[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-how-to-perform-a-backlink-audit-a-comprehensive-guide":3,"latest-blogs-home":133},{"message":4,"data":5},"Blogs retrieved successfully",{"blog":6,"latest_blogs":39},{"id":7,"author_id":8,"title":9,"slug":10,"content":11,"short_summary":12,"featured_image":13,"status":14,"meta_title":9,"meta_description":12,"canonical_url":15,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":19,"published_at":20,"created_at":21,"updated_at":22,"deleted_at":23,"author":24,"categories":29},150,1,"How To Do A Backlink Audit:  A Comprehensive Guide","how-to-perform-a-backlink-audit-a-comprehensive-guide","\u003Cp>SEO professionals can’t stress the significance of backlinks in today’s SEO doctrine enough. It’s a ‘vote of confidence’ from a website, essentially saying: “Hey, you should totally check out this site or page because it has everything you’re looking for.” You can also say they’re the bread and butter of modern SEO: unremarkable at first glance but satiating once you take a bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8109\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-000.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"695\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>Now, proper link building\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fseo\u002Fhow-to-get-high-quality-backlinks-without-guest-posting\u002F\"> isn’t exactly the speediest\u003C\u002Fa> approach to improved rankings on Google. Forcing publishers and readers to share or link their content to your own is a good way to get on their bad side. Then again, playing a long waiting game is better than not playing it. Imagine the opportunities lost when you don’t take the time to enrich your backlink profile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>But where do you start? Simple: with a backlink audit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cb>The basics\u003C\u002Fb>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>Audits are concerned with discovering the good and the bad, whether among financial accounts or a website’s SEO. If it finds anything that works, it’s in the business’s best interest to keep it that way. If it stumbles upon an issue that undermines overall performance, the company must devise ways to resolve or mitigate its effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>In this case, backlink audits go deep into a website’s link profile and gauge how good or bad the current links are for it. Most SEO professionals perform audits as the first step whenever a client asks them to improve their website’s search exposure or develop a link building strategy. After all, gathering information is always the first step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>Depending on how deep you want to go, the process may take several hours. The bare minimum can be completed in 30 to 45 minutes, thanks to online analytics tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush. Considering you probably want to do this yourself, we’ll discuss the steps in performing the bare minimum audit, though asking a professional for a more in-depth analysis never hurts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cb>The steps\u003C\u002Fb>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>A short note before proceeding: Some of the tools mentioned in this backlink audit guide may require signing up for a free or paid account. You may need to sign up for multiple analytical tools to get as much data as possible, but only do this budget permitting.\u003Cbr>\n\u003Col>\u003Cbr>\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Research the competition’s backlink profile\u003C\u002Fstrong>I probably don’t need to explain why researching the competition is imperative. A certain Chinese general and strategist already did that thousands of years ago.\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8110\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"150\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>While not technically part of the auditing process, experts agree that assessing a competitor’s backlink profile is necessary before proceeding. It gives an idea of the competitor’s strengths and weaknesses on their profile.You can do this step simply by plugging in a competitor’s URL in almost any analytics tool. Below is Ahrefs’ analysis of the top result for the search term ‘link building au’ (as of this writing, rankings may have changed since then).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8111\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"486\" height=\"69\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8112\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-003.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"524\" height=\"222\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8113\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-004.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"523\" height=\"169\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>The step can take less than a minute, though you may need to do it multiple times for several competitors. Don’t be intimidated by the amount of information displayed; there’s no need to learn everything for now. What’s important is that you’ve set a benchmark for the next step.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Col start=\"2\">\u003Cbr>\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Run an analysis of your website\u003C\u002Fstrong>Let’s see how NO-BS fares with this competitor.\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8117\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-005.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"69\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8114\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-006.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"522\" height=\"198\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8115\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-007.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"522\" height=\"168\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>Note that NO-BS isn’t on the first page of the results, yet the numbers show it outperforms the competitor in every aspect save organic search. NO-BS has 32 times more backlinks and twice more referring domains. Overall, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?Not so fast. As impressive as they appear, these numbers don’t tell the entire story. There’s always the possibility that a large chunk of those backlinks isn’t passing link juice the way they should. Additionally, as we’ll learn later, some may result from blatant sabotage.Discussed briefly in a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fseo\u002Fwhat-is-a-pbn-and-are-they-really-that-bad\u002F\">blog post,\u003C\u002Fa> the SEO scandal clothing brand JCPenney is a good example of this. The story, published in the New York Times, goes that the company thought it could get away with ranking keywords high in the results by populating backlinks, only to fail to account for Google’s approach to evaluating relevance.While the company later stated that it was unaware that its then-SEO provider had engaged in black-hat practices, it would receive the penalty either way. All the more reason to ensure every backlink is worth its weight, which leads to the next step.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Col start=\"3\">\u003Cbr>\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Evaluate every backlink\u003C\u002Fstrong>You probably think this step will be a pain, given that the average number of backlinks in a site or page goes by the thousands – and you’d be right. Manually reviewing every backlink is too time and energy-intensive, but it’s more reliable because humans understand context far better than algorithms.Analytics tools expedite the process. One tool I recommend for this is SEMrush’s Backlink Audit tool, which gauges a backlink profile’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.semrush.com\u002Fkb\u002F580-auditing-your-backlinks\">overall toxicity score\u003C\u002Fa>. This metric determines the quality of the backlinks based on a 45-point checklist, giving it a score between 0 and 100. Zero means the profile’s healthy, while 100 means it’s abysmal.The time required to complete this depends on the number of backlinks to analyse. With over 160,000 backlinks, getting the results for our website naturally took a while.\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8116\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-008.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"386\" height=\"100\" \u002F>Clicking each bar leads to a page that lists backlinks suspected of being toxic and their individual toxicity scores. It detected 37 highly toxic backlinks on our website, though the first five are only visible because a paid account is required to view them all.\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8118\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-009.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"715\" height=\"335\" \u002F>This is where the importance of understanding context comes in. Not all backlinks are as bad as analytics suggest, but it doesn’t make them less wrong. On the list above, the tool was right to flag three of the five toxic links, as they’re the same content on different URLs. One of the links almost shared the same URL, the difference being the lack of a www prefix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8119\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-010.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>As explained in our previous article on reasons for \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fseo\u002Fwhy-do-i-not-rank-on-google\u002F\">not ranking on Google\u003C\u002Fa>, duplicate content is a sure-fire way to do so. Search engine algorithms can’t discern which duplicate to rank, so the “rel=canonical” tag was developed. Without this single line of code, search engines won’t bother ranking both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>Toxicity scores are also a great way to detect potential SEO sabotage, which the industry calls negative SEO attacks. According to SEMrush, an unusually high number of analysed backlinks when you aren’t actively building links is a typical sign. Ahrefs can also be used for this purpose by noting sudden spikes and drops in the number of referring domains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8120\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-011.