[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-openai-launches-chatgpt-ads-manager":3,"latest-blogs-home":112},{"message":4,"data":5},"Blogs retrieved successfully",{"blog":6,"latest_blogs":34},{"id":7,"author_id":8,"title":9,"slug":10,"content":11,"short_summary":12,"featured_image":13,"status":14,"meta_title":9,"meta_description":15,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":19,"published_at":20,"created_at":21,"updated_at":21,"deleted_at":16,"author":22,"categories":27},344,9,"ChatGPT Ads Go Self-Serve With CPC Bidding","openai-launches-chatgpt-ads-manager","\u003Ch1>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">ChatGPT Ads Go Self-Serve With CPC Bidding\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh1>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, published two articles four months apart that together describe one of the fastest ad platform buildouts in recent memory. In January, Fidji Simo authored “Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT,” a principles document outlining five rules the company would follow as it introduced advertising to its AI assistant. On May 5, OpenAI followed up with “New ways to buy ChatGPT ads,” announcing a self-serve Ads Manager, cost-per-click bidding, a Conversions API with pixel-based measurement, and partnerships with four of the largest global agency networks. Going from principles to a self-serve platform with CPC bidding and conversion tracking in four months signals how seriously OpenAI is treating advertising as a revenue channel, and how quickly ChatGPT is evolving from something brands monitor into something brands buy media on.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The five principles OpenAI committed to in January\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The January article laid out five principles for advertising inside ChatGPT, and three of them have direct implications for how the paid channel interacts with organic AI visibility.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Answer independence came first, and it appears to be the most consequential. OpenAI committed to keeping ads completely separate from the answers ChatGPT generates. Ads do not influence responses, responses are optimized based on helpfulness alone, and paying for ChatGPT ads does not make ChatGPT more likely to mention a brand in its organic answers. In practical terms, a brand cannot buy its way into a ChatGPT response.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Conversational privacy followed. Conversations with ChatGPT remain private from advertisers, and OpenAI committed to never selling user data to advertisers. Brands running ChatGPT ads receive aggregate campaign performance data but cannot see what users asked or how ChatGPT responded.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Choice and control rounds out the three that matter most here. Users control how their data gets used, can turn off personalization, and can clear their data at any time. Ads will not appear on accounts where the user is under 18 or has indicated they are a minor, and ads will not appear near sensitive or regulated topics including health, mental health, and politics.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The January article also previewed the first ad format: a sponsored product or service appearing at the bottom of ChatGPT’s answers, clearly labeled and visually separated from the organic response.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">From principles to infrastructure in four months\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The May article turned those commitments into a working platform. Three additions stand out.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The self-serve Ads Manager, currently rolling out in beta to US advertisers, lets businesses register, add payment information and budgets, upload ad creative, launch and manage campaigns, and view performance in a portal. OpenAI describes it as accessible to companies of all sizes, from small businesses and startups to global brands. Any business willing to create an account can now access ChatGPT advertising without needing a sales relationship or an agency partner.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">OpenAI also expanded its partner ecosystem, with agency partnerships now including Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP (four of the largest global advertising holding companies) and technology partnerships including Adobe, Criteo, Kargo, Plexus, and BlackAdapt. Advertisers working through these partners can access ChatGPT ads through the buying tools they already use.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">CPC bidding completes the picture. The initial ChatGPT ads pilot ran on CPM (cost per thousand impressions), where advertisers paid based on how many times their ad appeared. CPC (cost per click) means advertisers pay only when someone clicks. OpenAI’s framing of why this pricing model matters in ChatGPT specifically is interesting: conversations are “active and decision-oriented,” with people “often learning about a company, comparing options, or deciding what to buy.” A click from someone mid-conversation who has already described their problem and received an answer carries different weight than a click from a search results page or a social media scroll.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Two channels inside one product\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The combination of the January principles and the May infrastructure creates something that looks structurally familiar. ChatGPT now operates as a dual-channel platform, similar to how Google Search has worked for two decades: organic results determined by relevance and authority, paid placements determined by advertiser bidding, and the two systems running independently.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">On the organic side, when a user asks ChatGPT a question, the model retrieves information from the web, evaluates sources based on authority and relevance, and cites the pages it considers most trustworthy. The signals that drive organic citations are the same ones that drive traditional search ranking: backlinks from authoritative sources, third-party editorial coverage, structured content, entity recognition, and citation presence across credible publications. No amount of ad spend changes which pages get cited, because OpenAI’s answer independence principle keeps the two systems separate.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">On the paid side, brands can now appear at the bottom of ChatGPT responses through the Ads Manager, bid on CPC or CPM, and track conversions. The paid channel provides visibility inside ChatGPT conversations regardless of whether the brand has organic citation presence.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The two sides reward different work. A brand with strong organic citation presence influences what ChatGPT actually says when users ask questions, which no ad buy can replicate. A brand with a paid strategy appears in conversations where it might not otherwise be mentioned, which no amount of organic citation guarantees. The brands reaching users on both sides of the ChatGPT response are the ones investing in both.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">CPC clicks from a conversational context\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The user context around a ChatGPT ad click is qualitatively different from other CPC environments, and that difference is probably the most underappreciated part of the launch.