Ahrefs study released about if links really do “matter less”

Following Google stating that “links are less important than they used to be” for organic rankings, Ahrefs have completed a study into this across an array of queries and industries. 

Within the analysis, they looked back on a 2019 study into backlinks and ranking correlation which highlighted the shift in which Google was alluding to. 

Interestingly, also Ahrefs discovered that backlinks align a lot closer for impact within both informational content and local results and queries, which makes sense given these more specific content types should naturally be gaining links if they’re high quality and useful for users. 

Just as Google may be shifting away from weighting links ever so slightly, this doesn’t mean you need to shift focus away from authority building in order to achieve success. There are hundreds of ranking factors which could be playing a part and they’re continuing to tweak their algorithms in order to find the perfect recipe which works within the SERPs.

We spoke to Carl Ashfield, SEO Manager at Quirky Digital who said:

Expert opinion

Carl Ashfield, SEO Manager at Quirky Digital

"Backlinks remain one of the most important ranking factors in SEO, serving as trust signals to search engines regarding the credibility of a site and how relevant its content is. As Google's algorithms continue to change, a meaningful backlink strategy, in conjunction with content optimisation and internal linking, remains essential to higher rankings and long-term success"