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Are backlinks still relevant in 2026, and how do you build good ones?

16 October 2026 · By John Carlsson

Yes. Google's own documentation says PageRank is still part of its core ranking systems, and that Google uses links as a relevance signal and to discover new pages. Good backlinks are earned by publishing content people want to reference and promoting it honestly. Paid links must be qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" to stay within Google's spam policies.

What does Google say about links in 2026?

Google still treats links between websites as an important signal, and it says so in its own documentation. Its guide to Google Search ranking systems, last updated on 10 December 2025, describes PageRank as one of the core ranking systems used since Google launched. The guide notes that the way PageRank works has evolved a lot, but it remains part of the core ranking systems. Google also describes link analysis systems that look at how pages link to each other to work out what pages are about and which ones may be most helpful for a query.

The link best practices page adds two more uses. Google uses links as a signal when it judges how relevant a page is, and it uses them to find new pages to crawl. The SEO Starter Guide makes the same point from the discovery side: Google finds most new pages through links from pages it has already crawled.

So the honest answer is that backlinks are still relevant. What has changed over the years is how firmly Google acts against links that exist only to manipulate rankings.

How do you earn high-quality backlinks?

Google's guidance points towards earning links rather than manufacturing them. The starting point is a page that other people have a reason to reference: original, helpful, reliable content written for people first. A link is far more likely when a page answers a question better than the alternatives, explains something clearly, or offers something useful that is not available elsewhere.

Then the page needs people to see it. The SEO Starter Guide lists several ways to promote a site:

Word of mouth, which Google calls one of the most effective and lasting ways to build an audience, even though it can be slow.
Community engagement, which usually has to come first before word of mouth takes hold.
Offline promotion, such as printing your web address on business cards, letterhead, posters and other materials.

The guide also warns that you can overdo promotion and harm your site. Steady, relevant promotion to people who are likely to care is a better fit than mass outreach.

Which link building tactics break Google's spam policies?

Google's spam policies define link spam as links created mainly to manipulate search rankings. The examples include:

Buying or selling links for ranking purposes, whether for money, goods, services or a free product in exchange for a review with a link.
Excessive link exchanges, and partner pages that exist only to cross-link.
Using automated programs or services to create links to your site.
Requiring a link in terms of service or a contract without letting the content owner qualify it.
Advertorials where payment is received for articles with links that pass ranking credit, and links with optimised anchor text in articles, guest posts or press releases distributed on other sites.
Low-quality directory or bookmark links, widely distributed footer or template links, and keyword-rich links hidden in widgets.
Forum comments with optimised links in the post or signature.

Penguin, the system Google built to combat link spam, was announced in 2012. Google's ranking systems guide lists it as retired because its work became part of the core ranking systems in 2016.

How should paid and user-generated links be marked?

Paying for advertising or sponsorship is a normal part of the web. Google's spam policies say it is not a violation when the links are qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" on the a tag. The link best practices page explains when to use each value:

sponsored for paid or sponsored links.
ugc for links added by users, such as in forums or comment sections. nofollow is also acceptable here.
nofollow only when you do not trust the source. Google says it should not be added to every external link.

<a href="https://example.com/offer" rel="sponsored">Partner offer</a>
<a href="https://example.com/thread" rel="ugc">Forum thread</a>

What makes a link easy for Google to follow?

A good link is only useful if Google can read it. Google says it can generally follow only a elements with an href attribute. It may still try to parse other patterns, such as links that only work through onclick, but these are not recommended. Anchor text should describe the page it points to, be specific enough to make sense when read by itself and stay concise, without keyword stuffing. Generic phrases such as "click here" tell Google and readers very little. For image links, Google uses the alt text as the anchor text, so describe the image clearly.

These rules apply to the links you place on your own site as much as to the links others give you. Clear internal links help Google discover your pages and understand how they relate.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What happened to Google Penguin?

Penguin was a system Google built to combat link spam. It was announced in 2012 and became part of Google's core ranking systems in 2016. Google's ranking systems guide now lists it among retired systems, because its work is carried out by the core systems that replaced it.

Should every external link on my site use nofollow?

No. Google's link best practices page says to use nofollow only when you do not trust the source, and not for every external link. Use sponsored for paid links and ugc for links that users add, such as forum posts and comments. Normal editorial links to sources you trust can be left without any rel qualifier.