Everything you need to know about Backlinks in 2027

What are backlinks?

A backlink is a link from one website to another. When a news site, a supplier directory or a blogger links to your page, that link is a backlink to your site and an outbound link from theirs. Search engines read these links for two reasons that Google has stated in its documentation, which are to discover new pages to crawl and to judge how relevant a page is. In its own words, as Google “uses links as a signal when determining the relevancy of pages and to find new pages to crawl.”

Because a link works a little like a recommendation, the source matters as much as the link itself. A mention from a respected publication in your industry carries more weight than dozens of links from unrelated, low-quality pages. This is why earning relevant links is an important part of a broader SEO strategy, and that difference between quantity and quality sits behind almost every change described below.

Do backlinks still matter? What is confirmed

The short answer is yes, although the weight they carry is smaller than it used to be. In 2016 a Google strategist described links as one of the top three ranking factors. In 2023, Google analyst Gary Illyes said links are important but that people overestimate their importance, and that they have not been a top three factor for some time. In 2024 he was reported as saying that Google needs very few links to rank pages and has made links less important over the years. Google has therefore been consistent that links remain a signal while no longer being the dominant one.

Independent data still shows a strong relationship between links and visibility. One 2026 analysis found that pages ranking in the top three had nearly five times more backlinks and 2.3 times more referring domains than pages in positions four to ten. Correlation does not prove cause, since well-ranked pages naturally attract more links, but it does indicate that links and rankings still travel together. A reasonable reading of both sets of evidence is that backlinks work best as support for strong content and a trustworthy brand, and they rarely rescue weak pages.

What makes a backlink valuable in 2027

Several qualities determine whether a link helps, and they tend to reinforce one another.

Relevance. A link from a site that covers your subject tells search engines and readers that your page belongs in that conversation. A link from an unrelated site adds little, however strong that site is.

• Authority and trust. Links from established, credible websites carry more weight than links from new or thinly maintained ones. Third-party metrics such as Domain Rating are useful for comparing sites, but they are estimates produced by SEO tools and are not scores that Google uses.
• Editorial placement. A link placed naturally inside useful content, because the author considered it worth citing, is worth far more than one placed in a footer, a sidebar or a list of unrelated links.
• Anchor text. Descriptive, natural anchor text helps context, whereas repeating the same exact-match keyword across many links looks manipulative and is a pattern spam systems look for.
• Real audience. A link that sends actual visitors is a healthy sign, because it shows the source’s readers found it helpful.
• Link attributes. Links can carry rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc" labels. Google treats these as hints and not strict instructions, so they can still help with discovery and brand exposure even when they pass little or no ranking credit. Paid or affiliate placements should be labelled as sponsored.

Backlinks and AI search: what the research shows

AI search is the biggest change since the 2024 version of this guide, and the research so far points in two directions. For Google’s AI Overviews, an Ahrefs study of 75,000 brands found that branded web mentions correlated at 0.664 with AI Overview visibility, compared with 0.326 for Domain Rating, 0.295 for referring domains and 0.218 for the number of backlinks. In plain terms, being talked about across the web, with or without a link, tracked AI visibility much more closely than raw link counts did.

For ChatGPT the picture looks different. SE Ranking found referring domains to be the single strongest predictor of ChatGPT citations across 129,000 domains. Taken together, links appear to matter more for some AI platforms than others, and the platforms do not all behave the same way.

A further finding suggests links keep an indirect role. Seer Interactive’s analysis of 76.7 million AI Overviews found a 0.70 correlation between being mentioned on highly linked pages and AI Overview visibility. Links therefore seem to help a brand get noticed by the sources AI tools draw on, even where the link itself is not what the tool counts.

Most SEO teams have not adjusted yet. A 2026 survey reported that 74% of SEOs believe backlinks influence AI search visibility, yet only 19% have changed how they build links. These studies are correlations from third parties and not statements from Google or OpenAI, so they are best treated as strong directional evidence and not as fixed rules.

Google’s link spam rules and the 2026 updates

Google’s position on manipulative links has not softened. Its spam policies describe link spam as links created mainly to manipulate rankings, which includes buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, large-scale link exchanges, automatically generated links and low-value content produced to carry links. The enforcement mechanism is SpamBrain, an AI-based system that Google used in its December 2022 link spam update to detect both sites buying links and sites created to pass them on. The consequence matters: after a link spam update, any ranking benefit the spammy links provided is lost and does not return. That means a bought link is not only risky but can become a wasted investment.