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">On a search engine, a user sees ads alongside results for a query they typed. The intent is clear but the user may still be browsing. On social media, a user scrolls past content and occasionally engages with an ad, usually with low intent. On ChatGPT, the user has already described their problem in natural language, received an answer, and may be actively comparing options or evaluating recommendations. A click from that context comes from someone further along in their decision process than a typical search or social click.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Similarweb data we covered in earlier posts supports this. Users referred from ChatGPT spend an average of 15 minutes on site versus 8 minutes from Google referrals, generate 12 pageviews per visit versus 9, and convert to transactional sites at a 7% rate versus 5% from Google. Those numbers came from organic referrals. Paid clicks from users who were mid-decision-conversation could perform comparably or better, though it is too early to confirm with data from the new ad platform.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Measurement closes on the paid side, stays open on the organic side\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Conversions API and pixel-based measurement in ChatGPT’s Ads Manager start to address one of the persistent measurement problems with AI visibility. Advertisers can now track whether a ChatGPT ad click led to a purchase, a lead form submission, a sign-up, or another meaningful action. The tracking is aggregate (no individual conversation data), but it gives advertisers the performance data they need to optimize spend and justify budget.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The organic citation side does not yet have equivalent infrastructure. A brand mentioned in ChatGPT’s organic response still cannot track whether that mention led to a site visit, a branded search, or a conversion. The attribution gap between organic AI visibility and business outcomes remains open, even as the paid side gets proper tracking. For now, brand mention share (the percentage of relevant AI responses that include the brand) remains the best proxy on the organic side.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Organic visibility and paid ads reward different investments\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The ChatGPT ads launch does not reduce the value of organic AI visibility work. The answer independence principle means organic citations cannot be replaced by ad spend, which actually makes the organic side more valuable now that a paid alternative exists. Brands that appear in ChatGPT’s organic answers because of strong citation presence, entity recognition, and authoritative third-party coverage will continue to appear there regardless of whether competitors are running paid ads alongside those answers.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link building\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> and \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">digital PR\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> feed the organic side of the dual-channel model. Every editorial mention in a credible publication, every backlink from an authoritative domain, every \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">guest post\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> on a site with editorial standards contributes to the citation pool that ChatGPT draws from when assembling its organic answers. That work compounds in an environment where OpenAI has committed to keeping the organic and paid channels independent, which means the citation presence built through these tactics cannot be outspent by a competitor with a bigger ad budget.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-insertion\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link insertions\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> into existing authoritative content put a brand inside pages that ChatGPT’s retrieval system already trusts, strengthening the organic citation presence on a timeline that new content alone cannot match.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The dual-channel structure that emerged between January and May rewards brands that have built authority and content quality on the organic side while also being willing to test the paid channel as it matures. The January principles said advertising would support broader access to AI without compromising the product. The May launch delivered the infrastructure to make that real, and the two channels are now live, separate, and rewarding different kinds of work.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","OpenAI launched a self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager with CPC bidding, conversion tracking, and expanded advertiser access. The company’s stated “answer independence” principle keeps organic citations and paid ads as two distinct channels inside the same product.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fchatgpt-ads-dual-channel-20260507122708-pSJ0y1jl.png","published","OpenAI launched a self-serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT with CPC bidding and conversion tracking. Organic citations and paid ads are two separate channels.",null,"blog",false,1482,"2026-05-07T12:12:28.000000Z","2026-05-07T12:27:28.000000Z",{"id":8,"name":23,"email":24,"about":16,"avatar":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},"Rasit Cakir","rasit@nobsmarketplace.com","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Frasit.webp","2026-01-26T11:10:22.000000Z",[28],{"id":29,"name":30,"slug":31,"created_at":32,"updated_at":32,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":33},23,"AI","ai","2026-03-10T11:18:29.000000Z",{"blog_id":7,"category_id":29},[35,40,82,97],{"id":7,"author_id":8,"title":9,"slug":10,"content":11,"short_summary":12,"featured_image":13,"status":14,"meta_title":9,"meta_description":15,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":18,"word_count":19,"published_at":20,"created_at":21,"updated_at":21,"deleted_at":16,"author":36,"categories":37},{"id":8,"name":23,"email":24,"about":16,"avatar":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},[38],{"id":29,"name":30,"slug":31,"created_at":32,"updated_at":32,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":39},{"blog_id":7,"category_id":29},{"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":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":49,"word_count":50,"published_at":51,"created_at":52,"updated_at":52,"deleted_at":16,"author":53,"categories":59},342,3,"Yes, Links Still Matter—More Than Ever","necessary-types-of-links","\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>This post is an updated version of our brief guide about the \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog\u002Ftypes-of-link-building-that-boost-your-seo-ranking\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>types of links\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem> that are important for any SEO strategy. Even with the shift to AI-powered search all but certain, links remain crucial for reasons beyond numbers. This updated guide takes today’s search environment into consideration, especially AI.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Back in the old guide on the essential types of links for SEO, I cited that it narrows down to three elements: helpful content, good keywords, and quality link building. That’s because any update to the search engine algorithm almost always involves any or all of them. If not, then it impacts them one way or another.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">200 ranking factors? Google debunked that list a long time ago.