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"362\" height=\"144\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>A negative SEO attack is essentially crab mentality in the digital marketing space. Someone unscrupulous can’t be bothered to rank on Google through pure merit, so they undermine the efforts of more deserving sites or pages by flooding them with spammy links. While it hasn’t been much of an issue today than in previous updates, this trick can still grind one’s gears.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Col start=\"4\">\u003Cbr>\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Look for a flood of traffic from a specific CTLD\u003C\u002Fstrong>The legacy overview option in the Ahrefs analytics tool (labelled ‘Overview’) features a map that outlines the country top-level domain (CTLD) extensions of the referring domains. Also called a country code top-level domain, a CTLD identifies the referring domain’s point of origin. For example, ‘.com.au’ or ‘.au’ suggests that the domain is based in Australia.\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8121\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-012.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"365\" height=\"185\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>Ahrefs iterates that traffic from a particular CTLD, such as .cn (for China-based domains), doesn’t automatically make it dubious. If your business is based in China, it’s only natural for traffic from .cn websites to come to your website. It isn’t even unheard of for sites to visit overseas ones, as they may be looking for business opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>That said, CTLDs are prone to abuse. According to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.spamhaus.org\u002Fstatistics\u002Ftlds\u002F\">Spamhaus Project\u003C\u002Fa>, an Andorra-based investigative cyber security non-profit, ‘.cn’ is one of the internet’s most abused CTLDs, with roughly a fifth of over 130,000 studied domains flagged. Such practices have continued for years, with some of these links finding their way to your site without your knowledge.Critical thinking is the best way to go about this. Do you expect traffic from a country you usually don’t do business with? If not, your website may be experiencing an influx of spam.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Col start=\"5\">\u003Cbr>\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Check Google for penalties incurred\u003C\u002Fstrong>Over the years, Google has updated its algorithm to combat spam. Although spam remains widespread (Google deals with 40 million spammy pages daily), it claimed that its detection capability has improved by 50% and has purged most hacked spam from the results. Below is a look into how the search engine giant works against spam.\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8122\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-013.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"701\" height=\"450\" \u002F>This leads to two ways Google sanctions violations of their Webmaster Guidelines: manual action and algorithmic. Google will inform you of manual actions taken through the Google Search Console, detailing the reason for such and the extent of the penalty (either site-wide or selected pages).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8123\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-014.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"283\" height=\"212\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>On the other hand, algorithmic hits are slightly trickier to identify. They usually appear as a sudden drop in organic traffic, which you can check with any SEO analytics tool. However, such occurrences can also stem from core algorithm updates, which Google iterates isn’t a penalty. The update may have rewarded other compliant sites, causing yours to tank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>Hard or fast numbers on the prevalence of penalty triggers are scarce. But experts agree that the most common triggers are incoming or outgoing unnatural links and content with little to no added value. Ahrefs’ Anchors report is ideal for managing these problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>It’s worth noting that penalties aren’t limited to search anymore. In 2021, Google introduced a dozen new penalty triggers for its Discover and News functions. Refer to the table below for the complete list, any of which can result in a manual action. Recovering from a manual action involves removing the offending content and submitting a reconsideration request.\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctable width=\"624\">\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctbody>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">\u003Cstrong>Specific to…\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">\u003Cstrong>Triggers\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"312\">Google Discover\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Adult-themed content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Misleading content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Google News\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Violation of Transparency Policy\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd rowspan=\"9\" width=\"312\">Both\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Dangerous content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Hateful content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Harassing content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Medical content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Manipulated media\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Terrorist content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Sexually explicit content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Vulgar language and profanity\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Ctd width=\"312\">Violence and gore content\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Col start=\"6\">\u003Cbr>\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Find backlink opportunities with Link Intersect\u003C\u002Fstrong>Ahrefs’ Link Intersect function works by detecting backlinks to competitors that don’t link back to you. You can add up to ten domains, subdomains, prefixes, or specific URLs. For this step, let’s input the top three results of the query from earlier: ‘link building au.’\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8124\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-015.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"202\" \u002F>\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8125\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-016.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"695\" height=\"276\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>The report shows that roughly 2,000 domains of varying authority linking to competitors have yet to link to yours. The intersect value indicates how many of the given competitors the referring domain links to. The tool helps spot linking patterns and look for blind spots in your link building strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>On a related note, it pays to be aware of any lost backlinks. These links have disappeared from the internet for various reasons, such as taking down the site or page or moving it to another server. Lost backlinks undermine a website’s backlink profile and, more importantly, its credibility, so reclaiming them would be in its best interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>Ahrefs maintains its legacy Lost Backlinks report for this purpose. If you don’t mind using a free tool, you can use Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider. Amid the free version’s limitations (only up to 500 URLs), it provides a comprehensive report on lost backlinks and other issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8126\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"437\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Col start=\"7\">\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Check the ratios\u003C\u002Fstrong>This step is concerned with two values. The first is the dofollow-nofollow ratio, which is the number of links indexed by search engines relative to those that aren’t. And before you ask, there’s no ideal number set in stone, as too many factors, such as the business’s industry and niche, are in play.That said, in most cases, you’d want to have more dofollow links than nofollow ones because the former are the ones passing the link juice. Fortunately, you can check this ratio with just a reliable analytics tool and a calculator.\n\n\u003Cp>For Ahrefs, you can get the necessary numbers in the Backlinks report and toggle between the dofollow and nofollow filters. For example, of the 164,253 individual backlinks on the NO-BS website, 160,662 backlinks are dofollow, and 3,569 are nofollow (as of this writing).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8127\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-018.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"571\" height=\"195\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>While it would be nice for all links to be dofollow, nofollow is a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbacklinko.com\u002Fnofollow-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crucial component in SEO\u003C\u002Fa>. Contrary to popular belief, search engines sometimes follow such links but still require them to carry the nofollow tag to avoid triggering the algorithm. If appropriately used, nofollow links may lead to a bunch of dofollow ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>The second is the backlink-referring domain ratio, which measures the number of backlinks relative to the number of referring domains. Like before, you can find these values on the Overview page and break out your calculator to get the ratio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8128\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-019.