When Google first came on the scene back in 1998, their big innovation that changed the world was simply looking at website links. If a site had more links pointing toward it, then Google gave it more credit and it ranked higher. It was a simple but brilliant insight that made Google search far better than any of their competitors.
As a result, though, companies quickly started trying to game the system and get more links pointing to their site. I’ve shared thoughts on links going back almost 17 years (like this), but things have changed a lot since then.
In a recent episode of the Duct Tape Marketing show, they had Bruce Clay (the “Father of Search Engine Optimization”) on to discuss the state of SEO and AI here in 2025. Bruce had a lot of great insights, but one thing really stood out to me. To paraphrase what he said:
“Google only counts your best links, so getting more links is usually a waste. I think that Google only uses 20% of your links.”
These are merely guesses from Bruce, but I suspect that Bruce would be able to guess that type of thing more accurately than virtually anyone.
The lesson is pretty simple — don’t waste your time building links. Our agency had a service to help clients gain links a long time ago, but we stopped that practice many years back. Producing great content is always one of the best things you can do, and spending time to be where your clients are (often on social media) should be right up there as well.
As for link building, it’s time to give that up and focus on what really matters. Check out that full podcast episode for more.