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Backlinko’s 200? Brian Dean admits that some are speculative.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">We’ll never know the full list, as search engines are adamant about taking it to their graves. Nevertheless, those three elements are among the few things we’ve confirmed so far, even if they seem ambiguous. That includes the topic for this post: links.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Are Links Becoming Less Important?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Before we get to the types of links, I feel it’s important to address the elephant in the room. Google stated years ago that links, while still a key part of its algorithm, have become less important. This is reflected in two moves it made within the past decade.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">The first was in 2019 when, through Gary Illyes, it announced that it was \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fwhy-google-turned-nofollow-to-hint\u002F325713\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>following nofollow links\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">. More specifically, it changed nofollow from a specific instruction to a suggestion. For publishers, this was a welcome update because it meant that all their nofollow links could receive link equity while Google gets its link data.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">This didn’t indicate the link’s declining importance, but it showed how Google treated links moving forward. The March 2024 Core Update brought more than just algorithmic changes; it also featured new descriptions in Google’s spam policies. (1)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Downplaying links from an “important factor” to simply a “factor”\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Adding creating low-value content as an example of link manipulation\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Explicitly stating outgoing manipulative links as a form of link spam\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Adding expired domain abuse to the list of penalizable SEO violations\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Adding to these changes is confirmation from Illyes himself, albeit with a hint of regret.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-091-google-confirms-links-are-not-that-important-wwwsearchenginejournalcom-20260506062116-9rcMuSb2.png\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Source: Search Engine Journal\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A study by Ahrefs last year revealed this to be the case. However, it also stated that links still matter in certain searches involving queries with: (2)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">High search volume (100,000 or more)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Brands as keywords\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Local intent\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Informational intent\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">We haven’t begun talking about AI, in which case it turns the tables.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">In a study of over 500 pages across 20 industries, Link Publishers discovered that AI loves backlinks. Two out of every five content retrievals by AI models consisted of editorial links, followed by guest posts. This is because AI summaries cite sources as a journalist would credit a name for a direct quote or claim. (3)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-094-is-water-good-for-diabetes-google-search-wwwgooglecom-20260506062144-tprM8h7h.png\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Excerpt from an AI Overview on the query “is water good for diabetes”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Suddenly, links (at least, backlinks) are back in business amid Google deprioritizing them. The study explains that while AI models don’t crawl like search engine crawlers, they look for authoritative content. The richer the link profile, the more likely it’ll attract the attention of the scouring AI model. (3)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It also helps that AI cares little for a page’s ranking. If it deems the page’s content relevant to the query, it won’t hesitate to use the information in its summary. That includes content sitting beyond the top 10 results, once a place where content goes to be forgotten.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Are links becoming less important? Yes as far as traditional search goes, but we’re already moving away from that anyway. The playing field has been slowly shifting from the ten blue links to AI summaries, in which links are still in the game.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">What Types of Links Do You Need?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Back in the old guide, we mentioned that you needed backlinks, internal and external links, niche edits, and natural backlinks. But with AI, it’s important not to be content with simply these. There’s still much we don’t know about how AI models pick their sources, let alone citing a brand in their summaries.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Instead of saying “I need backlinks,” you also have to ask yourself, “What kind?” Based on the Link Publishers study, the following types will be valuable:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Editorial Links\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Editorial links are a type of natural backlink, the type of link that Google wants to see. As with any other natural backlink, these links are \u003Cem>earned\u003C\u002Fem> rather than asked for or traded for. In this case, they come from bloggers or journalists who linked your content on their own.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Their positioning also makes them valuable. Proper editorial links are surrounded by the right context, not slapped onto a paragraph for the sake of having them. For example, the screenshot below features a link to a Minnesota coffee shop’s website. The beauty of this is that the publisher, \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fedition.cnn.com\u002Ftravel\u002Fraspberry-danish-viral-coffee-northfield-minnesota-spc\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>CNN\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">, put it there because of the interesting story behind it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-095-minnesota-coffee-shop-creates-viral-raspberry-danish-latte-gives-w-editioncnncom-20260506062238-uTUtbnYl.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">When searching for “raspberry danish latte recipe,” AI Overviews promptly return with a credit to the aforementioned coffee shop.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Ffireshot-capture-096-raspberry-danish-latte-recipe-google-search-wwwgooglecom-20260506062303-fIH2hdIV.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It goes without saying that editorial links still form the backbone of SEO in the AI era. That said, one downside of this is that they’re hard to earn. Bloggers and journalists go through dozens of pitches sent to their inboxes daily, meaning they only have time for a handful of them to write about. Then again, no one said earning natural links was easy.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Guest Post Links\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>Guest posting\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> is no stranger to being declared “dead.” Despite this, it continues to be a widely used SEO technique because of what I said about earning natural links. The time spent waiting to get one is better spent on working to earn one by getting your content published on a third-party website.