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"617\" height=\"248\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>Again, there’s no ideal number here. However, Google prefers a website that earns backlinks from various domains. Having too many backlinks and too few referring domains can result in a few raised eyebrows. Apart from that, unlike the first ratio, this one can’t go below zero, as it means the website has fewer backlinks than referring domains, which is impossible.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cbr>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Cbr>\n\u003Col start=\"8\">\u003Cbr>\n \t\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Decide whether to remove or disavow\u003C\u002Fstrong>Be it link toxicity or any other metric, the score won’t change until the problematic links are either removed upon request or disavowed. Even whitelisting the links, as far as SEMrush’s link toxicity goes, won’t improve the score since they’re still triggering the conditions.Getting the link taken down is as easy as sending a request to the publisher site’s editorial staff. SEMrush’s analytics tool lets users send emails and attach the backlink in question for their reference. With any luck, the publisher may take action immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>Industry experts recommend taking this step first, as the second option, disavowal, can break your SEO if you aren’t careful. The practice was initially intended to mitigate the effects of the Penguin update in the first several months of its rollout. While it still sees use in fighting link spam, Google, which developed the disavow tool, seldom recommends it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>We made a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Funcategorized\u002Fdisavowing-links-when-and-how-to-do-it\u002F\">comprehensive guide\u003C\u002Fa> on using the disavow tool responsibly, which you should check out. In this context, only resort to disavowing problematic links if the publisher hasn’t replied to your removal request for a long time or there’s no way to contact the publisher (the latter is rare, as reputable publishers should be reachable by any means).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8129\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002Fimage-020.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"205\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Cstrong>Conclusion\u003C\u002Fstrong>\n\n\u003Cp>Backlink auditing is a thorough process, and this step-by-step guide to doing the bare minimum proves it. Nevertheless, SEO professionals can’t stress its significance in improving a website’s exposure in the competitive space known as search engine results pages. There’s more to lose than you might think if website owners don’t perform the fundamentals of backlink auditing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Cp>As I mentioned earlier, there’s no harm in getting a professional to do a more in-depth link audit. They do additional steps between the steps explained in this guide. Look no further than us here at NO-BS Marketplace; check out how we do link building by \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\u002Flink-building-packages\u002F\">visiting this page\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>","SEO professionals can’t stress the significance of backlinks in today’s SEO doctrine enough. It’s a ‘vote of confidence’ from a website, essentially saying: “Hey, you should totally check out this sit...","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-assets\u002F2023\u002F06\u002F01-How-to-Perform-a-Backlink-Audit-A-Comprehensive-Guide.jpg","published","https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-perform-a-backlink-audit-a-comprehensive-guide\u002F","","blog",false,2532,"2023-01-05T23:33:19.000000Z","2025-10-26T11:10:27.000000Z","2025-10-31T09:45:54.000000Z",null,{"id":8,"name":25,"email":26,"about":16,"avatar":27,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23},"Aaron Gray","support@nobsmarketplace.com","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-authors\u002F2024\u002F04\u002FAGray.png","2025-10-26T11:10:22.000000Z",[30,33],{"id":8,"name":31,"slug":17,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":32},"Blogs",{"blog_id":7,"category_id":8},{"id":34,"name":35,"slug":36,"created_at":37,"updated_at":37,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":38},7,"Guides","guide","2025-10-26T11:10:25.000000Z",{"blog_id":7,"category_id":34},[40,72,91,108],{"id":41,"author_id":42,"title":43,"slug":44,"content":45,"short_summary":46,"featured_image":47,"status":14,"meta_title":43,"meta_description":48,"canonical_url":23,"keywords":23,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":49,"published_at":50,"created_at":51,"updated_at":52,"deleted_at":23,"author":53,"categories":57},321,3,"Planning on Outsourcing Link Building? Read This First","outsourcing-link-building","\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>This post is an update to our guide on\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-outsource-link-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem> \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>outsourcing link building\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>, which was published back in 2024. While that guide still holds water today, we’ve made this one more streamlined to make it easier to understand.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">As an SEO service, we often stress how crucial proper link building is in promoting brands and businesses. It might sound like you need to build your own link building capability in-house, but that isn’t always possible. In more cases than you may think, businesses don’t have the expertise, tools, or time to do it themselves.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">That’s where the likes of NO-BS Marketplace come in. We do SEO so you don’t have to.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">But before you start looking for an outside professional, you need to know a couple of key things. If you aren’t careful with your choice of link building service, your business can be blamed for the service’s mistakes. And as we’ve established countless times already, the Big G won’t show mercy for anyone who tries fooling it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">To Outsource or Not to Outsource\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">You can take the steps here in any order, but the first step will always be to ask yourself:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>“Do I even need to\u003C\u002Fem>\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=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem> \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>outsource link building\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>?”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It’s like that adage that says, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” As much as we want an answer set in stone, businesses—like their owners and staff—vary. Even two startups in the same industry that offer the same products and services can differ in their digital marketing needs.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">To answer this question, you’ll need to ask yourself several more questions. Fortunately, this cheat sheet can help guide you to a sound decision.\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\u002Fpicture21-20260408054958-KS8PzSnW.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>*Based on U.S. data from ZipRecruiter. Actual salary may vary.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Asking yourself these questions is also an exercise in tempering expectations. Outsourcing link building to professionals may be less costly, but don’t expect them to be on the same wavelength or even share the same work culture as your company. Collaboration doesn’t need any of those, only the willingness to work together amid both parties’ differences.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 16pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cstrong>Shortlisting Your Candidates\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">If you’re convinced that outsourcing link building is ideal, the next step is to scour the Web for candidates. There’s a lot to choose from, given that most SEO agencies (like yours truly) aren’t restricted to offering their services to their home countries or regions.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A while back, I discussed the things an SEO firm shouldn’t do to avoid being\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog\u002Fa-guide-on-how-to-avoid-your-agency-being-branded-a-scam\">\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>called a scam\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">. While I wrote that for SEO firms, it’s also a useful guide for businesses looking for one. For a brief recap, steer clear of agencies that:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cstrong>Guarantee good results: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cem>There are no guarantees in SEO. \u003C\u002Fem>Anyone who claims with confidence that they can get your website to the top of search results for dirt cheap doesn’t know what they’re talking about—or worse.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cstrong>Abuse cold emailing:\u003C\u002Fstrong> Cold emailing by itself isn’t unethical. But when you get a lot of such emails to the point of flooding your inbox, that’s a sign to cross out that firm. They’re less likely to be serious about delivering good results.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cstrong>Lack transparency:\u003C\u002Fstrong> Given that much of SEO is technical, agencies are obligated to explain the process to clients in a language they can understand. Hiding behind alibis like “SEO is too technical” only gives people reason for suspicion.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Once you’ve trimmed out the unwanted fat, gauge the remaining candidates based on their approach to link building. By now, you should be aware that link building is undergoing a major change driven by the rise of AI. While old practices such as guest posting will still be relevant for now, a good link builder must always look forward.