[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-google-officially-kills-faq-rich-results":3,"latest-blogs-home":113},{"message":4,"data":5},"Blogs retrieved successfully",{"blog":6,"latest_blogs":35},{"id":7,"author_id":8,"title":9,"slug":10,"content":11,"short_summary":12,"featured_image":13,"status":14,"meta_title":9,"meta_description":15,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":19,"published_at":20,"created_at":21,"updated_at":22,"deleted_at":16,"author":23,"categories":28},345,9,"Google Officially Kills FAQ Rich Results","google-officially-kills-faq-rich-results","\u003Ch1>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google Officially Kills FAQ Rich Results\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh1>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google updated its Search Central documentation on May 7, 2026, with a deprecation notice for FAQ rich results. The update appears at the top of the FAQ structured data page and announces that as of that date, FAQ rich results are no longer appearing in Google Search. The notice also lays out what gets removed when, ending with a single line that changes how the announcement should be read: Google will continue to use FAQ structured data to better understand pages, even though the rich result feature is gone.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The deprecation completes a process that started in August 2023, when Google first restricted FAQ rich results to well-known authoritative government and health websites. For most of the web, FAQ rich results have already been gone for nearly three years. The May 2026 announcement removes them for everyone, including the sites that retained them after the 2023 restriction.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The deprecation rolls out across three months\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The notice spells out a removal timeline that runs from May through August 2026.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The first change is already live. As of May 7, FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google Search. Sites that previously qualified for the feature, including the government and health domains that kept it after 2023, no longer see their FAQ markup rendered as expandable dropdowns in search results. The visual SERP feature is gone.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">In June 2026, Google will remove FAQ-related reporting from Search Console. The rich result status report for FAQ markup, which let site owners track how many of their FAQ-marked pages were eligible for the feature, will be retired. The Rich Results Test, the tool developers use to validate structured data, will also stop supporting FAQ markup at that point.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">In August 2026, Google will remove FAQ rich result support from the Search Console API. The three-month gap between the Search Console UI removal and the API removal gives developers time to adjust any automated reporting or monitoring that relies on FAQ rich result data.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The full timeline removes every visible trace of FAQ rich results from Google’s product surfaces. Search appearance, dashboards, testing tools, and API access all get retired in sequence.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">From restriction in 2023 to full retirement now\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffaq-rip-may8e-20260508221623-PGmMEMxQ.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The May 2026 announcement is not a sudden change. The deprecation completes a process that began in August 2023, when John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google, posted on the Google Search Central blog that FAQ rich results would only appear for well-known authoritative government and health websites going forward. The 2023 update was framed as a search appearance change, not a ranking change, and it was rolled out globally within a week of the announcement.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The 2023 restriction was a response to widespread abuse of FAQ schema. Sites had been adding artificial FAQ sections to inflate their SERP real estate, often with questions that did not match user intent or answers that existed only to occupy more pixels. Restricting the feature to government and health sites, where the questions and answers tend to address genuine public information needs, was Google’s way of cleaning up the SERP without removing the feature entirely.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Between 2023 and 2026, the restricted version remained available to qualifying sites. The May 2026 announcement removes it for those sites too. The reasoning is not spelled out in the documentation, but the practical effect is clear: FAQ rich results are no longer a Google Search feature for any category of website.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google’s commitment to keep using the data\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The deprecation notice includes a line that easily gets lost in coverage of the news but appears to be the most consequential part of the update. Google states that it will continue to use FAQ structured data to better understand pages, even though it will no longer display the rich result.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The line confirms what some SEO professionals have argued since the 2023 restriction: structured data and rich results are two different things. Schema markup tells Google what a page is about in machine-readable form. Rich results are a display feature that uses some structured data to render visual SERP elements. Google can choose to stop showing the visual feature without abandoning the data that informed it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For FAQ markup specifically, the data describes a page as containing question-and-answer pairs, with each question and its corresponding answer clearly delineated. That structure is useful to Google’s understanding of the page regardless of whether the SERP includes a visual FAQ block. The model used to generate AI Overviews, the system that decides which pages to retrieve for a given query, and the algorithms that match pages to user intent all benefit from clearer signals about page content. FAQ markup contributes to those signals.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Whether the practical impact of FAQ markup on rankings or AI Overview citation probability is large or small is a separate question, and one Google has not directly addressed. What the documentation does say is that the schema continues to function as a comprehension signal, which is a different statement than “remove your FAQ markup because the rich result is gone.”\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Sites with FAQ markup face a clear decision\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For any site currently using FAQ structured data, the May 2026 announcement raises a practical question: keep the markup or remove it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The argument for removing it is the simplest one. The rich result that originally motivated the markup is no longer available, and the Search Console reports that helped track its performance are being retired. From a pure SERP-feature ROI standpoint, the markup no longer earns its keep.