The relationship between traditional search engine optimization and the emerging landscape of artificial intelligence-driven search has been a source of uncertainty for digital marketers. One question keeps surfacing: does link building still matter when AI systems can answer queries without showing a list of blue links? The short answer is yes, but the role of link building has shifted. In the era of Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, links remain a critical signal for discovery, relevance, and authority — not as direct ranking fuel in the old sense, but as the infrastructure that helps AI systems find, evaluate, and cite your content. The firms that understand this evolution will continue to capture visibility; those that cling to outdated tactics will watch their pages fade into irrelevance.
A March 2026 citation study from Ahrefs provides a concrete data point that anchors this shift. The study found that 37.1 percent of URLs cited in AI Overviews also ranked in the top 10 organic results for the same query. That figure is not large enough to suggest that organic ranking guarantees an AI citation, but it is substantial enough to demonstrate that traditional search visibility and AI visibility are not separate universes. They overlap. And the bridge between them is built on the same foundational SEO practices — including earned links — that have driven discovery for decades.
The firms that understand this evolution will continue to capture visibility; those that cling to outdated tactics will watch their pages fade into irrelevance.
This is the context for an upcoming free webinar hosted by Search Engine Journal on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET. The session, titled The Link Building Graveyard: What to Bury & What Still Wins, will be led by Michael Johnson, CEO of Resolve, and moderated by Loren Baker. Johnson plans to walk through real campaign examples, drawing a clear line between tactics that deserve retirement and off-page strategies that still support rankings and AI visibility. The session is designed to give attendees a practical framework for deciding what belongs in their 2027 off-page programs.
How AI Search Actually Uses Links: Discovery, Not Just Ranking
To understand why link building still matters, it helps to understand how Google’s AI systems actually interact with web content. AI Overviews and AI Mode do not pull answers from a vacuum. They draw on indexed web pages — pages that Google’s crawlers must first discover, evaluate, and understand. Links remain one of the primary mechanisms for that discovery process. A page with no inbound links is a page that may never be found, let alone cited.
Google’s own AI search guidance reinforces this point. The company has stated that the same foundational SEO practices that have always mattered — quality content, technical accessibility, and relevance signals — remain worthwhile for AI Overviews and AI Mode. Links are part of that foundation. They function as a signal of relevance and trust, helping the search engine determine which pages are authoritative enough to surface as sources for AI-generated answers.
This is not a return to the era of keyword-stuffed link profiles or paid directories. It is a recognition that the web still operates on a network of connections. A relevant, earned link from a trusted publication does two things: it gives human readers a direct path to your expertise, and it gives Google’s crawlers another route to discover that your brand and its authority exist. In an AI search environment where being cited depends on being known, link building becomes a visibility prerequisite rather than a ranking shortcut.
The Data Behind the Shift: What the Ahrefs Citation Study Reveals
The Ahrefs study from March 2026 is worth examining closely because it offers one of the first large-scale looks at how traditional search metrics correlate with AI citation. The headline figure — 37.1 percent of URLs cited in AI Overviews also ranked in the top 10 organic results — tells a nuanced story.
On one hand, the majority of cited URLs did not hold top-10 organic rankings for the same query. That suggests that AI Overviews are not simply echoing the first page of Google search results. They are drawing from a broader pool of content, which means a page does not need to rank number one to be cited by an AI system. On the other hand, more than a third of cited URLs did rank in the top 10, which means traditional ranking signals — including links — are very much part of the picture. A backlink does not guarantee a citation, but the correlation is real.
What this implies for practitioners is that link building should not be viewed as a direct pathway to AI citations. Instead, it should be understood as part of a broader visibility ecosystem. Links help a page get discovered, help it rank for relevant queries, and help it build the kind of authority that makes it a candidate for AI citation. The relationship is indirect but consequential. Publishers who neglect link building are not just losing organic rankings; they are also reducing the likelihood that their content will be surfaced in AI-driven search experiences.
What Snippet-Relevant Content Looks Like: A Direct Answer for AI Search
What is the role of link building in AI search?
Link building in AI search serves two primary functions: discovery and relevance signaling. Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode rely on indexed web content to generate answers. Links help search engine crawlers discover pages and evaluate their authority. While a backlink does not guarantee an AI citation, the Ahrefs March 2026 study found that 37.1 percent of URLs cited in AI Overviews also ranked in the top 10 organic results for the same query, indicating a meaningful overlap between traditional search visibility and AI citation. Relevant, earned links support the search presence that AI visibility builds on, making link building a continuing priority for brands that want their content cited in AI-generated answers.
The Link Building Graveyard: Tactics That Belong in the Past
Michael Johnson’s webinar promises to address a question many teams are wrestling with: which link building tactics should be retired? The answer matters because the AI search era penalizes manipulative or low-quality signals more aggressively than ever. Google’s ability to assess link quality — through machine learning models that analyze link context, placement, and naturalness — has only improved. Tactics that once produced marginal gains now carry real risk.