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">To that end, ask them: “How do you create linkable assets?”\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">We’re not talking about mere guest articles here. We’re talking about infographics, original research, online tools, and even content with coined terms. Essentially, content that’ll get people to share or, better yet, journalists to write a story about them.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Asking for Guarantees\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Wait, didn’t you just say that there are no guarantees in SEO?”\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Yes, I did. We’re not asking for that here, though, but guarantees of \u003Cem>deliverables.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Even if there’s no way to reliably get the exact results you need, you still want to achieve minimums. For that, talk about the specifics of your link building campaign with the link builder of your choice. Don’t worry if you have no idea about the exact minimums; finding those out is the agency’s job.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Near the end of your meeting, make sure to request a copy of a\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Falexberman.com\u002Fwhat-is-statement-of-work\">\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>Statement of Work (SOW)\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">. According to marketing expert Alex Berman, an SOW should ideally be provided within 24 hours while the details of the meeting are still fresh. He also stated that it must contain all seven of the following sections, complete with specifics:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">The campaign’s overview and objectives\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">The agency’s scope of work\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Expected deliverables (e.g., documents)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A timeline of relevant tasks\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Payment information and terms\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Conditions for acceptance and revisions\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Work not included in the agency’s scope\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Don’t hesitate to raise any concerns with the SOW. If changes are necessary, the agency should inform you of their pros and cons via email. In fact, receiving written confirmation for revisions is crucial for transparency. The last thing you want to happen is to be blamed for content violations you yourself didn’t commit.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Keep a copy of the SOW (as well as other contract documents) and all your back-and-forth with the link building service.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Constant Monitoring\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It takes a while for link building to yield noticeable results. Nevertheless, it pays to keep a close eye on the numbers to see if your decision to outsource is bearing fruit.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Measuring success in link building is made easy thanks to SEO analytics platforms, which integrate all you need in one interface. Of the dozens available, many in the SEO industry consider the Big Three to be Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush. But because they also have some of the priciest plans, having at least one of these should be enough.\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\u002Fpicture22-20260408055105-WrYqPDM3.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">But for all their wide range of features, they largely track metrics using third-party data. If you want search data straight from Google, Google Search Console (GSC) is the only tool that lets you do that. To ensure accuracy, I recommend using GSC (it’s free) on top of your chosen Big Three platform for comparing data.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">If money is really tight, you can opt for the lesser-known tools. However, keep in mind that many of these aren’t as feature-rich as the Big Three. That said, they’re good as a stopgap until you can afford more advanced analytics.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">You’re Now Ready to Outsource\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Congratulations on getting this far! Now you’re ready to leave link building to professionals who won’t leave you hanging when push comes to shove. Or if you decide to do it yourself, that’s fine too.  \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","Not all businesses have the resources or time to build their own link building capability, instead hiring a professional service to do it for them. Even so, it pays to do due diligence when searching for the ideal agency or firm. Here are some valuable tips on outsourcing your link building needs.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fparveender-seo-6271942-1280-20260408053112-O8If6TIX.png","Link building isn’t easy, which is why businesses get professionals to do it for them. But if you’re planning to do so, read this guide first.",1100,"2026-04-09T10:32:00.000000Z","2026-04-08T05:52:33.000000Z","2026-04-09T02:32:48.000000Z",{"id":42,"name":54,"email":55,"about":16,"avatar":56,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23},"Jonas Trinidad","jonas@nobsmarketplace.com","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-authors\u002F2023\u002F05\u002Fjonas-trinidad.jpg",[58,60,64,70],{"id":8,"name":31,"slug":17,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":59},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":8},{"id":42,"name":61,"slug":62,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":63},"SEO","seo",{"blog_id":41,"category_id":42},{"id":65,"name":66,"slug":67,"created_at":68,"updated_at":68,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":69},8,"Link Building","link-building","2025-10-26T11:10:26.000000Z",{"blog_id":41,"category_id":65},{"id":34,"name":35,"slug":36,"created_at":37,"updated_at":37,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":71},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":34},{"id":73,"author_id":74,"title":75,"slug":76,"content":77,"short_summary":78,"featured_image":79,"status":14,"meta_title":75,"meta_description":80,"canonical_url":23,"keywords":23,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":81,"published_at":82,"created_at":83,"updated_at":84,"deleted_at":23,"author":85,"categories":90},323,9,"AI Bot Traffic Up 300%: What It Means for SEO and Content","ai-bots-scraping-publisher-content-seo","\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 2em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">\u003Cstrong>AI Bot Traffic Surged 300%, Publishers Got Hit the Hardest, And SEO Feels It Next\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Akamai published its latest State of the Internet report this week, and the findings should concern anyone who creates content, builds links, or invests in organic visibility. The report, titled “Protecting Publishing: Navigating the AI Bot Era,” tracked AI bot activity across Akamai’s global network from July through December of last year. The numbers are significant. AI bot activity surged by 300%, and the media industry ranked second globally with 13% of all AI bot traffic, with publishing organizations making up 40% of that activity.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Those percentages translate into an enormous volume of automated requests hitting content rich websites. And the implications go well beyond server load.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">What Are AI Bots and Why Are They Scraping Content\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">To understand what’s happening, it helps to know the difference between the types of AI bots that are hitting websites right now. The Akamai report breaks them into distinct categories, each with different objectives and different consequences for publishers.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">AI training crawlers are bots that systematically scrape website content to feed it into large language model training datasets. When a company like OpenAI or Google builds the next version of its language model, the training data has to come from somewhere. These crawlers visit websites at scale, download text content, and store it for use in model training. AI training crawlers made up 63% of all AI bots targeting the media industry. The content they collect becomes part of the model’s knowledge base permanently.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">AI fetchers are different. These bots retrieve content in real time to power AI driven search tools and chatbot responses. When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity a question and gets an answer that references a specific article or dataset, a fetcher likely pulled that content moments before. AI fetchers represented 24% of all AI bot activity targeting media, with publishing accounting for 43% of that segment.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">AI search crawlers operate similarly to traditional search engine crawlers, but they index content specifically for AI powered search interfaces rather than conventional search results pages.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The distinction between training crawlers and fetchers matters because they create different problems. Training crawlers take content once and bake it into a model forever. Fetchers take content repeatedly, in real time, and use it to generate answers that may keep users from ever visiting the original source. Both consume server resources. Neither generates pageviews, ad impressions, or subscription conversions for the publisher.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Referral Traffic Problem\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The most striking data point in the report concerns what happens after AI systems consume publisher content. AI chatbots drove approximately 96% less referral traffic than traditional Google search. That number was measured in Q4 2024, and the trend has only accelerated since then.