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The argument for keeping it follows directly from Google’s own statement. The data still informs how Google understands the page. Removing the markup removes a signal that Google has explicitly committed to continuing to use. For a site where the FAQ markup accurately reflects on-page content, the cost of keeping it is minimal (a small amount of additional code in the page) and the upside is preserving a comprehension signal that may or may not show up in rankings or AI Overview citations.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The decision should also account for content quality. Google’s content guidelines for FAQ markup require that the questions and answers on the page actually exist as visible content, that the questions are written by the site rather than user-submitted, and that the answers are not promotional or repetitive. Sites with FAQ markup that does not meet those guidelines, or that was added purely to chase the rich result, may want to clean up the markup or remove it. Sites with genuine FAQ content that follows the guidelines are better off keeping the markup, since Google has committed to continuing to use the data.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">FAQ schema as a comprehension signal beyond rich results\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The most useful framing of the announcement is probably not “Google is removing FAQ” but “Google is removing the visible feature while keeping the underlying data signal.” That distinction has implications for how to think about structured data more broadly.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Schema markup serves multiple functions. The most visible one is enabling rich results, the visual SERP features that capture extra real estate and click-through rate. The less visible function is helping search engines understand page content, classify it correctly, and match it to relevant queries. Rich results are the visible payoff. Comprehension is the underlying value.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When Google removes a rich result feature, the visible payoff disappears. The underlying value does not necessarily disappear with it. Google’s explicit statement that FAQ data will continue to inform page understanding makes this distinction concrete for FAQ specifically, and it is a useful frame for thinking about other structured data types whose rich result features may be deprecated in the future.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For brands building AI visibility through SEO, \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">link building\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">, and editorial coverage, the comprehension layer matters. Pages that Google understands clearly are pages that get retrieved for relevant queries, that get cited in AI Overviews, and that contribute to the entity recognition signals that AI retrieval systems use across the broader ecosystem. Structured data, including FAQ markup that follows Google’s content guidelines, contributes to that comprehension layer.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The May 2026 announcement is the end of FAQ rich results. It is not the end of FAQ structured data as a useful signal. The two have always been distinct, and Google’s deprecation notice makes that distinction explicit by spelling out what gets removed (the visible feature) and what continues (the comprehension function). For sites with genuine FAQ content and properly implemented markup, the schema is still doing work behind the scenes, even when there is nothing visible on the SERP to show for it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","On May 7, 2026, Google announced FAQ rich results are no longer appearing in Search. The full deprecation timeline removes Search Console reporting in June and API support in August. Google says the schema will continue to inform how it understands pages.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Ffaq-tombstone-final-20260508221602-ixdqt8zs.png","published","Google announced FAQ rich results are no longer appearing in Search. The full deprecation runs through August, but the schema still serves a purpose.",null,"blog",true,1397,"2026-05-08T21:48:59.000000Z","2026-05-08T22:11:57.000000Z","2026-05-08T22:16:29.000000Z",{"id":8,"name":24,"email":25,"about":16,"avatar":26,"created_at":27,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},"Rasit Cakir","rasit@nobsmarketplace.com","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Frasit.webp","2026-01-26T11:10:22.000000Z",[29],{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32,"created_at":33,"updated_at":33,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":34},3,"SEO","seo","2025-10-26T11:10:22.000000Z",{"blog_id":7,"category_id":30},[36,41,61,98],{"id":7,"author_id":8,"title":9,"slug":10,"content":11,"short_summary":12,"featured_image":13,"status":14,"meta_title":9,"meta_description":15,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":19,"published_at":20,"created_at":21,"updated_at":22,"deleted_at":16,"author":37,"categories":38},{"id":8,"name":24,"email":25,"about":16,"avatar":26,"created_at":27,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},[39],{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32,"created_at":33,"updated_at":33,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":40},{"blog_id":7,"category_id":30},{"id":42,"author_id":8,"title":43,"slug":44,"content":45,"short_summary":46,"featured_image":47,"status":14,"meta_title":43,"meta_description":48,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":49,"word_count":50,"published_at":51,"created_at":52,"updated_at":52,"deleted_at":16,"author":53,"categories":54},344,"ChatGPT Ads Go Self-Serve With CPC Bidding","openai-launches-chatgpt-ads-manager","\u003Ch1>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">ChatGPT Ads Go Self-Serve With CPC Bidding\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh1>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, published two articles four months apart that together describe one of the fastest ad platform buildouts in recent memory. In January, Fidji Simo authored “Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT,” a principles document outlining five rules the company would follow as it introduced advertising to its AI assistant. On May 5, OpenAI followed up with “New ways to buy ChatGPT ads,” announcing a self-serve Ads Manager, cost-per-click bidding, a Conversions API with pixel-based measurement, and partnerships with four of the largest global agency networks. Going from principles to a self-serve platform with CPC bidding and conversion tracking in four months signals how seriously OpenAI is treating advertising as a revenue channel, and how quickly ChatGPT is evolving from something brands monitor into something brands buy media on.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The five principles OpenAI committed to in January\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The January article laid out five principles for advertising inside ChatGPT, and three of them have direct implications for how the paid channel interacts with organic AI visibility.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Answer independence came first, and it appears to be the most consequential. OpenAI committed to keeping ads completely separate from the answers ChatGPT generates. Ads do not influence responses, responses are optimized based on helpfulness alone, and paying for ChatGPT ads does not make ChatGPT more likely to mention a brand in its organic answers. In practical terms, a brand cannot buy its way into a ChatGPT response.