Is Backlinks are still important in 2026?
I’ve seen many SEO experts say that content quality and user experience matter more now, while others still believe backlinks are one of the strongest ranking factors in Google Search.
For small websites, local businesses, or new blogs, are backlinks still necessary to rank in 2026? Or can strong content, topical authority, and proper on-page SEO be enough?
Also, what type of backlinks are actually working today guest posts, niche edits, digital PR, local citations, or natural links?
And has the importance of backlinks decreased after the rise of AI? Since getting cited in LLMs and AI search results may not depend on backlinks as much as traditional Google rankings do. Or do AI systems still indirectly use backlinks as authority signals?
u/Emergency-Dark-9491 — 7 hours ago