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Consider what that means in practice. A user searches Google for a topic, clicks a result, and lands on a publisher’s website. The publisher gets a pageview, serves ads, has a chance to convert a subscriber, and builds brand familiarity. That exchange has powered the economics of online publishing for two decades.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Now compare that to what happens with an AI chatbot. A user asks a question, the AI fetcher pulls content from one or several publisher sites, synthesizes an answer, and delivers it in the chat interface. The user gets what they need. The publisher gets nothing. No visit, no ad impression, no brand exposure, no opportunity to convert. The content was used, but the value was captured entirely by the AI platform.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">OpenAI generated the highest volume of AI bot traffic targeting media companies, with publishing organizations accounting for 40% of all OpenAI requests. That makes OpenAI the single largest identified source of AI bot traffic hitting publishers.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Why Content Creators Should Pay Attention\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Akamai data describes a structural shift in how content gets consumed and who captures the value from it. For anyone creating content as part of a \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);\"> or \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);\"> strategy, this shift has real operational consequences.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Content published through \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 third party sites has traditionally served two purposes: earning a backlink for SEO value and placing a brand in front of that publisher’s audience. The second part of that equation depends on readers actually visiting the publisher’s site, reading the article, and encountering the brand in context. If AI bots are scraping that content and serving it through chatbot interfaces without attribution or links, the guest post still exists on the publisher’s site, but fewer people are reading it there.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The same logic applies to any content that lives on a third party domain. Thought leadership articles, contributed columns, data driven research that earns editorial coverage. All of these depend on the publisher’s ability to attract and retain readers. As AI tools pull content out of publisher sites and serve it directly, the traffic those publishers receive declines, their ad revenue drops, and the economic model that supports their editorial operations gets squeezed.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">That squeeze has downstream effects. Publishers under revenue pressure cut editorial staff, tighten contributor guidelines, reduce content output, or shut down entirely. The ecosystem that SEO and link building depends on, a healthy network of publishers creating high quality content, doesn’t function the same way when the economic incentives that sustain it are being systematically undermined.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Scraping vs. Blocking Dilemma\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Publishers face an uncomfortable choice. They can try to block AI bots, which risks losing visibility in AI powered search results that are rapidly growing in usage. Or they can allow scraping, which means their content gets used to generate answers that compete with their own traffic.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Blocking AI crawlers through robots.txt or other technical measures might protect content from being scraped, but it also means that content won’t appear in AI generated answers. As more users shift toward AI interfaces for information retrieval, being absent from those answers means being absent from a growing share of discovery. The trade off is between protecting today’s revenue model and maintaining relevance in tomorrow’s information ecosystem.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Some publishers are negotiating licensing deals directly with AI companies. Others are exploring technical solutions that allow AI systems to access content under specific conditions, like providing attribution and linking back to the source. But no industry wide standard has emerged, and the pace of bot development continues to outrun the pace of policy.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">What This Means for SEO Strategy\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The AI bot surge doesn’t change the fundamentals of SEO overnight, but it does change the environment in which SEO operates.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">First, the value of direct brand visibility becomes more important as intermediary platforms (including AI chatbots) capture a larger share of content discovery. If users are getting answers from AI tools instead of visiting websites, the brands that get mentioned by name in those AI generated answers are the ones that maintain visibility. Building entity recognition, the kind of consistent brand and topic association that helps AI systems identify a source as authoritative, becomes a competitive advantage. Companies investing in content strategies that associate their brand with specific topics and services are better positioned to appear in AI generated responses, even when direct referral traffic declines.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Second, the quality of backlinks matters more when the quantity of available publishers is under pressure. If AI driven revenue erosion causes publishers to consolidate or close, the supply of high authority sites available for \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 insertion\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> and guest contributions contracts. Links from surviving, well maintained, authoritative publications become more valuable precisely because there are fewer of them. Building relationships with quality publishers now, before further consolidation occurs, is a hedge against a shrinking ecosystem.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Third, content that gets scraped and repackaged by AI systems doesn’t carry the same SEO value as content that drives engagement on a publisher’s site. Google’s algorithms still reward content that generates real user signals: clicks, time on page, engagement. If AI bots are consuming content without producing any of those signals, the content may still exist but its contribution to rankings could weaken over time as engagement metrics shift.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Bigger Picture\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Akamai report measures something that has been building for the past two years but is now reaching a scale that’s hard to dismiss. AI systems are consuming publisher content at an accelerating rate, generating less referral traffic in return, and reshaping the economics that have supported online content creation since the early days of search.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For anyone working in SEO, content marketing, or link building, the response isn’t to panic. The response is to recognize that the ecosystem is changing and to build strategies that account for that change. Brand visibility in AI generated answers, strong relationships with quality publishers, and content that creates genuine engagement are all more important now than they were a year ago, and they’ll be more important a year from now than they are today.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The sites and brands that adapt to this shift won’t just survive it. They’ll benefit from the fact that many of their competitors haven’t noticed it yet.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","Akamai’s latest State of the Internet report found AI bot traffic surged 300%, with publishing absorbing the largest share. AI chatbots send 96% less referral traffic than Google search, reshaping how content gets discovered and who benefits from it.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fai-bot-traffic-surge-and-impact-20260409102145-hTrxI7Vr.png","Akamai’s latest report shows AI bot activity surged 300%, with publishers hit hardest. Here’s what content scraping means for SEO and link building",1459,"2026-04-09T09:40:39.000000Z","2026-04-09T10:22:13.000000Z","2026-04-09T10:35:06.000000Z",{"id":74,"name":86,"email":87,"about":23,"avatar":88,"created_at":89,"updated_at":23,"deleted_at":23},"Rasit Cakir","rasit@nobsmarketplace.com","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Frasit.webp","2026-01-26T11:10:22.000000Z",[],{"id":92,"author_id":74,"title":93,"slug":94,"content":95,"short_summary":96,"featured_image":97,"status":14,"meta_title":98,"meta_description":99,"canonical_url":23,"keywords":23,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":100,"word_count":101,"published_at":102,"created_at":103,"updated_at":103,"deleted_at":23,"author":104,"categories":105},322,"90 Zero-Day Exploits in One Year: Why Cybersecurity Is Now an SEO Problem","zero-day-exploits-seo-impact","\u003Ch1>90 Zero-Day Exploits and Counting: Why Cybersecurity Is Now an SEO Problem\u003C\u002Fh1>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Most digital marketers don’t think about cybersecurity until something goes wrong. A website gets defaced. A client’s domain starts redirecting to a pharmacy spam page. A Google Search Console account lights up with manual action warnings for “hacked content.” By that point, the damage to organic visibility is already done, and the recovery timeline is measured in months, not days.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Cybersecurity and SEO have always been connected, but the scale of what’s happening right now makes it impossible to treat them as separate disciplines. Google’s Threat Intelligence Group published its annual zero-day review in March 2026, and the numbers paint a picture that anyone investing in organic search, \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\">\u003Cspan>link building\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan>, or content marketing needs to understand.