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Conversational privacy followed. Conversations with ChatGPT remain private from advertisers, and OpenAI committed to never selling user data to advertisers. Brands running ChatGPT ads receive aggregate campaign performance data but cannot see what users asked or how ChatGPT responded.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Choice and control rounds out the three that matter most here. Users control how their data gets used, can turn off personalization, and can clear their data at any time. Ads will not appear on accounts where the user is under 18 or has indicated they are a minor, and ads will not appear near sensitive or regulated topics including health, mental health, and politics.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The January article also previewed the first ad format: a sponsored product or service appearing at the bottom of ChatGPT’s answers, clearly labeled and visually separated from the organic response.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">From principles to infrastructure in four months\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The May article turned those commitments into a working platform. Three additions stand out.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The self-serve Ads Manager, currently rolling out in beta to US advertisers, lets businesses register, add payment information and budgets, upload ad creative, launch and manage campaigns, and view performance in a portal. OpenAI describes it as accessible to companies of all sizes, from small businesses and startups to global brands. Any business willing to create an account can now access ChatGPT advertising without needing a sales relationship or an agency partner.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">OpenAI also expanded its partner ecosystem, with agency partnerships now including Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP (four of the largest global advertising holding companies) and technology partnerships including Adobe, Criteo, Kargo, Plexus, and BlackAdapt. Advertisers working through these partners can access ChatGPT ads through the buying tools they already use.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">CPC bidding completes the picture. The initial ChatGPT ads pilot ran on CPM (cost per thousand impressions), where advertisers paid based on how many times their ad appeared. CPC (cost per click) means advertisers pay only when someone clicks. OpenAI’s framing of why this pricing model matters in ChatGPT specifically is interesting: conversations are “active and decision-oriented,” with people “often learning about a company, comparing options, or deciding what to buy.” A click from someone mid-conversation who has already described their problem and received an answer carries different weight than a click from a search results page or a social media scroll.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Two channels inside one product\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The combination of the January principles and the May infrastructure creates something that looks structurally familiar. ChatGPT now operates as a dual-channel platform, similar to how Google Search has worked for two decades: organic results determined by relevance and authority, paid placements determined by advertiser bidding, and the two systems running independently.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">On the organic side, when a user asks ChatGPT a question, the model retrieves information from the web, evaluates sources based on authority and relevance, and cites the pages it considers most trustworthy. The signals that drive organic citations are the same ones that drive traditional search ranking: backlinks from authoritative sources, third-party editorial coverage, structured content, entity recognition, and citation presence across credible publications. No amount of ad spend changes which pages get cited, because OpenAI’s answer independence principle keeps the two systems separate.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">On the paid side, brands can now appear at the bottom of ChatGPT responses through the Ads Manager, bid on CPC or CPM, and track conversions. The paid channel provides visibility inside ChatGPT conversations regardless of whether the brand has organic citation presence.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The two sides reward different work. A brand with strong organic citation presence influences what ChatGPT actually says when users ask questions, which no ad buy can replicate. A brand with a paid strategy appears in conversations where it might not otherwise be mentioned, which no amount of organic citation guarantees. The brands reaching users on both sides of the ChatGPT response are the ones investing in both.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">CPC clicks from a conversational context\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The user context around a ChatGPT ad click is qualitatively different from other CPC environments, and that difference is probably the most underappreciated part of the launch.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">On a search engine, a user sees ads alongside results for a query they typed. The intent is clear but the user may still be browsing. On social media, a user scrolls past content and occasionally engages with an ad, usually with low intent. On ChatGPT, the user has already described their problem in natural language, received an answer, and may be actively comparing options or evaluating recommendations. A click from that context comes from someone further along in their decision process than a typical search or social click.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Similarweb data we covered in earlier posts supports this. Users referred from ChatGPT spend an average of 15 minutes on site versus 8 minutes from Google referrals, generate 12 pageviews per visit versus 9, and convert to transactional sites at a 7% rate versus 5% from Google. Those numbers came from organic referrals. Paid clicks from users who were mid-decision-conversation could perform comparably or better, though it is too early to confirm with data from the new ad platform.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Measurement closes on the paid side, stays open on the organic side\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Conversions API and pixel-based measurement in ChatGPT’s Ads Manager start to address one of the persistent measurement problems with AI visibility. Advertisers can now track whether a ChatGPT ad click led to a purchase, a lead form submission, a sign-up, or another meaningful action. The tracking is aggregate (no individual conversation data), but it gives advertisers the performance data they need to optimize spend and justify budget.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The organic citation side does not yet have equivalent infrastructure. A brand mentioned in ChatGPT’s organic response still cannot track whether that mention led to a site visit, a branded search, or a conversion. The attribution gap between organic AI visibility and business outcomes remains open, even as the paid side gets proper tracking. For now, brand mention share (the percentage of relevant AI responses that include the brand) remains the best proxy on the organic side.