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Let’s get one thing straight here: \u003Cem>guest post links aren’t natural. \u003C\u002Fem>They’re primarily earned through participating in a publisher’s contributor program or, if there isn’t one, pitching topic ideas to the publisher. The link is generated when the article goes live.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Guest post links aren’t natural because you asked—and in many cases, paid—for them. This doesn’t make them any less useful, even in AI-dominated search. For one, content creators have more options because well-known news sites aren’t the only ones offering guest posting (if any). You also have niche blogs, local news sites, and business websites.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Speaking of niche blogs, guest posting becomes easier when aiming to publish content on niche sites. A person in the market for a new car is more likely to visit a car-related website (e.g., Car and Driver, MotorTrend) than a general news site like the New York Times.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">However, if you want guest posting to work, you have to stop living in the past. The industry has made it clear that the old ways, from mass emails to article spinning, no longer work. Brian Dean of Backlinko sums it up best:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>“Be an expert first, link builder second.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">This means prioritizing building a reputation as a niche or industry authority. Don’t fret too much over what the numbers say; instead, focus on creating and publishing content that your customers want to see. Even if AI doesn’t use it for generating a summary, the trust it garners will have compounding effects on search and AI visibility over time.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cstrong>Digital PR\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">An executive at a PR agency once said, \u003Cem>“PR has been responsible for supercharging SEO for years and just never took the credit.” \u003C\u002Fem>To be accurate, they heard that from someone, but I couldn’t find the original (even after running an exact search).\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Well, whoever it was, Rand Fishkin (formerly of Moz) concurs with that statement. In his blog post on SparkToro, where he currently works, he stated that public relations (PR) is the medium that reaches out to a diverse media. Social media, newsletters, podcasts, content subscriptions—all are reachable through PR. (4)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">He also said that this also applies to AI. He wrote: (4)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>“The ability to influence how people write about, talk about, and publish about you on the web directly impact how AI tools respond to questions about your brand, your field, and whether they include you when prompters ask about the problems you solve.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It’s these changes over the years that cemented \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>digital PR\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> as an important, if not the main, approach to modern SEO. To put it simply, digital PR links are between guest post links and editorial links. Their content quality is a step above that of regular guest posts, but they’re earned through active outreach.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">There are several ways to do digital PR, one of which is called \u003Cem>newsjacking\u003C\u002Fem>. As it implies, it involves hijacking current news or viral stories by providing a unique take or spin on them—case in point: Budweiser during the 2022 World Cup.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Fpicture26-20260506062347-tfrAJEYE.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Newsjacking relies on the moment following the breaking news to score PR points. When done right, the campaign will be talked about long after its end. But one mistake and the campaign will be talked about long after its end \u003Cem>for the wrong reasons\u003C\u002Fem>. And whatever the outcome will affect the AI’s returns.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">What About Internal Links?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Internal links are an enigma as far as AI visibility is concerned. Unlike external links, AI assesses internal links by topical depth or how well a piece of content covers a subject. The more extensive the coverage, the more authoritative the source is in AI’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Again, placing internal links in an article or blog post isn’t enough. The internal pages the content links to have to make sense for AI models. James Calloway, SEO and generative search consultant for Geology, said internal linking for AI visibility begins with a readable topical cluster, like the diagram below.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Fb049d9e891d422d59b499dd7cdc312567126c05a-1376x768-20260506062406-DeH6dQGg.jpg\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Source: \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.getgeology.com\u002Fblog\u002Finternal-linking-strategy-geo\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>Geology\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">At the heart of this cluster is the pillar page, which points to an encompassing topic (e.g., link building). From there, it branches out to multiple supporting pages covering multiple related topics (e.g., internal link building, broken link building). These pages are then cross-linked to other pages for easier navigation and indexing.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">It’s important to think strategically when cross-linking. Link pages only when they make sense, and avoid overdoing it. Based on Calloway’s analysis of AI-cited websites, a good topical cluster should possess the following characteristics:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Five to eight supporting pages (any higher, and it risks dilution)\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">A supporting page links to at least two other non-orphan pages\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">The link between the pillar and supporting pages goes both ways\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Are Niche Edits Still Good?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Not as much as it used to be.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Despite being one of the simplest approaches to link building, niche edits are at a serious disadvantage in AI-dominated search. This is because AI models prioritize editorial brand mentions, especially digital PR, in retrieval.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">That said, instances of triggering AI summaries are still erratic.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure data-type=\"image\" data-align=\"left\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\">\u003Cimg class=\"max-w-full h-auto rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Fblog-images\u002Fpicture27-20260506062455-DtPxdMk6.png\" data-align=\"left\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>Data source: \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.semrush.com\u002Fblog\u002Fsemrush-ai-overviews-study\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cem>\u003Cu>SEMrush\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">As things stand, niche edits are still rather useful for traditional ranking. However, don’t expect them to be a game-changer in AI visibility.