# Backlinks today: what they bring, what the platform shows, what stays manual work > What Google and Bing officially say about links, why bought links fizzle out, where a small business gets real links, and what the platform shows about them. Berger+Team · Nov 4, 2026 Topic: [Found on Google →](https://btlabs.dev/en/found-on-google) A [backlink](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/backlink) is a link from someone else's website to yours. Google still uses such links as a signal: to understand what a page is about, and to find new pages at all. But not every link counts, bought links lose their effect, and for visibility in AI answers mentions seem to matter more than links. For a small business that means: a few real links beat many manufactured ones. ## What Google and Bing officially say Google writes that it uses links as a signal when determining the relevancy of pages and to find new pages to crawl ([Google, links](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable)). Quality also includes whether other prominent websites link or refer to the content ([Google, How Search works](https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/ranking-results/)). PageRank, the original link method, is still one of Google's core systems ([Google, ranking systems](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking-systems-guide)). The limit is just as clear. Link spam means creating links primarily to manipulate rankings — buying or selling links, including in exchange for goods or services, excessive link exchanges, automatically generated links, low-quality directories ([Google, spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)). Since December 2022 Google's SpamBrain system neutralises such unnatural links; any credit they were meant to pass is lost ([Google, December 2022](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/12/december-22-link-spam-update)). Paid links and ads are marked with `rel="sponsored"`, links from comments and forums with `rel="ugc"` ([Google, outbound links](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links)). Bing says much the same: links should be earned through useful content; link buying, link networks and artificial social promotion violate the guidelines. Good internal and external linking also helps content qualify as a source for AI answers ([Bing, Webmaster Guidelines](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a)). ## Links and AI answers On the question of who gets named in AI answers, the available data points in a different direction. Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and measured how closely various factors relate to their visibility in Google's [AI Overviews](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/ai-overviews) ([Ahrefs, 2025](https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overview-brand-correlation/), vendor study). Brand mentions on the web reached a correlation of 0.664, [backlinks](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/backlink) 0.218\. That is correlation, not cause, as the authors themselves write. But it fits what we described in [When other people talk about you](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/brand-mentions-ai-visibility): for recommendations, what others say about you counts — with a link or without. ## Where a small business gets real links Good links usually come from where a relationship already exists: - **Associations, the chamber of commerce, the tourist board:** member lists and trade pages often link to their businesses. - **Partners and suppliers:** people who work together name each other — as a reference, a stockist or a project partner. - **Local press and events:** a report on a project, a sponsorship, a talk. - **Directories people actually use:** the Google Business Profile, trade portals with real use. Mass directories without readers are more likely to count as spam for Google. - **Content people like to cite:** your own survey, a good guide, an honest price overview. Building links is work with people, not software. On request, [Berger+Team](https://www.berger.team) takes it on as a service. ## What btlabs Core shows — and what it doesn't From [Bing Webmaster Tools](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/search-console) , the cockpit shows which of your pages are most often linked from outside, with a history; for the most-linked pages the source and link text are visible. That is Bing's view, not a complete backlink analysis — Google shows links only in its own Search Console report, not through its API, and specialised backlink services see more. What the platform does influence is the links on your own website. It suggests suitable internal links, orphaned pages first, and the editors decide. Glossary terms are linked automatically in body text at their first occurrence. And the cockpit shows orphaned pages, dead ends and broken links every day. What it doesn't do: build links, send outreach requests, rate the quality of other people's links. How links fit together with content, [search intent](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/search-intent) and AI visibility is shown in the overview [SEO and GEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/seo-and-geo). ## Sources - [Google: Crawlable links](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable) - [Google: How Search works — ranking results](https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/ranking-results/) - [Google: A guide to Google Search ranking systems](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking-systems-guide) - [Google: Spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies) - [Google: December 2022 link spam update](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/12/december-22-link-spam-update) - [Google: Qualify your outbound links](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links) - [Bing: Webmaster Guidelines](https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a) - [Ahrefs: An Analysis of AI Overview Brand Visibility Factors (2025)](https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overview-brand-correlation/) ## Frequently asked questions. **Do you also take care of link building and PR?** The platform itself doesn't build links or write press releases — that's handwork, not software. btlabs Core provides the groundwork: clean, unambiguous data about your business that others can easily link to and cite, and in the cockpit the backlinks Bing knows for your most important pages. Link building and PR themselves are something we offer as a service from Berger+Team, if you want it. **What role do Google reviews play in AI recommendations?** For Google, a proven one: in local search and on Google Maps, Google explicitly names the number of reviews and positive ratings as a ranking factor. How much other AI assistants such as ChatGPT or Perplexity weigh reviews, no provider discloses. It is plausible that they read them, because review profiles are public — it is not proven. What matters is the interplay: reviews work best when your name, address and phone number are the same everywhere and your website confirms the same facts in [machine-readable](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/machine-readable-website) form. So look after your Google Business Profile, ask every customer for a review, not just the happy ones, and reply calmly — especially to critical voices. Selectively asking only for positive reviews, or offering incentives for them, is prohibited by Google. What is allowed and what is not is covered in detail in Google reviews and AI recommendations: what really counts. **What does GEO get me — why should my website be cited by AI?** When more and more people get their answers straight from ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI, whether you get found is no longer decided by your Google ranking alone — but by whether the AI names you as a source. That is where [GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization) comes in: it prepares your content so AI systems can read it correctly, understand it and cite it in their answers. The benefit is concrete: you get a chance of being recommended when a potential customer asks the AI for a provider like you — with clear, independently readable statements, [structured data](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/structured-data) and machine-readable formats. If you're not visible here, you simply don't exist for this growing group of searchers. Next step ## Want to look at it together? No pitch, no standard package — an honest take on your project. A reply, usually within 24h. [Start a conversation →](https://btlabs.dev/en/contact#cta) ## You might also like - [· Content SEO: how to tell whether a page is good enough · Google sets neither a minimum word count nor a fixed title length. Still, there are solid signs of whether a page is doing its job. What they are, what Google itself says — and where checking tools give hints, not rules.](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/content-seo-is-a-page-good-enough) - [· New page live: how Google finds it — and what you can do yourself · A new page isn't on Google the moment it goes live. What sitemaps, crawling, internal links and Search Console actually do — and what only Google decides.](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/new-page-on-google) - [· Search intent: why the right page matters more than the right keyword · Someone searching "carpenter Merano" wants something different from someone typing "window restoration cost". Search intent decides which page should answer a query — and so what a keyword strategy for a small business looks like.](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/search-intent-right-page) --- Source: https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/backlinks-today Languages: [de](https://btlabs.dev/llms/de/posts/backlinks-heute) · [it](https://btlabs.dev/llms/it/posts/backlink-oggi) See also: [llms.txt](https://btlabs.dev/llms.txt) · [ai.txt (Policy)](https://btlabs.dev/ai.txt) · [identity.json](https://btlabs.dev/identity.json)