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Organic visibility and paid ads reward different investments\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The ChatGPT ads launch does not reduce the value of organic AI visibility work. The answer independence principle means organic citations cannot be replaced by ad spend, which actually makes the organic side more valuable now that a paid alternative exists. Brands that appear in ChatGPT’s organic answers because of strong citation presence, entity recognition, and authoritative third-party coverage will continue to appear there regardless of whether competitors are running paid ads alongside those answers.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link building\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> and \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">digital PR\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> feed the organic side of the dual-channel model. Every editorial mention in a credible publication, every backlink from an authoritative domain, every \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">guest post\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> on a site with editorial standards contributes to the citation pool that ChatGPT draws from when assembling its organic answers. That work compounds in an environment where OpenAI has committed to keeping the organic and paid channels independent, which means the citation presence built through these tactics cannot be outspent by a competitor with a bigger ad budget.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-insertion\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link insertions\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> into existing authoritative content put a brand inside pages that ChatGPT’s retrieval system already trusts, strengthening the organic citation presence on a timeline that new content alone cannot match.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The dual-channel structure that emerged between January and May rewards brands that have built authority and content quality on the organic side while also being willing to test the paid channel as it matures. The January principles said advertising would support broader access to AI without compromising the product. The May launch delivered the infrastructure to make that real, and the two channels are now live, separate, and rewarding different kinds of work.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","OpenAI launched a self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager with CPC bidding, conversion tracking, and expanded advertiser access. The company’s stated “answer independence” principle keeps organic citations and paid ads as two distinct channels inside the same product.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fchatgpt-ads-dual-channel-20260507122708-pSJ0y1jl.png","OpenAI launched a self-serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT with CPC bidding and conversion tracking. Organic citations and paid ads are two separate channels.",false,1482,"2026-05-07T12:12:28.000000Z","2026-05-07T12:27:28.000000Z",{"id":8,"name":24,"email":25,"about":16,"avatar":26,"created_at":27,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},[55],{"id":56,"name":57,"slug":58,"created_at":59,"updated_at":59,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":60},23,"AI","ai","2026-03-10T11:18:29.000000Z",{"blog_id":42,"category_id":56},{"id":62,"author_id":30,"title":63,"slug":64,"content":65,"short_summary":66,"featured_image":67,"status":14,"meta_title":63,"meta_description":68,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":69,"published_at":70,"created_at":71,"updated_at":71,"deleted_at":16,"author":72,"categories":77},342,"Yes, Links Still Matter—More Than Ever","necessary-types-of-links","\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>This post is an updated version of our brief guide about the \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog\u002Ftypes-of-link-building-that-boost-your-seo-ranking\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>types of links\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem> that are important for any SEO strategy. Even with the shift to AI-powered search all but certain, links remain crucial for reasons beyond numbers. This updated guide takes today’s search environment into consideration, especially AI.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Back in the old guide on the essential types of links for SEO, I cited that it narrows down to three elements: helpful content, good keywords, and quality link building. That’s because any update to the search engine algorithm almost always involves any or all of them. If not, then it impacts them one way or another.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">200 ranking factors? Google debunked that list a long time ago.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Backlinko’s 200? Brian Dean admits that some are speculative.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">We’ll never know the full list, as search engines are adamant about taking it to their graves. Nevertheless, those three elements are among the few things we’ve confirmed so far, even if they seem ambiguous. That includes the topic for this post: links.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Are Links Becoming Less Important?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Before we get to the types of links, I feel it’s important to address the elephant in the room. Google stated years ago that links, while still a key part of its algorithm, have become less important. This is reflected in two moves it made within the past decade.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">The first was in 2019 when, through Gary Illyes, it announced that it was \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fwhy-google-turned-nofollow-to-hint\u002F325713\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>following nofollow links\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">. More specifically, it changed nofollow from a specific instruction to a suggestion. For publishers, this was a welcome update because it meant that all their nofollow links could receive link equity while Google gets its link data.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">This didn’t indicate the link’s declining importance, but it showed how Google treated links moving forward. The March 2024 Core Update brought more than just algorithmic changes; it also featured new descriptions in Google’s spam policies. (1)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Downplaying links from an “important factor” to simply a “factor”\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Adding creating low-value content as an example of link manipulation\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Explicitly stating outgoing manipulative links as a form of link spam\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Adding expired domain abuse to the list of penalizable SEO violations\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Adding to these changes is confirmation from Illyes himself, albeit with a hint of regret.