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">Start Link Building for AI\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">AI summaries are more or less the future of search. To that end, modern link building has to be tailored for them rather than search rankings. Start by working on the right links that AI models use.  \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">References:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">1.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Google March 2024 Core Update: 4 Changes To Link Signal,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-march-2024-update-4-changes-to-link-signal\u002F510322\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-march-2024-update-4-changes-to-link-signal\u002F510322\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">2.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Google Says “Links Matter Less”—We Looked at 1,000,000 SERPs to See if It’s True,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fahrefs.com\u002Fblog\u002Flinks-matter-less-but-still-matter\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Fahrefs.com\u002Fblog\u002Flinks-matter-less-but-still-matter\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">3.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Backlinks and the AI Visibility Curve: What Link Publishers' 2025 Study Shows About How LLMs Choose Brands,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Flinkpublishers.com\u002Fblog\u002Fbacklinks-and-ai\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Flinkpublishers.com\u002Fblog\u002Fbacklinks-and-ai\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">4.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;\">      \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">“Unpopular Opinion: Public Relations is the Future of Marketing,” Source:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fsparktoro.com\u002Fblog\u002Funpopular-opinion-public-relations-is-the-future-of-marketing\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\">\u003Cu>https:\u002F\u002Fsparktoro.com\u002Fblog\u002Funpopular-opinion-public-relations-is-the-future-of-marketing\u002F\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>","Links may have become less important in this day and age, but they're by no means obsolete. For all its advances through the years, AI still depends on quality links to generate accurate summaries. Here's why links aren't going anywhere anytime soon and what types of links you need the most.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Felf-moondance-website-6721950-1280-20260506061831-iL6ynvXH.png","Despite AI summaries slowly taking over search, links remain a key component of today’s SEO. In fact, they may just be more crucial than ever.",true,1875,"2026-05-06T14:26:00.000000Z","2026-05-06T06:26:11.000000Z",{"id":42,"name":54,"email":55,"about":56,"avatar":57,"created_at":58,"updated_at":58,"deleted_at":16},"Jonas Trinidad","jonas@nobsmarketplace.com","","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fblog-authors\u002F2023\u002F05\u002Fjonas-trinidad.jpg","2025-10-26T11:10:22.000000Z",[60,64,68,74,80],{"id":61,"name":62,"slug":17,"created_at":58,"updated_at":58,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":63},1,"Blogs",{"blog_id":41,"category_id":61},{"id":42,"name":65,"slug":66,"created_at":58,"updated_at":58,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":67},"SEO","seo",{"blog_id":41,"category_id":42},{"id":69,"name":70,"slug":71,"created_at":72,"updated_at":72,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":73},8,"Link Building","link-building","2025-10-26T11:10:26.000000Z",{"blog_id":41,"category_id":69},{"id":75,"name":76,"slug":77,"created_at":78,"updated_at":78,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":79},16,"Educative Content","educative-content","2026-02-10T11:18:29.000000Z",{"blog_id":41,"category_id":75},{"id":29,"name":30,"slug":31,"created_at":32,"updated_at":32,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":81},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":29},{"id":83,"author_id":8,"title":84,"slug":85,"content":86,"short_summary":87,"featured_image":88,"status":14,"meta_title":84,"meta_description":89,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":49,"word_count":90,"published_at":91,"created_at":92,"updated_at":92,"deleted_at":16,"author":93,"categories":94},343,"The Cloud Backlog Number Nobody Is Talking About","why-google-cloud-backlog-matters","\u003Ch1>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Cloud Backlog Number Nobody Is Talking About\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh1>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google Cloud revenue growing 63% to $20 billion in Q1 2026 got the headlines. The number underneath it got almost none. Google Cloud backlog, the contractually committed future revenue that enterprise customers have already signed up to pay, nearly doubled quarter over quarter to over $460 billion. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, mentioned the figure in his earnings statement on April 29, but it received a fraction of the attention that the revenue and CapEx numbers did.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">That gap in attention is worth closing, because backlog and revenue measure fundamentally different things. Revenue captures what happened last quarter, while backlog captures what enterprise customers have committed to paying over the next three to five years. Revenue can fluctuate with usage patterns, but backlog, once signed, represents binding contracts that companies have modeled, budgeted, and committed procurement resources to fulfill. When that number nearly doubles in 90 days, the signal has less to do with what Google earned last quarter and more to do with what the enterprise market believes will be true about AI infrastructure for the rest of the decade.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">How backlog works and why it reads differently than revenue\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Most marketing coverage of Alphabet’s earnings focuses on revenue, operating income, and growth percentages, all of which are backward-looking and capture what already happened. Backlog captures what has been committed to happening in the future, which makes it a leading indicator rather than a trailing one.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When an enterprise customer signs a three-year, $200 million Google Cloud contract, the full $200 million gets added to backlog on the day the contract is signed. Revenue gets recognized gradually as services are delivered. The contract might deliver $15 million in the first quarter and $185 million over the remaining eleven quarters, but the entire commitment appears in backlog immediately.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Cloud backlog growing from roughly $232 billion in Q4 last year to over $460 billion in Q1 2026 means enterprise customers signed approximately $230 billion in new long-term commitments in a single quarter, which appears to be the largest concentration of enterprise AI infrastructure commitment the cloud computing industry has seen.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The distinction matters for anyone trying to assess whether AI search and AI infrastructure are permanent or experimental. Revenue can decline if customers reduce usage. Backlog cannot decline unless contracts get broken, and enterprise procurement teams structure those contracts specifically to make breaking them expensive and legally complicated. The $460 billion figure represents money that has already been contractually committed through formal procurement processes, not a forecast or a projection that could be revised downward.