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>What Is a Zero-Day Exploit and Why Should You Care\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Before getting into the data, it helps to understand what a zero-day actually is, because the term gets thrown around a lot without much explanation.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>A zero-day vulnerability is a security flaw in software that the software maker doesn’t know about yet. No patch exists. No fix has been issued. The name comes from the fact that developers have had “zero days” to address the problem. A zero-day exploit is what happens when an attacker discovers one of these unknown flaws and uses it to break into a system before anyone on the defensive side even knows the door is open.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>What makes zero-days particularly dangerous is the asymmetry. The attacker knows about the vulnerability. The software vendor doesn’t. The security team doesn’t. The users don’t. Until someone detects the intrusion or the flaw gets publicly reported, the attacker has unrestricted access through a hole that nobody is watching.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>For website owners, this matters because every piece of software in your stack is a potential target. Your CMS, your hosting platform, your SSL VPN, your email server, the plugins running on your blog, the security appliance sitting at your network perimeter. If any of those have an undiscovered vulnerability, and someone finds it before the vendor does, your entire digital presence is at risk.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>90 Zero-Days in a Single Year: What Google Found\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) published its annual zero-day review in March 2026, covering exploitation activity through the end of last year. The report tracked 90 zero-day vulnerabilities that were exploited in the wild during that period. To be clear about what “exploited in the wild” means: these aren’t theoretical vulnerabilities found in a lab. These are flaws that real attackers used against real targets in real attacks, before patches were available.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The 90 figure is higher than 2024’s count of 78, though lower than the record of 100 set in 2023. What stands out isn’t any single year’s number but the sustained elevation. Over the past five years, annual zero-day counts have fluctuated between 60 and 100, a range that would have been unthinkable a decade ago when the numbers sat in the low 30s. The floor has permanently risen, and that baseline isn’t coming back down.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>Enterprise Software Is Now the Primary Target\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The most consequential finding in the latest data is the continued shift toward enterprise targets. Nearly half of all zero-days exploited last year, 43 out of 90, targeted enterprise software and infrastructure. Both the raw number and the proportion (48%) reached all-time highs.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>What does “enterprise software” mean in practice? Security appliances like firewalls and intrusion detection systems. Networking equipment like routers and switches. VPN products from vendors like Ivanti and SonicWall. Virtualization platforms like VMware. Email servers. Business applications. The entire category of software that organizations depend on to operate, including the infrastructure that websites run on top of.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Microsoft products alone accounted for 25 of the 90 zero-days. Google had 11. Cisco and Fortinet had 4 each. Ivanti and VMware had 3 each. Twenty other vendors were each hit with at least one zero-day.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The reason enterprise targets are so valuable to attackers is what comes after the initial breach. A compromised consumer device affects one person. A compromised enterprise appliance, a VPN concentrator, a firewall, an email gateway, gives attackers privileged access across entire networks. One vulnerability in one device can open the door to everything behind it. For organizations running web properties, that “everything” includes the servers, databases, and content management systems that power their online presence.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Edge devices are especially attractive because most of them don’t run endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools. Routers, switches, and security appliances sit at the perimeter of an organization’s network, but they’re often blind spots for security monitoring. An attacker who compromises an edge device can operate undetected for far longer than one who lands on a monitored endpoint. GTIG noted that 14 zero-days last year targeted edge devices, and that the true number is likely higher because the lack of monitoring means many compromises simply aren’t discovered.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>Browsers Got Harder to Crack, So Attackers Went Around Them\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Browser-based zero-days dropped to less than 10% of the total last year, a sharp decline from the browser-heavy years of 2021 and 2022. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox have invested heavily in sandboxing, memory safety improvements, and exploit mitigations over the past several years, and those investments are paying off. Exploiting a modern browser is significantly harder than it used to be.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>But attackers don’t stop when one path closes. They adapt. The decline in browser exploits coincided with a rise in operating system vulnerabilities, which accounted for 44% of all zero-days last year. Mobile OS exploitation jumped from 9 zero-days in 2024 to 15. Desktop OS exploitation fluctuated between 16 and 23 annually.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The pattern matters because it shows how the threat landscape responds to defensive improvements. Browser hardening didn’t reduce the total number of zero-days. It redirected them. Attackers moved to operating systems, server infrastructure, and the enterprise tools that sit upstream from the browser. For website owners, that upstream infrastructure is exactly where your digital presence lives.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>Who Is Doing the Exploiting and Why It Matters\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>GTIG was able to attribute 42 of the 90 zero-days to specific threat actors. The breakdown challenges some common assumptions about who is behind these attacks.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Commercial surveillance vendors (CSVs) accounted for the largest share, roughly 35% of attributed exploits. These are private companies that develop and sell hacking tools, often to government clients. For the first time since Google began tracking zero-day exploitation, CSVs surpassed traditional state-sponsored espionage groups. The surveillance industry is growing, its tools are proliferating to a wider customer base, and its capabilities are expanding. The exploits these vendors develop target the same consumer devices and enterprise platforms that everyone uses.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>State-sponsored cyber espionage groups linked to China remained the most active single-country actor, responsible for at least 10 zero-days. These groups focused heavily on security appliances and edge networking devices, aiming to maintain persistent, difficult-to-detect access to strategic targets.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Financially motivated cybercriminals, including ransomware operators, were tied to 9 zero-days. Groups affiliated with the CL0P extortion brand targeted Oracle E-Business Suite customers. A Russian-linked group used a zero-day to distribute malware. The financially motivated category represents a higher proportion of total attributed exploits than in previous years, and these are the threat actors most likely to target businesses indiscriminately, including businesses whose primary asset is their web presence.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>What Google’s CEO Said About AI and Zero-Days\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The timing of the GTIG report coincided with some unusually candid public comments from Google CEO Sundar Pichai that put the zero-day problem in a broader context.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Speaking on the Cheeky Pint podcast with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Pichai framed cybersecurity as one of the hidden constraints on AI deployment, alongside memory supply and energy infrastructure. He wasn’t talking about it as a future concern. He described it as something that may already be happening, saying that AI models are going to break most existing software and that the breaking may have already started without anyone fully realizing it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The conversation got more specific when someone mentioned that black-market prices for zero-day exploits might be falling, the theory being that AI is increasing the supply of discoverable vulnerabilities. If AI tools can scan codebases and identify flaws faster than human researchers, the supply of exploitable bugs goes up, and market dynamics push prices down. Pichai said he wasn’t surprised by that possibility.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>What makes Pichai’s comments significant isn’t just the content but the source. Google operates one of the largest vulnerability research programs in the world through Project Zero and GTIG. When the CEO of that company says publicly that AI is going to break most existing software, and that it might already be happening, he’s speaking from an informed position.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Pichai also made a point about the coordination gap. He said the situation requires more coordination between companies, governments, and security researchers, coordination that isn’t happening today. He predicted a potential “sharp moment” ahead where the consequences of that coordination gap become impossible to ignore.