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-091-google-confirms-links-are-not-that-important-wwwsearchenginejournalcom-20260506062116-9rcMuSb2.png\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Source: Search Engine Journal\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A study by Ahrefs last year revealed this to be the case. However, it also stated that links still matter in certain searches involving queries with: (2)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">High search volume (100,000 or more)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Brands as keywords\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Local intent\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Informational intent\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">We haven’t begun talking about AI, in which case it turns the tables.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">In a study of over 500 pages across 20 industries, Link Publishers discovered that AI loves backlinks. Two out of every five content retrievals by AI models consisted of editorial links, followed by guest posts. This is because AI summaries cite sources as a journalist would credit a name for a direct quote or claim. (3)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-094-is-water-good-for-diabetes-google-search-wwwgooglecom-20260506062144-tprM8h7h.png\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Excerpt from an AI Overview on the query “is water good for diabetes”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Suddenly, links (at least, backlinks) are back in business amid Google deprioritizing them. The study explains that while AI models don’t crawl like search engine crawlers, they look for authoritative content. The richer the link profile, the more likely it’ll attract the attention of the scouring AI model. (3)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It also helps that AI cares little for a page’s ranking. If it deems the page’s content relevant to the query, it won’t hesitate to use the information in its summary. That includes content sitting beyond the top 10 results, once a place where content goes to be forgotten.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Are links becoming less important? Yes as far as traditional search goes, but we’re already moving away from that anyway. The playing field has been slowly shifting from the ten blue links to AI summaries, in which links are still in the game.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">What Types of Links Do You Need?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Back in the old guide, we mentioned that you needed backlinks, internal and external links, niche edits, and natural backlinks. But with AI, it’s important not to be content with simply these. There’s still much we don’t know about how AI models pick their sources, let alone citing a brand in their summaries.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Instead of saying “I need backlinks,” you also have to ask yourself, “What kind?” Based on the Link Publishers study, the following types will be valuable:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Editorial Links\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Editorial links are a type of natural backlink, the type of link that Google wants to see. As with any other natural backlink, these links are \u003Cem>earned\u003C\u002Fem> rather than asked for or traded for. In this case, they come from bloggers or journalists who linked your content on their own.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Their positioning also makes them valuable. Proper editorial links are surrounded by the right context, not slapped onto a paragraph for the sake of having them. For example, the screenshot below features a link to a Minnesota coffee shop’s website. The beauty of this is that the publisher, \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fedition.cnn.com\u002Ftravel\u002Fraspberry-danish-viral-coffee-northfield-minnesota-spc\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>CNN\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">, put it there because of the interesting story behind it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-095-minnesota-coffee-shop-creates-viral-raspberry-danish-latte-gives-w-editioncnncom-20260506062238-uTUtbnYl.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">When searching for “raspberry danish latte recipe,” AI Overviews promptly return with a credit to the aforementioned coffee shop.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-096-raspberry-danish-latte-recipe-google-search-wwwgooglecom-20260506062303-fIH2hdIV.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It goes without saying that editorial links still form the backbone of SEO in the AI era. That said, one downside of this is that they’re hard to earn. Bloggers and journalists go through dozens of pitches sent to their inboxes daily, meaning they only have time for a handful of them to write about. Then again, no one said earning natural links was easy.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Guest Post Links\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>Guest posting\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> is no stranger to being declared “dead.” Despite this, it continues to be a widely used SEO technique because of what I said about earning natural links. The time spent waiting to get one is better spent on working to earn one by getting your content published on a third-party website.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Let’s get one thing straight here: \u003Cem>guest post links aren’t natural. \u003C\u002Fem>They’re primarily earned through participating in a publisher’s contributor program or, if there isn’t one, pitching topic ideas to the publisher. The link is generated when the article goes live.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Guest post links aren’t natural because you asked—and in many cases, paid—for them. This doesn’t make them any less useful, even in AI-dominated search. For one, content creators have more options because well-known news sites aren’t the only ones offering guest posting (if any). You also have niche blogs, local news sites, and business websites.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Speaking of niche blogs, guest posting becomes easier when aiming to publish content on niche sites. A person in the market for a new car is more likely to visit a car-related website (e.g., Car and Driver, MotorTrend) than a general news site like the New York Times.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">However, if you want guest posting to work, you have to stop living in the past. The industry has made it clear that the old ways, from mass emails to article spinning, no longer work. Brian Dean of Backlinko sums it up best:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>“Be an expert first, link builder second.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">This means prioritizing building a reputation as a niche or industry authority. Don’t fret too much over what the numbers say; instead, focus on creating and publishing content that your customers want to see. Even if AI doesn’t use it for generating a summary, the trust it garners will have compounding effects on search and AI visibility over time.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cstrong>Digital PR\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">An executive at a PR agency once said, \u003Cem>“PR has been responsible for supercharging SEO for years and just never took the credit.” \u003C\u002Fem>To be accurate, they heard that from someone, but I couldn’t find the original (even after running an exact search).