Among the tactics likely to land in the graveyard are large-scale guest posting networks built solely for anchor text manipulation, automated directory submissions, and any form of paid links that lack editorial justification. Also on the chopping block: link exchanges that are not contextually relevant, and any campaign that prioritizes link quantity over the quality of the referring page and its topical alignment with your content.
The reasoning is straightforward. AI systems are increasingly sophisticated at understanding whether a link represents a genuine editorial endorsement or an artificial arrangement. A link from a page that has no thematic connection to your content, or that exists only to pass authority, is unlikely to provide the kind of relevance signal that AI Overviews value. Worse, it may trigger algorithmic scrutiny that undermines your broader search presence.
The webinar will use real campaign examples to illustrate which tactics to bury and why. For attendees, the goal is to leave with a clear keep-or-cut list that can guide their 2027 off-page strategy.
What Still Wins: Earning Links to High-Visibility Content
If certain link building tactics belong in the graveyard, others deserve renewed attention. The core principle is simple: earn links by creating content that other publishers genuinely want to reference. This is the same principle that has always driven high-quality link building, but the AI search context gives it new urgency.
Content types that tend to attract earned links include original research, data-driven analysis, practical tools, and authoritative guides that answer specific questions your audience is asking. When a relevant publication links to a resource like that, it does more than pass authority. It creates a contextual connection that both human readers and AI systems can follow. The link becomes a pathway: readers click through to learn more, and Google’s crawlers use it as a signal that your content is worth surfacing.
The practical implication for teams is that link building and content strategy should be integrated, not treated as separate functions. A content team that produces a useful resource without considering how it might earn links is leaving visibility on the table. A link building team that operates without understanding the content’s value proposition is chasing signals that may not exist. The two need to work together, with the link building strategy flowing naturally from the content’s inherent usefulness.
The webinar will cover how to identify the kinds of content that earn links in the current environment, and how to promote that content to the right publishers. For teams that have been treating link building as a standalone activity, this represents a significant shift in approach — one that aligns more closely with how AI search systems evaluate and surface content.
Integrating Link Building Into a Broader AI Visibility Strategy
The most important takeaway from the current landscape is that link building should not be viewed in isolation. It is one component of a visibility strategy that also includes technical SEO, content depth, topic authority, and user engagement signals. The Ahrefs data makes clear that AI citations draw from a mix of high-ranking and lower-ranking pages, which means no single signal determines success. A page with strong content but weak links may still be cited if it offers unique value. A page with many links but thin content will likely be ignored.
What link building does best is create the conditions for visibility. It helps your content get discovered in the first place, and it provides the kind of contextual relevance signals that AI systems use to assess whether a source is trustworthy. For brands that are producing genuinely useful content — original research, practical tools, authoritative guides — link building is the amplification mechanism that ensures that content reaches its intended audience and catches the attention of AI systems.
The webinar session, moderated by Loren Baker, is designed to help attendees identify which off-page campaigns can support both traditional rankings and AI visibility. Michael Johnson will draw on real examples from Resolve’s work to show what effective link building looks like in practice. The session will also provide a framework for auditing your current link profile and determining which tactics to keep and which to cut as you build your 2027 program.
For those who cannot attend live, registration still provides access to the recording, allowing teams to watch on their own schedule and apply the framework at their own pace.
What the Future of Link Building Looks Like
Looking ahead, the role of link building is likely to become more nuanced rather than disappearing. As AI systems become better at evaluating content directly — using semantic understanding, entity recognition, and contextual analysis — the relative weight of links as a ranking signal may continue to evolve. But the discovery function of links is unlikely to diminish. AI systems still need to find content before they can cite it, and the web’s link graph remains the primary infrastructure for that discovery.
What will change is the type of links that matter. Contextual, editorially earned links from authoritative sources in your niche will become more valuable. Low-quality, manipulative links will become more dangerous. The teams that adapt will be those that treat link building as a relationship-driven, content-informed practice rather than a tactical checklist.
The webinar on October 21, 2026, offers a timely opportunity to recalibrate. The link building graveyard is real, but so are the strategies that still win. The key is knowing the difference — and building your off-page program around the tactics that AI search systems can recognize as genuine signals of relevance and authority.
- Does link building still matter for AI search?Yes, link building still matters for AI search. Links help AI systems discover, evaluate, and cite content, though their role has shifted from direct ranking fuel to discovery infrastructure.
- What percentage of AI Overview citations also rank in top organic results?A March 2026 Ahrefs study found that 37.1% of URLs cited in AI Overviews also ranked in the top 10 organic results for the same query.