The most recent spam update is worth clarifying because it has caused some confusion. Google’s September 2026 spam update finished rolling out on 8 October after 13 days and 16 hours, making it the longest spam update of 2026 so far. Google’s announcement did not describe it as a link spam update, and it named no specific policy, so there is no confirmed basis for claiming it targeted backlinks. Google’s link spam policy continues to apply regardless. Site owners who noticed ranking changes should not disavow links in a panic, and the safer response is to review any paid, automated or manipulative link activity that has been running.

What to expect for backlinks in 2027 and beyond

The following points are Ovelovia’s outlook, based on the trends above, and none of them has been announced by Google.

1. Brand mentions will carry more weight in strategy. With mentions correlating more strongly than links with AI visibility, expect teams to track linked and unlinked mentions together, and to treat being cited by trusted publications as the objective, with the link as one outcome.
2. Quality will keep outranking volume. Google has said it needs few links to rank pages, and its spam systems are updated several times a year, so large low-quality link batches carry more risk and less reward each year.
3. Link building and digital PR will merge further. Original research, expert commentary and genuinely newsworthy content earn links, mentions and AI citations at once, and this overlap makes them the most efficient investment.
4. Measurement will broaden. Alongside referring domains and rankings, expect reporting on AI citations, brand search demand and referral traffic from AI platforms.
5. Different AI platforms will reward different signals. Findings already differ between ChatGPT and Google’s AI features, so strategies that rely on a single signal are likely to age badly.

Area	Confirmed	Expected
Links as a Google signal	Used for relevance and discovery, no longer a top-three factor per Google	Continued gradual decline in raw weight
Spam enforcement	SpamBrain neutralises manipulative links; benefit is lost	More frequent and more precise enforcement
AI search	Brand mentions outperform backlinks in AI Overview studies; referring domains strong for ChatGPT	Brand and link signals measured together
Strategy	Quality and relevance over volume	Digital PR and brand building take the lead

How to build a healthy backlink profile

Detailed tactics are covered in Ovelovia’s separate guide on link building strategies for 2027, so the essentials are enough here. Publish material that other sites have a reason to cite, such as original data, in-depth guides and tools. Contribute expert commentary to journalists and industry publications. Build real relationships with suppliers, partners, associations and local organizations that can reference you naturally. Keep the website technically sound, since pages that load quickly and read well are easier to link to and easier for AI systems to use. Be wary of any offer promising a set number of links for a fixed price, because those arrangements are exactly what Google’s link spam policy describes.

How to audit and measure your backlinks

Start with the Links report in Google Search Console, which shows your top linking sites and most linked pages for free. Supplement it with a dedicated tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Moz to review referring domains, anchor text distribution and new or lost links. Look at who links to you and whether the source is relevant and credible, how your anchor text is distributed, and whether any unusual spikes suggest a paid or automated campaign. Also compare your link profile with those of competitors ranking above you, because the gap shows where the opportunity lies. Disavowing is rarely necessary and is meant for clear cases of manipulative links you cannot remove, so avoid disavowing links only because a tool scored them as low authority.

How Ovelovia can help

Earning links, mentions and citations that last requires a plan that covers content, technical SEO and outreach together. Ovelovia’s SEO team audits your current backlink profile, identifies gaps against competitors, builds content designed to attract genuine references and reports on both traditional rankings and visibility in AI search. If you would like an assessment of where your site stands, contact Ovelovia to arrange a backlink and AI visibility review.

Final notes

The fundamentals behind backlinks in 2027 are the same ones that have always applied, which are relevance, credibility and usefulness, but the measurement has become wider and the tolerance for manipulation has become lower. Sites that earn recognition from trusted sources, and that are talked about as much as they are linked to, are best placed for both Google and AI search.

Frequently asked questions

Are backlinks still important in 2027?

Yes. Google treats links as a signal for relevance and discovery, and studies still show a link advantage among top-ranking pages, although Google has said links are less important than many assume. Backlinks in 2027 work best as support for strong content and a trusted brand.

How many backlinks do I need to rank?

There is no fixed number. Google has said it needs very few links to rank pages, and the right target depends on the competition for your keywords, so comparing your referring domains with those of the pages already ranking is the practical approach.

Do nofollow links have any value?

They can. Google treats nofollow, sponsored and ugc attributes as hints, and such links still bring referral traffic, discovery and brand exposure.

Do backlinks help with AI search visibility?

Evidence is mixed by platform. Brand mentions correlate more strongly than links with Google AI Overview visibility, while referring domains appear to be a strong predictor of ChatGPT citations.

Can bad backlinks hurt my site?

Google’s systems are designed to ignore or neutralise most spammy links, but a pattern of paid or manipulative link building can violate its spam policies and lead to lost rankings or manual actions.