\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Well, whoever it was, Rand Fishkin (formerly of Moz) concurs with that statement. In his blog post on SparkToro, where he currently works, he stated that public relations (PR) is the medium that reaches out to a diverse media. Social media, newsletters, podcasts, content subscriptions—all are reachable through PR. (4)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">He also said that this also applies to AI. He wrote: (4)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>“The ability to influence how people write about, talk about, and publish about you on the web directly impact how AI tools respond to questions about your brand, your field, and whether they include you when prompters ask about the problems you solve.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It’s these changes over the years that cemented \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>digital PR\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> as an important, if not the main, approach to modern SEO. To put it simply, digital PR links are between guest post links and editorial links. Their content quality is a step above that of regular guest posts, but they’re earned through active outreach.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">There are several ways to do digital PR, one of which is called \u003Cem>newsjacking\u003C\u002Fem>. As it implies, it involves hijacking current news or viral stories by providing a unique take or spin on them—case in point: Budweiser during the 2022 World Cup.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Fpicture26-20260506062347-tfrAJEYE.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Newsjacking relies on the moment following the breaking news to score PR points. When done right, the campaign will be talked about long after its end. But one mistake and the campaign will be talked about long after its end \u003Cem>for the wrong reasons\u003C\u002Fem>. And whatever the outcome will affect the AI’s returns.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">What About Internal Links?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Internal links are an enigma as far as AI visibility is concerned. Unlike external links, AI assesses internal links by topical depth or how well a piece of content covers a subject. The more extensive the coverage, the more authoritative the source is in AI’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Again, placing internal links in an article or blog post isn’t enough. The internal pages the content links to have to make sense for AI models. James Calloway, SEO and generative search consultant for Geology, said internal linking for AI visibility begins with a readable topical cluster, like the diagram below.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Fb049d9e891d422d59b499dd7cdc312567126c05a-1376x768-20260506062406-DeH6dQGg.jpg\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Source: \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.getgeology.com\u002Fblog\u002Finternal-linking-strategy-geo\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>Geology\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">At the heart of this cluster is the pillar page, which points to an encompassing topic (e.g., link building). From there, it branches out to multiple supporting pages covering multiple related topics (e.g., internal link building, broken link building). These pages are then cross-linked to other pages for easier navigation and indexing.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It’s important to think strategically when cross-linking. Link pages only when they make sense, and avoid overdoing it. Based on Calloway’s analysis of AI-cited websites, a good topical cluster should possess the following characteristics:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Five to eight supporting pages (any higher, and it risks dilution)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A supporting page links to at least two other non-orphan pages\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">The link between the pillar and supporting pages goes both ways\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Are Niche Edits Still Good?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Not as much as it used to be.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Despite being one of the simplest approaches to link building, niche edits are at a serious disadvantage in AI-dominated search. This is because AI models prioritize editorial brand mentions, especially digital PR, in retrieval.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">That said, instances of triggering AI summaries are still erratic.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Fpicture27-20260506062455-DtPxdMk6.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Data source: \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.semrush.com\u002Fblog\u002Fsemrush-ai-overviews-study\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>SEMrush\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">As things stand, niche edits are still rather useful for traditional ranking. However, don’t expect them to be a game-changer in AI visibility.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Start Link Building for AI\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">AI summaries are more or less the future of search. To that end, modern link building has to be tailored for them rather than search rankings. Start by working on the right links that AI models use.  \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">References:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">1.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Google March 2024 Core Update: 4 Changes To Link Signal,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-march-2024-update-4-changes-to-link-signal\u002F510322\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-march-2024-update-4-changes-to-link-signal\u002F510322\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">2.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Google Says “Links Matter Less”—We Looked at 1,000,000 SERPs to See if It’s True,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fahrefs.com\u002Fblog\u002Flinks-matter-less-but-still-matter\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Fahrefs.com\u002Fblog\u002Flinks-matter-less-but-still-matter\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">3.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Backlinks and the AI Visibility Curve: What Link Publishers' 2025 Study Shows About How LLMs Choose Brands,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Flinkpublishers.com\u002Fblog\u002Fbacklinks-and-ai\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Flinkpublishers.com\u002Fblog\u002Fbacklinks-and-ai\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">4.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Unpopular Opinion: Public Relations is the Future of Marketing,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fsparktoro.com\u002Fblog\u002Funpopular-opinion-public-relations-is-the-future-of-marketing\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Fsparktoro.com\u002Fblog\u002Funpopular-opinion-public-relations-is-the-future-of-marketing\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>","Links may have become less important in this day and age, but they're by no means obsolete. For all its advances through the years, AI still depends on quality links to generate accurate summaries. Here's why links aren't going anywhere anytime soon and what types of links you need the most.