “link-able” opportunities. 

Putting AI on Both Sides of the Table

All the clever prospecting in the table above can get you into the room—you’re earning citations from sites people (and search engines) respect. 

But, next, you need to make sure Google’s AI Overviews and other answer engines can find and quote your best facts without guessing. That’s where strategic markup enters the chat.

What’s “Strategic Markup,” and Why Should You Care?

Think of strategic markup as a sort-of “name tag” that helps AI and search engines recognize who you are and what you offer. Using Schema Markup (such as Article, FAQ, Product, LocalBusiness, etc.) and well-marked headings, you can wrap your key facts in machine-readable packaging so search engines understand your content. The payoff:

  1. Easier Extraction: Google’s AI Overviews and other answer engines pull clean facts straight from your markup, so your brand shows up—with a link—inside the generated answer box.
  2. Authority Confirmation: When that structured data matches what high-authority sites say about you (hello, earned backlinks), the confidence score on those AI answers jumps.
  3. Traffic Loop: Appearing in AI summaries drives discovery; curious users click the source link, reinforcing the signal that your page is the most trustworthy answer.

Basically, markup tells AI what to cite, and high-authority backlinks tell AI who to trust. Do them together and you get a one-two punch: better visibility in AI-generated results and referral traffic classic SEO is designed to deliver.

Let AI do what it does best: the heavy lifting—research, personalization, gap spotting—while you keep the human touch on relationship building and thought-leadership content. Combine that with clean strategic markup and a handful of links from respected sites, and you’ve got an authority snowball that should keep rolling along.

Action Blueprint for Small & Medium Businesses and Marketing Managers Doing It on Their Own:

Step 1: Nail Your On-Site SEO Foundation

  • Solid internal linking (think category clusters, not orphan pages).
  • Clear service pages—start with your core offers, then branch to FAQs and resources.

Step 2: Earn Your First 10–20 High-Credibility Links

  • Local chambers, trade associations, supplier profiles.
  • Niche features: “Top 10 pool builders in Jacksonville” lists, local podcasts.
  • Target one digital PR mini-campaign per quarter (data study, community event recap, expert commentary). For guidance, our link-building strategies for law firms article breaks down a step-by-step process adaptable to any service business.

Step 3: Layer in Authority Assets

  • Publish “information-gain” resources competitors don’t have (original surveys, case studies, pricing benchmark, map of local regulations).
  • Promote these assets via social, email, and lightly personalized outreach.

Step 4: Review Progress

  • Quarterly health check—look for growth in referring domains and, more importantly, referral traffic + leads.
  • If numbers stall, identify topical gaps or upgrade outreach targets.

Bonus: Wondering if investing in SEO as a whole still pays off? Here’s a candid answer on whether SEO is worth it for small businesses in 2025.


Rapid-Fire Linkbuilding Myth Busting


Backlinks aren’t the entire SEO pie anymore, but they’re still a hearty slice. For small and mid-size businesses, the playbook is pretty straightforward: build a technically sound site, create legitimately helpful content, then earn links from places your ideal customers already trust.

If you’d like a sanity check on your own link profile—or a roadmap for landing those first authority wins—our team’s happy to help. Explore our SEO services for growth-minded businesses or get in touch with our SEO specialists for a quick chat about your goals.

Because yes—links still matter, so let’s make sure yours are earning their keep.

  • About
  • Latest Posts

Brian Valentin

Brian helps DAGMAR clients drive traffic to their websites with SEO and link development. He's an experienced SEO strategist, blogger and writer.

Latest posts by Brian Valentin (see all)

  • Are Backlinks Still Relevant and Necessary? - July 24, 2025
  • Unleash the Power of Local SEO: Elevate Your Google Business Profile in 5 Minutes! - June 18, 2024
  • Everything You Need to Know About Pest Control SEO But Were Afraid To Ask - June 14, 2024
FacebookTweetPin

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Dagmar Marketing

Ready for fresh marketing ideas or just have a question? Please get in touch!

DAGMAR Marketing
25 N. Market St., Suite 500
Jacksonville, FL 32202

(904) 270-9778


Google Reviews 4.9 out of 5 — based on 31 reviews
  • Jacksonville Digital Marketing Agency
  • SEO Jacksonville
  • Jacksonville Local SEO Services
  • Jacksonville PPC
  • Pay Per Click Management
  • Local SEO
  • Website Design
  • Content Development & Marketing
  • Social Media Advertising
  • Service Area Map
  • Our Results
  • Blog
  • Digital Marketing Guides
  • DAGMAR Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

© DAGMAR Marketing 2025
25 N. Market Street Suite 500 Jacksonville, Florida 32202
  • Services
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Pay Per Click Management
    • Local SEO
    • Content Development & Marketing
    • Inbound Marketing
    • Website Design
    • Social Media Advertising
  • Industries
    • Plastic Surgeons
    • Law Firms
    • Pest Control
    • Auto Repair Shops
    • HVAC
    • Dental Practices
    • Healthcare
    • All Industries
  • About
    • Meet The Team
  • Our Results
  • Blog
  • Guides
    • Law Firm SEO Guide
    • Plastic Surgery SEO Guide
    • Pest Control SEO Guide
  • Contact