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The procurement process behind a $460 billion number\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Enterprise cloud contracts at this scale do not get signed by marketing teams experimenting with a new tool. They go through procurement departments, get approved by CFOs, modeled by financial planning teams, and reviewed by legal. The process typically takes months, and the contracts include service level agreements, data handling provisions, migration timelines, and penalty clauses for early termination.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When an enterprise customer commits $200 million over three years to Google Cloud, they are choosing which AI infrastructure will power their operations through 2028 or 2029, which language models their internal tools will run on, which APIs their developers will build against, and which retrieval systems their AI-powered applications will use. Reversing those decisions means migrating workloads, retraining teams, rebuilding integrations, and absorbing switching costs that often exceed the original contract value, which is why enterprise AI commitments at this scale tend to be sticky in ways that consumer subscriptions are not.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The $460 billion in backlog represents thousands of these decisions, each made by a company that evaluated Google Cloud against Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and other providers, and chose to lock in with Google for a multi-year term. The aggregate signal is that a large portion of the enterprise market expects Google’s AI infrastructure to be the one they are running on for the foreseeable future.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The backlog signal versus the CapEx signal\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google spending $35.7 billion on capital expenditures in Q1 2026 reflects a decision Google made about its own infrastructure, and in theory a future leadership team could choose to spend less. CapEx signals Google’s own conviction, but it comes from one company about its own plans.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Backlog reflects decisions made by Google’s customers, and that distinction carries weight. When $460 billion in enterprise commitments pile up in one quarter, the signal comes from the collective judgment of enterprise procurement teams across industries, geographies, and company sizes, all independently concluding that Google’s AI infrastructure will be delivering value over the next several years. The CapEx number shows that Google believes in AI search permanence, while the backlog number shows that thousands of enterprise customers believe in it too and have put binding contracts behind that belief. For assessing permanence, distributed independent judgment from thousands of customers seems like a stronger signal than a single company’s strategic bet.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">How enterprise Cloud contracts connect to AI visibility\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">A reasonable question (and one that came up internally when we were working through the earnings data) is what enterprise cloud contracts have to do with AI visibility for brands. The connection runs through Google’s product stack.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Google Cloud customers use Gemini’s enterprise AI products, deploying Gemini Enterprise for their employees, building applications on Gemini’s APIs, and integrating Google’s AI infrastructure into their internal workflows. Every enterprise workload running on Google Cloud contributes to the data, queries, and use cases that shape how Gemini’s products evolve. The more enterprise workloads concentrate on Google’s infrastructure, the more Gemini’s consumer-facing products (including AI Overviews in Search, the Gemini App, and AI features across Google’s ecosystem) benefit from the scale, the feedback loops, and the revenue that funds continued development.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">A $460 billion backlog means Google has the contracted revenue to fund AI product development at its current pace for years, regardless of whether any individual quarter’s ad revenue fluctuates. The consumer AI products that determine brand visibility in AI responses are funded by an enterprise revenue stream that has been locked in contractually, which removes a significant chunk of the uncertainty about whether these products will still be around and improving in 2028 or 2029.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For brands building AI visibility, the implication is about timeline confidence. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link building\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> and \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">digital PR\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> investments that build citation presence and entity recognition inside Google’s AI products are working into an ecosystem that has been contractually funded through the end of the decade. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Guest posting\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> on authoritative domains and \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-insertion\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">link insertions\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> into already-indexed content feed the same trust signal layer that Gemini draws from across its consumer, enterprise, and developer surfaces, and the backlog data confirms that all three surfaces will continue operating and expanding for years.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Looking through the windshield instead of the rearview mirror\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The quarterly earnings cycle trains analysts and marketers to focus on what happened in the last 90 days, and most of the coverage treated the 63% Cloud revenue growth, the tripled operating income, and the accelerating growth rate as the headline story. All useful, all backward-looking.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Backlog captures decisions that have already been made about the next three to five years but have not yet shown up in the revenue line. When it nearly doubles in a single quarter, the forward-looking signal is stronger than anything the backward-looking numbers can provide, because it represents commitments that will convert into revenue over multiple future quarters regardless of market conditions, competitive dynamics, or product changes.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For content strategists, the backlog number answers a question that revenue alone cannot. Revenue shows that Google Cloud had a good quarter. Backlog shows that enterprise customers expect Google Cloud to have good quarters for the next several years and have committed budgets accordingly, which is a meaningfully different signal for anyone trying to plan a multi-year content investment.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The AI visibility work being done today, building citation presence, earning editorial coverage, and strengthening entity recognition across Google’s AI products, is compounding into an ecosystem whose continued funding has already been secured by someone else’s procurement department. The infrastructure, the products, and the audience will all be there through the end of the decade. The remaining variable is which brands built their presence while the window was open.