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Felf-moondance-website-6721950-1280-20260506061831-iL6ynvXH.png","Despite AI summaries slowly taking over search, links remain a key component of today’s SEO. In fact, they may just be more crucial than ever.",1875,"2026-05-06T14:26:00.000000Z","2026-05-06T06:26:11.000000Z",{"id":30,"name":73,"email":74,"about":75,"avatar":76,"created_at":33,"updated_at":33,"deleted_at":16},"Jonas Trinidad","jonas@nobsmarketplace.com","","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-authors\u002F2023\u002F05\u002Fjonas-trinidad.jpg",[78,82,84,90,96],{"id":79,"name":80,"slug":17,"created_at":33,"updated_at":33,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":81},1,"Blogs",{"blog_id":62,"category_id":79},{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32,"created_at":33,"updated_at":33,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":83},{"blog_id":62,"category_id":30},{"id":85,"name":86,"slug":87,"created_at":88,"updated_at":88,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":89},8,"Link Building","link-building","2025-10-26T11:10:26.000000Z",{"blog_id":62,"category_id":85},{"id":91,"name":92,"slug":93,"created_at":94,"updated_at":94,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":95},16,"Educative Content","educative-content","2026-02-10T11:18:29.000000Z",{"blog_id":62,"category_id":91},{"id":56,"name":57,"slug":58,"created_at":59,"updated_at":59,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":97},{"blog_id":62,"category_id":56},{"id":99,"author_id":8,"title":100,"slug":101,"content":102,"short_summary":103,"featured_image":104,"status":14,"meta_title":100,"meta_description":105,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":106,"published_at":107,"created_at":108,"updated_at":108,"deleted_at":16,"author":109,"categories":110},343,"The Cloud Backlog Number Nobody Is Talking About","why-google-cloud-backlog-matters","\u003Ch1>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Cloud Backlog Number Nobody Is Talking About\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh1>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google Cloud revenue growing 63% to $20 billion in Q1 2026 got the headlines. The number underneath it got almost none. Google Cloud backlog, the contractually committed future revenue that enterprise customers have already signed up to pay, nearly doubled quarter over quarter to over $460 billion. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, mentioned the figure in his earnings statement on April 29, but it received a fraction of the attention that the revenue and CapEx numbers did.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">That gap in attention is worth closing, because backlog and revenue measure fundamentally different things. Revenue captures what happened last quarter, while backlog captures what enterprise customers have committed to paying over the next three to five years. Revenue can fluctuate with usage patterns, but backlog, once signed, represents binding contracts that companies have modeled, budgeted, and committed procurement resources to fulfill. When that number nearly doubles in 90 days, the signal has less to do with what Google earned last quarter and more to do with what the enterprise market believes will be true about AI infrastructure for the rest of the decade.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">How backlog works and why it reads differently than revenue\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Most marketing coverage of Alphabet’s earnings focuses on revenue, operating income, and growth percentages, all of which are backward-looking and capture what already happened. Backlog captures what has been committed to happening in the future, which makes it a leading indicator rather than a trailing one.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When an enterprise customer signs a three-year, $200 million Google Cloud contract, the full $200 million gets added to backlog on the day the contract is signed. Revenue gets recognized gradually as services are delivered. The contract might deliver $15 million in the first quarter and $185 million over the remaining eleven quarters, but the entire commitment appears in backlog immediately.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Cloud backlog growing from roughly $232 billion in Q4 last year to over $460 billion in Q1 2026 means enterprise customers signed approximately $230 billion in new long-term commitments in a single quarter, which appears to be the largest concentration of enterprise AI infrastructure commitment the cloud computing industry has seen.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The distinction matters for anyone trying to assess whether AI search and AI infrastructure are permanent or experimental. Revenue can decline if customers reduce usage. Backlog cannot decline unless contracts get broken, and enterprise procurement teams structure those contracts specifically to make breaking them expensive and legally complicated. The $460 billion figure represents money that has already been contractually committed through formal procurement processes, not a forecast or a projection that could be revised downward.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The procurement process behind a $460 billion number\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Enterprise cloud contracts at this scale do not get signed by marketing teams experimenting with a new tool. They go through procurement departments, get approved by CFOs, modeled by financial planning teams, and reviewed by legal. The process typically takes months, and the contracts include service level agreements, data handling provisions, migration timelines, and penalty clauses for early termination.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When an enterprise customer commits $200 million over three years to Google Cloud, they are choosing which AI infrastructure will power their operations through 2028 or 2029, which language models their internal tools will run on, which APIs their developers will build against, and which retrieval systems their AI-powered applications will use. Reversing those decisions means migrating workloads, retraining teams, rebuilding integrations, and absorbing switching costs that often exceed the original contract value, which is why enterprise AI commitments at this scale tend to be sticky in ways that consumer subscriptions are not.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The $460 billion in backlog represents thousands of these decisions, each made by a company that evaluated Google Cloud against Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and other providers, and chose to lock in with Google for a multi-year term. The aggregate signal is that a large portion of the enterprise market expects Google’s AI infrastructure to be the one they are running on for the foreseeable future.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The backlog signal versus the CapEx signal\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google spending $35.7 billion on capital expenditures in Q1 2026 reflects a decision Google made about its own infrastructure, and in theory a future leadership team could choose to spend less. CapEx signals Google’s own conviction, but it comes from one company about its own plans.