Hi, Before the launch of LLM search engines, we were building backlinks for their website to rank on the search engines. We were using some free tools like checkbytools and ahref for checking the backlinkks. Now everybody talking about AI traffic and things have changed. People are more focused on the listing website in AI overview or llm search engines. Do we still need to work on backlinks? Backlinks are still important in SEO or things changed to somewhere else?
Backlinks will always be important, for logical reasons. Google cannot goto your site and say 'This is great content, I will rank it high' Why? Because it's a bot, and it cannot make subjective calls, as what is great to one person might not be to another. So it relies on signals, the heaviest weighted will always be backlinks, again, for logical reasons.
The incoming links inform, that their target is important. This information is used by every search engine.
Absolutely — backlinks are still important, even in the age of LLM-powered search. They still serve as trust signals, like editorial "votes", showing that your content is credible and relevant. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is how search engines — especially those using LLMs — evaluate them. It’s no longer just about quantity. Now it’s more about: Quality & context: Links from reputable, relevant sources carry much more weight. Brand mentions: Even unlinked mentions can influence AI-generated answers. Structured, useful content: AI tools prefer clear, well-organized content they can confidently reference. So yes, backlinks matter — but they’re part of a broader strategy now. Focus on authority, helpful content, and building a strong digital footprint. That’s how you stay relevant in LLM-driven search.