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","Google Cloud backlog nearly doubled quarter over quarter to over $460 billion in Q1 2026. Unlike revenue, backlog represents contractually committed future spending, making it the clearest leading indicator of how permanent AI infrastructure has become.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002Fcloud-backlog-20260506140745-OZSe78fQ.png","Google Cloud backlog nearly doubled to $460B in Q1 2026. As contractually committed future revenue, it tells a bigger story than quarterly earnings.",1349,"2026-05-06T13:35:48.000000Z","2026-05-06T14:07:55.000000Z",{"id":8,"name":23,"email":24,"about":16,"avatar":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},[95],{"id":42,"name":65,"slug":66,"created_at":58,"updated_at":58,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":96},{"blog_id":83,"category_id":42},{"id":98,"author_id":8,"title":99,"slug":100,"content":101,"short_summary":102,"featured_image":103,"status":14,"meta_title":99,"meta_description":104,"canonical_url":16,"keywords":16,"blog_type":17,"is_featured":49,"word_count":105,"published_at":106,"created_at":107,"updated_at":107,"deleted_at":16,"author":108,"categories":109},341,"16 Billion Tokens Per Minute and What It Means for Content","16-billion-tokens-per-minute-and-what-it-means-for-content","\u003Ch1>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">16 Billion Tokens Per Minute and What It Means for Content\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh1>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Alphabet’s Q1 2026 earnings, released on April 29, included three data points that, taken together, describe a consumer AI ecosystem operating at a scale most content strategies have not caught up with. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, reported that Gemini is now processing more than 16 billion tokens per minute via direct API use by customers, up 60% from the previous quarter. Paid subscriptions across Google’s services reached 350 million, with the strongest quarter ever for consumer AI plans driven by the Gemini App. And Gemini Enterprise paid monthly active users grew 40% quarter over quarter.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Each of these numbers tells a piece of the same story. The consumer side has reached streaming-service scale. The enterprise side is consolidating major business workloads. The developer side, measured by API token throughput, indicates that Gemini is becoming foundational infrastructure for third-party applications. Content gets consumed across all three layers, and the brands showing up inside that consumption are the ones the underlying systems recognize as authoritative.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">What 16 billion tokens per minute actually represents\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Token throughput is the kind of number that sounds impressive without immediately communicating what it means in practice. A token is roughly three-quarters of an English word. Sixteen billion tokens per minute translates to approximately 12 billion words being processed every 60 seconds, or about 200 million words per second. That is the volume flowing through Gemini’s API alone, not counting the consumer-facing Gemini App, AI Overviews in Search, or Gemini features embedded in Gmail, Docs, and other Google products.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The “via direct API use by customers” qualifier is important. API usage means developers and companies building their own products on top of Gemini. Every customer support chatbot, every AI-powered search tool, every automated research assistant, every content summarization service that runs on Gemini’s API is consuming tokens at a rate that contributes to that 16 billion per minute figure. The number captures the ecosystem of AI-powered applications, not the consumer interface.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The 60% quarter-over-quarter growth rate matters as much as the absolute number. A system processing 10 billion tokens per minute last quarter now processing 16 billion is not a gradual increase. That rate of acceleration suggests more developers are building on Gemini, existing applications are scaling their usage, and the volume of content flowing through Gemini-powered products is expanding rapidly across industries and use cases.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Every one of those tokens represents content being retrieved, processed, synthesized, and presented to an end user. Some of that content comes from the open web. Some comes from enterprise data. Some comes from documents users upload directly. The portion coming from the open web passes through the same retrieval and citation logic that determines which brands, which pages, and which claims get surfaced in AI-generated answers. At 16 billion tokens per minute, the volume of content consumption happening through AI intermediaries is approaching a scale where traditional direct-to-reader content consumption looks like one channel among several rather than the default.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">350 million paid subscriptions and the end of early-adopter framing\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When commentators describe AI search as an “emerging” channel or frame AI visibility as “something to watch for the future,” the subscription data makes that framing difficult to maintain. Three hundred and fifty million people are paying for AI-powered services from Google. YouTube premium products and Google One drive the bulk, but Pichai specifically called out the Gemini App as having its “strongest quarter ever for consumer AI plans.”\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">For context, Netflix has approximately 300 million paid subscribers globally. Spotify has roughly 260 million premium subscribers. Disney+ has approximately 150 million. Google’s paid subscription base of 350 million, which includes AI-powered features across YouTube, Google One, and the Gemini App, now exceeds any single streaming platform.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The comparison is imperfect because Google bundles multiple products under its subscription umbrella. But the scale comparison makes a useful point. When people discuss Netflix’s influence on entertainment consumption, nobody describes it as “emerging” or “something to monitor.” Netflix at 300 million subscribers is an established, mainstream channel that entertainment companies build strategies around. Google at 350 million paid subscribers, with AI features increasingly integrated into those subscriptions, should receive the same treatment from content strategists.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">A meaningful share of those 350 million subscribers are encountering AI-mediated content discovery as a standard part of their paid experience. The Gemini App summarizes articles, answers research questions, drafts content from source material, and generates recommendations based on user queries. Google One subscribers with Gemini integration get AI features baked into their everyday Google experience. These are not power users experimenting with a beta product. These are mainstream consumers whose daily interactions with content increasingly pass through an AI layer.