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Backlog reflects decisions made by Google’s customers, and that distinction carries weight. When $460 billion in enterprise commitments pile up in one quarter, the signal comes from the collective judgment of enterprise procurement teams across industries, geographies, and company sizes, all independently concluding that Google’s AI infrastructure will be delivering value over the next several years. The CapEx number shows that Google believes in AI search permanence, while the backlog number shows that thousands of enterprise customers believe in it too and have put binding contracts behind that belief. For assessing permanence, distributed independent judgment from thousands of customers seems like a stronger signal than a single company’s strategic bet.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">How enterprise Cloud contracts connect to AI visibility\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">A reasonable question (and one that came up internally when we were working through the earnings data) is what enterprise cloud contracts have to do with AI visibility for brands. The connection runs through Google’s product stack.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google Cloud customers use Gemini’s enterprise AI products, deploying Gemini Enterprise for their employees, building applications on Gemini’s APIs, and integrating Google’s AI infrastructure into their internal workflows. Every enterprise workload running on Google Cloud contributes to the data, queries, and use cases that shape how Gemini’s products evolve. The more enterprise workloads concentrate on Google’s infrastructure, the more Gemini’s consumer-facing products (including AI Overviews in Search, the Gemini App, and AI features across Google’s ecosystem) benefit from the scale, the feedback loops, and the revenue that funds continued development.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">A $460 billion backlog means Google has the contracted revenue to fund AI product development at its current pace for years, regardless of whether any individual quarter’s ad revenue fluctuates. The consumer AI products that determine brand visibility in AI responses are funded by an enterprise revenue stream that has been locked in contractually, which removes a significant chunk of the uncertainty about whether these products will still be around and improving in 2028 or 2029.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For brands building AI visibility, the implication is about timeline confidence. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link building\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> and \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">digital PR\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> investments that build citation presence and entity recognition inside Google’s AI products are working into an ecosystem that has been contractually funded through the end of the decade. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Guest posting\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> on authoritative domains and \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-insertion\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">link insertions\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> into already-indexed content feed the same trust signal layer that Gemini draws from across its consumer, enterprise, and developer surfaces, and the backlog data confirms that all three surfaces will continue operating and expanding for years.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Looking through the windshield instead of the rearview mirror\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The quarterly earnings cycle trains analysts and marketers to focus on what happened in the last 90 days, and most of the coverage treated the 63% Cloud revenue growth, the tripled operating income, and the accelerating growth rate as the headline story. All useful, all backward-looking.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Backlog captures decisions that have already been made about the next three to five years but have not yet shown up in the revenue line. When it nearly doubles in a single quarter, the forward-looking signal is stronger than anything the backward-looking numbers can provide, because it represents commitments that will convert into revenue over multiple future quarters regardless of market conditions, competitive dynamics, or product changes.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For content strategists, the backlog number answers a question that revenue alone cannot. Revenue shows that Google Cloud had a good quarter. Backlog shows that enterprise customers expect Google Cloud to have good quarters for the next several years and have committed budgets accordingly, which is a meaningfully different signal for anyone trying to plan a multi-year content investment.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The AI visibility work being done today, building citation presence, earning editorial coverage, and strengthening entity recognition across Google’s AI products, is compounding into an ecosystem whose continued funding has already been secured by someone else’s procurement department. The infrastructure, the products, and the audience will all be there through the end of the decade. The remaining variable is which brands built their presence while the window was open.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","Google Cloud backlog nearly doubled quarter over quarter to over $460 billion in Q1 2026. Unlike revenue, backlog represents contractually committed future spending, making it the clearest leading indicator of how permanent AI infrastructure has become.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fcloud-backlog-20260506140745-OZSe78fQ.png","Google Cloud backlog nearly doubled to $460B in Q1 2026. As contractually committed future revenue, it tells a bigger story than quarterly earnings.",1349,"2026-05-06T13:35:48.000000Z","2026-05-06T14:07:55.000000Z",{"id":8,"name":24,"email":25,"about":16,"avatar":26,"created_at":27,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},[111],{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32,"created_at":33,"updated_at":33,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":112},{"blog_id":99,"category_id":30},[114,119,132],{"id":7,"author_id":8,"title":9,"slug":10,"featured_image":13,"published_at":20,"short_summary":12,"word_count":19,"author":115,"categories":116},{"id":8,"name":24,"avatar":26,"email":25},[117],{"id":30,"name":31,"pivot":118},{"blog_id":7,"category_id":30},{"id":62,"author_id":30,"title":63,"slug":64,"featured_image":67,"published_at":70,"short_summary":66,"word_count":69,"author":120,"categories":121},{"id":30,"name":73,"avatar":76,"email":74},[122,124,126,128,130],{"id":79,"name":80,"pivot":123},{"blog_id":62,"category_id":79},{"id":30,"name":31,"pivot":125},{"blog_id":62,"category_id":30},{"id":85,"name":86,"pivot":127},{"blog_id":62,"category_id":85},{"id":91,"name":92,"pivot":129},{"blog_id":62,"category_id":91},{"id":56,"name":57,"pivot":131},{"blog_id":62,"category_id":56},{"id":99,"author_id":8,"title":100,"slug":101,"featured_image":104,"published_at":107,"short_summary":103,"word_count":106,"author":133,"categories":134},{"id":8,"name":24,"avatar":26,"email":25},[135],{"id":30,"name":31,"pivot":136},{"blog_id":99,"category_id":30}]