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Google’s own threat intelligence team echoed this in the GTIG report’s 2026 forecast section. The report stated that AI will accelerate the race between attackers and defenders. On the offensive side, adversaries will use AI to speed up reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, and exploit development. On the defensive side, AI-powered tools and agentic security systems will help detect and patch vulnerabilities before exploitation. The question isn’t whether AI reshapes cybersecurity. The question is which side benefits more, and how fast the shift happens.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>For anyone running a website or managing digital assets, the implications are concrete. The volume of discoverable vulnerabilities in the software you depend on is likely to increase. The speed at which those vulnerabilities get exploited is likely to increase. The window between a flaw being discovered and a patch being available, which is already the defining characteristic of zero-day exploitation, could shrink even further on the attacker’s side while growing on the defender’s side.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>Why This Is an SEO Problem\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Everything above might read like a cybersecurity story that doesn’t belong on a digital marketing blog. But the consequences of these trends land directly on organic search performance, and they do so in ways that are difficult to reverse.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>When a website gets compromised, the most immediate SEO impact comes from Google’s Safe Browsing system. Once Google detects malware, phishing, or unwanted software on a domain, it can flag the site with interstitial warnings. The red screen that says “The site ahead contains harmful programs” appears between your domain and every visitor trying to reach it through Chrome, which holds roughly 65% of global browser market share. Organic click-through rates don’t gradually decline when that warning appears. They effectively drop to zero.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>But the Safe Browsing warning is just the most visible consequence. Compromised sites frequently get injected with spam content, hidden links, or redirects that serve different content to Googlebot than to regular users (a practice called cloaking). Google’s algorithms are designed to detect and penalize cloaking. A hacked site that’s been injected with pharmaceutical spam or casino links can trigger algorithmic suppression or manual actions that take weeks to resolve even after the hack itself is cleaned up.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Then there’s the backlink damage. If your domain gets flagged, publishers who link to you will start noticing. Sites that earned you coverage through \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan>digital PR\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan> campaigns or placed contextual links through \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-insertion\">\u003Cspan>link insertion\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan> may remove those links or add nofollow attributes to protect their own domain authority. Backlinks that took months to build through \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan>guest posting\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan> relationships can evaporate in days once a partner site’s editorial team sees the Safe Browsing flag. And those links don’t automatically come back when the warning gets lifted. You have to rebuild the trust, and in many cases, rebuild the links from scratch.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The recovery timeline is punishing. Google doesn’t immediately recrawl and re-evaluate a site that’s been cleaned up. Recrawl rates can slow down for flagged domains. Manual action reviews take time. And even after the technical all-clear, rankings that took quarters to build can take just as long to recover, assuming competitors haven’t filled the gap in the meantime.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>What Marketing Teams Can Actually Do\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Most marketing teams don’t have direct control over their organization’s security posture. They can’t manage patch cycles, configure firewalls, or audit VPN appliances. But they can take steps that reduce their exposure and speed up recovery if something does go wrong.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Understanding what software your web presence depends on is a starting point. Which CMS are you running, and is it current? What plugins are active, and when were they last updated? Is your hosting provider transparent about their patching practices? These aren’t questions that require a security engineering background to ask. They require the same operational awareness that any marketing team applies to their analytics stack or their ad platform accounts.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Google Search Console’s security issues report is a tool that many marketers have access to but rarely check proactively. Setting up alerts for security issues, manual actions, and unusual indexing spikes can give you early warning if something goes wrong.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>Having a response plan matters too. Knowing who to contact, what steps to take, and how to request a Google review after a cleanup isn’t something you want to figure out for the first time during a crisis. Document it in advance. Include your hosting provider’s security contact, your developer’s escalation process, and the steps required to submit a reconsideration request.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan>The Bigger Picture\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>The latest zero-day data doesn’t exist in isolation. It sits alongside Pichai’s public warning about AI breaking software, alongside the GTIG forecast about accelerating offensive capabilities, and alongside a sustained multi-year trend of elevated exploitation. The threat environment isn’t going back to where it was in 2019 when the annual zero-day count was 32.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>For digital marketers, this means cybersecurity awareness isn’t optional background knowledge. It’s operationally relevant. The sites that maintain their organic visibility over the long term won’t just be the ones with the strongest content, the best backlink profiles, or the most consistent publishing cadence. They’ll be the ones that didn’t get breached while doing all of those things.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","Google’s latest threat intelligence report tracked 90 zero-day exploits, with enterprise software as the top target. Paired with Sundar Pichai’s warning that AI will break most existing software, this post explains what zero-days are, who is exploiting them, and why breaches destroy SEO performance.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fcybersecurity-seo-zero-day-20260408164627-b07CR0wh.png","Why Cybersecurity Is an SEO Problem","Google’s latest threat report tracked 90 zero-day exploits. Nearly half targeted enterprise software. A breach is one of the fastest ways to lose rankings.",true,2298,"2026-04-08T16:22:47.000000Z","2026-04-08T16:47:34.000000Z",{"id":74,"name":86,"email":87,"about":23,"avatar":88,"created_at":89,"updated_at":23,"deleted_at":23},[106],{"id":42,"name":61,"slug":62,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":107},{"blog_id":92,"category_id":42},{"id":109,"author_id":42,"title":110,"slug":111,"content":112,"short_summary":113,"featured_image":114,"status":14,"meta_title":110,"meta_description":115,"canonical_url":23,"keywords":23,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":100,"word_count":116,"published_at":117,"created_at":118,"updated_at":118,"deleted_at":23,"author":119,"categories":120},320,"Benefits of Link Building You Probably Don’t Know: A Revisit","benefits-of-link-building-1","\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>In 2020, we published a post explaining 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\u002Fbenefits-of-link-building-you-probably-dont-know\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem> \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>benefits of link building\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 most people aren’t aware of. But after going through that post, I learned that most of the items explained there are already well-known. This update discusses the lesser-known benefits this time around.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">You can’t do SEO without link building. Not in today’s search.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">As I’ve explained in past posts, links vouch for a website’s credibility. Imagine an article or blog post by a well-known site citing your post (and linking to it). Not only readers but also search engines see this as a sign that your content—and website, to an extent—is reliable. Thus, it stands to reason that it should be higher up in the search results.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">But unless you’re a total novice reading this, you probably already know about this benefit of link building. You may also be aware that it helps increase incoming traffic to your site or even boost your site’s authority. That said, is there anything else?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Better AI Visibility\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">AI’s entry into search has made SEO more complicated than it already is. Between the rise of AI summaries and AI-powered search functions, it has already changed parts of the SEO playbook. Unfortunately, site owners and SEO experts alike are struggling to adapt.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Link building isn’t spared from the sweeping changes. While the majority of professionals believe backlinks will remain relevant, it won’t just be about them anymore. To be honest, it was never just about them in the first place.