Hey Reader,

I keep seeing hot takes about how "AI will make link-building obsolete."

The theory goes: AI will just crawl the web directly, so backlinks won't matter anymore.

This is complete bullshit.

And I'm going to explain exactly why link-building will become MORE important in an AI-dominated world, not less.

The Brand Equity Reality

Here's what most people miss about AI:

AI models don't just randomly select information. They heavily weight sources based on perceived authority and trustworthiness.

Think about it - when ChatGPT or Claude answers a question, it's not pulling from random blog posts. It's prioritizing information from:

• Well-known publications
• Frequently cited sources
• Brands with strong online presence
• Sites with established credibility

And how does AI determine credibility? Through the exact same signals Google uses:

Backlinks and online mentions.

How AI Actually Works Behind the Scenes

AI models are trained on massive datasets that include:

• The entire web (where backlinks are a primary authority signal)
• News articles and citations
• Academic papers and references
• Social media mentions and discussions

During training, content from highly-linked, frequently-mentioned sources gets weighted more heavily than content from sites with no backlinks.

So when AI generates an answer, it's unconsciously biased toward brands and sites that have strong link profiles.

The ChatGPT Test

Want proof? Try this experiment:

Ask ChatGPT: "What's the best email marketing software?"

Notice how it consistently mentions:

• Mailchimp
• ConvertKit
• ActiveCampaign
• Klaviyo

But rarely mentions smaller (possibly better) tools like:

• EmailOctopus
• Sender
• MailerLite
• Moosend

Why? Because the big names have:

• Thousands of backlinks from reviews and comparisons
• Constant mentions across blogs and forums
• Strong brand presence in AI training data

The smaller tools, despite potentially being better products, simply don't have the online mention volume.

Online Mentions = AI Visibility

In the AI age, your backlink profile becomes your mention profile.

Every quality backlink represents:

• A vote of confidence from another site
• Proof that your brand is discussion-worthy
• Evidence that you're an authority in your space
• Training data that teaches AI you're credible

Sites without strong backlink profiles will be virtually invisible to AI - even if they have great content or products.

The Compounding Effect

Here's where it gets scary (or exciting, depending on your link profile):

As more people rely on AI for recommendations, the rich get richer:

1. AI recommends brands with strong backlink profiles
2. Those recommendations generate more brand searches and mentions
3. More mentions lead to more natural backlinks
4. Stronger backlink profiles lead to more AI recommendations
5. Repeat forever

Brands without strong link profiles get stuck in a downward spiral of AI invisibility.

What This Means For Your Business

If you think AI will make link-building irrelevant, you're setting yourself up for invisibility.

Instead, you need to think about link-building as brand equity building:

• Every quality backlink is a vote for your credibility
• Every mention reinforces your authority in AI training data
• Every citation improves your chances of AI recommendations

The businesses that will dominate in an AI world are those that:

• Build strong backlink profiles NOW
• Get mentioned across relevant websites and forums
• Establish themselves as go-to sources in their niches
• Create content worth linking to and discussing

The New Link-Building Strategy

Traditional link-building focused on improving search rankings.

AI-era link-building focuses on building digital authority that both search engines AND AI models recognize.

This means prioritizing:

1. Quality over quantity - AI can detect spammy link patterns
2. Relevant mentions - Links from your actual industry/niche
3. Diverse sources - Reviews, case studies, expert roundups, news mentions
4. Brand building - Links that mention your company name, not just generic anchor text

The Bottom Line

AI isn't killing link-building.

It's making it more important than ever.

The brands that invest in building strong backlink profiles today will dominate AI recommendations tomorrow.

The brands that ignore link-building will become invisible in an AI-driven world.

Which side do you want to be on?

What's your take on AI and link-building? Hit reply and let me know your thoughts!

- Nick