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Anytime an AI model scours the search results, it\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog\u002Fai-shows-you-arent-just-ranking-for-one-keyword-anymore\">\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>focuses more on relevance\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> and less on rankings. It doesn’t care if a post is outside the top ten or the first page; it’ll cite whatever info it has if it answers the user’s question. To that end, it doesn’t put as much weight on backlinks as on other factors like search intent.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">That doesn’t mean backlinks are irrelevant today. AI still uses them to confirm that a site is reliable enough to use its content for generating the summary. It’s just that there’s more to link building than backlinks per se.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Brand mention \u003C\u002Fem>is the name of the game, and it consists of passive and active modes.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">In \u003Cstrong>passive brand mention, \u003C\u002Fstrong>the goal is to create assets that the model can cite with ease. These are more than your run-of-the-mill article or blog post. Some examples include online tools, original research, and explainer pages.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Meanwhile, \u003Cstrong>active brand mention \u003C\u002Fstrong>is essentially setting yourself up to be an expert on your niche. Anytime journalists or content creators need a resource person for a topic, you deliver timely content that answers their questions.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">This isn’t link building in the traditional sense, but it can still result in backlinks. And all the while, AI can be convinced that your words are exactly what users need to know and cite or mention them in the summary.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Improves Bounce Rate\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A visitor to a site “bounces” when they enter a page but leave without doing anything else. Therefore, a high bounce rate means that more people are leaving the site than engaging with it (i.e., cart checkout, creating an account).\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A high bounce rate is often associated with poor user experience. However, improper link building can also be a cause. If a link leads to a post that doesn’t sate a visitor’s curiosity, you can’t blame them if they opt to continue their search elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">You may think that improving bounce rates is as easy as keeping visitors on the site for as long as possible. But as far as analytics go, that won’t do without getting them to engage. The simplest way is to urge them to explore the rest of the site.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Link building just happens to have a good method: \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-2026-website-s-guide-to-internal-link-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>internal link building\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>.\u003C\u002Fem>\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\u002F3-structural-links-20260408051133-pUUxUQ87.webp\" 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\u002Fmoz.com\u002Flearn\u002Fseo\u002Finternal-link\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem> \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>Moz\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;\">Internal links make a site more crawl-friendly, but it does more than that. Visitors who want to explore more of the site benefit from links that take them to the next destination in a single click. This alone is already a form of engagement, thus improving the bounce rate.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Internal link building also works from an attention span perspective. For example, I could discuss the various methods of building internal links at this point. However, that would make this post longer than it already is, and not everyone has the patience to go through long-form content. By leaving a link, readers can opt to check it out for additional context.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cstrong>\u003Cem>Note:\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cem> Bounce rate shouldn’t be confused with \u003C\u002Fem>\u003Cstrong>\u003Cem>exit rate\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cem>, which measures how many users leave a site after visiting multiple pages. \u003Cu>All bounces are exits, but not all exits are bounces\u003C\u002Fu>.  \u003C\u002Fem> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Helps Journalists\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">While I can’t speak for the profession as a whole, I’m well aware that journalists don’t have it easy. Covering a story involves finding a person with authority and expertise to talk about the topic. Not to mention that they have to hand in their report before the end of the day.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Fortunately, building healthy partnerships is part and parcel of link building. The media just happens to be a major benefactor, as a brand mention in a source of unbiased information says a lot about its credibility. Granted, the brand can’t blatantly promote its products and services (unless labeled as sponsored content), but readers demand answers, not ads.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">There are two ways link building helps journalists: direct and indirect. The direct approach involves, well, directly reaching out to these people. One example is Help A Reporter Out (HARO), a free-to-use platform that lets reporters and niche experts exchange information.\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\u002Fpicture20-20260408051213-d1A30oHI.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>The HARO process. Source:\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.helpareporter.com\u002Fabout\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem> \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>HARO\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;\">Other similar platforms include Featured (which operates HARO), Source of Sources, and MentionMatch. Keep in mind that fulfilling a reporter’s request doesn’t guarantee a brand mention, considering that you’re up against thousands of others with the same idea.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">The indirect approach is what I like to call the \u003Cem>bait and wait\u003C\u002Fem>. Instead of communicating with journalists directly, this process involves publishing newsworthy press release content and waiting for a reporter to bite. Emphasis on “newsworthy” because a generic press release will largely be ignored. Journalists only have so much time on their hands.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Whichever approach you opt for (or both), it shows how link building can be a godsend to reporters looking for news. The more you provide satisfactory answers, the more likely the reporter will come to you when their story needs your expertise.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Don’t Dismiss Link Building Too Quickly\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Make no mistake because link building does wonders for any website’s SEO campaign. But when you look past the SEO aspect, you begin to appreciate its true value. Proper link building isn’t a win for the brand but a win-win for everyone involved.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","If you think that link building is only good for boosting your website's ranking in search results, think again. The benefits of this core component of SEO go beyond the search engine, which is why it's still widely employed. Learn the lesser-known benefits of link building in this updated guide.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fparveender-backlinks-7791412-1280-20260408050806-Kh2bsBoF.png","There’s more to link building than being more visible in search results. Learn its lesser-known benefits, from better AI visibility to good journalism.",1082,"2026-04-08T13:13:00.000000Z","2026-04-08T05:13:34.000000Z",{"id":42,"name":54,"email":55,"about":16,"avatar":56,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23},[121,123,125,127],{"id":42,"name":61,"slug":62,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":122},{"blog_id":109,"category_id":42},{"id":65,"name":66,"slug":67,"created_at":68,"updated_at":68,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":124},{"blog_id":109,"category_id":65},{"id":8,"name":31,"slug":17,"created_at":28,"updated_at":28,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":126},{"blog_id":109,"category_id":8},{"id":128,"name":129,"slug":130,"created_at":131,"updated_at":131,"deleted_at":23,"pivot":132},16,"Educative Content","educative-content","2026-02-10T11:18:29.000000Z",{"blog_id":109,"category_id":128},[134,139,150],{"id":92,"author_id":74,"title":93,"slug":94,"featured_image":97,"published_at":102,"short_summary":96,"word_count":101,"author":135,"categories":136},{"id":74,"name":86,"avatar":88,"email":87},[137],{"id":42,"name":61,"pivot":138},{"blog_id":92,"category_id":42},{"id":109,"author_id":42,"title":110,"slug":111,"featured_image":114,"published_at":117,"short_summary":113,"word_count":116,"author":140,"categories":141},{"id":42,"name":54,"avatar":56,"email":55},[142,144,146,148],{"id":8,"name":31,"pivot":143},{"blog_id":109,"category_id":8},{"id":42,"name":61,"pivot":145},{"blog_id":109,"category_id":42},{"id":65,"name":66,"pivot":147},{"blog_id":109,"category_id":65},{"id":128,"name":129,"pivot":149},{"blog_id":109,"category_id":128},{"id":151,"author_id":74,"title":152,"slug":153,"featured_image":154,"published_at":155,"short_summary":156,"word_count":157,"author":158,"categories":159},316,"AI Visibility in 2026: What Actually Gets Brands Cited by LLMs","ai-visibility-2026-what-gets-brands-cited","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fimage-apr-2-2026-09-48-17-am-20260402074850-MmACyW63.png","2026-04-02T07:37:11.000000Z","How LLM tools cite brands? Answer is a bit complex, but digital PR and high authority seem to lead the way",1345,{"id":74,"name":86,"avatar":88,"email":87},[160],{"id":161,"name":162,"pivot":163},23,"AI",{"blog_id":151,"category_id":161}]