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Gemini Enterprise at 40% quarterly growth changes the B2B visibility question\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The 40% quarter-over-quarter growth in Gemini Enterprise paid monthly active users represents the enterprise side of the same adoption curve. Enterprise users interact with Gemini through their work accounts, using it to summarize documents, draft communications, analyze data, research markets, and evaluate vendors.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When an enterprise user asks Gemini to evaluate software options, compare service providers, or research a vendor, the response draws from the same pool of web content and citation signals that consumer Gemini uses. A brand absent from AI responses in the consumer context is also absent in the enterprise context, which means the sales team is invisible at exactly the moment a potential buyer is doing pre-purchase research inside the AI tool their company pays for.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The 40% quarterly growth rate means the enterprise audience for AI-mediated content discovery is expanding fast enough that any gap between a brand’s AI visibility and its competitor’s visibility compounds rapidly. A competitor showing up in Gemini Enterprise responses this quarter will be showing up for a 40% larger audience next quarter, and a further expanded one the quarter after that. The compounding works in both directions, which is what makes the timing question urgent rather than theoretical.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Three layers consuming content from the same trust signals\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The consumer layer (350 million paid subscriptions, Gemini App), the enterprise layer (Gemini Enterprise, 40% QoQ growth), and the developer layer (16 billion tokens per minute via API) all consume content, and all rely on overlapping trust signals to determine which content to surface.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">When the Gemini App answers a consumer’s question, it retrieves information based on search ranking, entity recognition, and third-party citation presence. When Gemini Enterprise answers a business user’s question, the retrieval logic is fundamentally similar, drawing from the same web data, the same knowledge graph, and the same authority signals. When a third-party application built on Gemini’s API processes a user query, it inherits Gemini’s retrieval architecture and its trust signal hierarchy.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">A brand with strong third-party citation presence, consistent entity recognition, and structured, extractable content on authoritative domains is visible across all three layers simultaneously. A brand without those signals is invisible across all three. The work is the same regardless of which layer the end user happens to be on, because the underlying retrieval system is shared.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-building\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link building\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> and \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fdigital-pr\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">digital PR\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> feed the trust signal layer that all three consumption channels draw from. Every editorial mention in a credible publication, every backlink from an authoritative domain, every \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Fguest-posting\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">guest post\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> on a site with editorial standards contributes to the citation pool that Gemini, across all its deployment surfaces, uses to decide which brands deserve a mention in its responses. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"text-primary-blue-600 hover:underline\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnobsmarketplace.com\u002Flink-insertion\">\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Link insertions\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"> into existing authoritative content put a brand inside pages that the retrieval system already trusts, across all three layers, without waiting for new content to earn its way into the pool.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">People are already reading through AI instead of reading the page\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The Q1 numbers describe a content consumption model that has already split into two parallel tracks. On one track, users visit web pages directly, read content, scroll, click, and convert. On the other track, users interact with an AI layer that retrieves content on their behalf, synthesizes it, and delivers an answer without requiring the user to visit the source page. Both tracks are active, both generate real business outcomes, and the second track is growing at 60% quarter over quarter in API volume alone.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Content strategies built exclusively for the first track (optimizing for ranking, click-through, and on-page engagement) are serving a channel that remains important but is no longer growing as fast as the AI-mediated channel. Content strategies that serve both tracks (ranking well for traditional search while also maintaining the trust signals, entity consistency, and structured content that AI retrieval systems favor) are the ones positioned to capture value from both.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The 16 billion tokens per minute figure is not a projection about where AI content consumption might go. It is a measurement of where it already is, growing 60% quarter over quarter, with 350 million paid subscribers on the consumer side and 40% quarterly growth on the enterprise side. The scale is here. The remaining question is whether a brand’s content strategy has caught up to it.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","Alphabet’s Q1 2026 earnings revealed Gemini processing 16 billion tokens per minute via API, 350 million paid subscriptions across Google services, and 40% quarterly growth in Gemini Enterprise users. Consumer AI has reached streaming-service scale.","https:\u002F\u002Fwebsite-cdn.nobsmarketplace.com\u002Fuploads\u002Ffeatured-images\u002F16-billion-tokens-20260505075431-huNX1xwv.png","Gemini processes 16B tokens per minute via API alone. With 350M paid subscriptions, consumer AI has reached a scale no content strategy can ignore.",1479,"2026-05-05T07:52:48.000000Z","2026-05-05T07:54:47.000000Z",{"id":8,"name":23,"email":24,"about":16,"avatar":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":16,"deleted_at":16},[110],{"id":29,"name":30,"slug":31,"created_at":32,"updated_at":32,"deleted_at":16,"pivot":111},{"blog_id":98,"category_id":29},[113,126,131],{"id":41,"author_id":42,"title":43,"slug":44,"featured_image":47,"published_at":51,"short_summary":46,"word_count":50,"author":114,"categories":115},{"id":42,"name":54,"avatar":57,"email":55},[116,118,120,122,124],{"id":61,"name":62,"pivot":117},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":61},{"id":42,"name":65,"pivot":119},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":42},{"id":69,"name":70,"pivot":121},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":69},{"id":75,"name":76,"pivot":123},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":75},{"id":29,"name":30,"pivot":125},{"blog_id":41,"category_id":29},{"id":83,"author_id":8,"title":84,"slug":85,"featured_image":88,"published_at":91,"short_summary":87,"word_count":90,"author":127,"categories":128},{"id":8,"name":23,"avatar":25,"email":24},[129],{"id":42,"name":65,"pivot":130},{"blog_id":83,"category_id":42},{"id":98,"author_id":8,"title":99,"slug":100,"featured_image":103,"published_at":106,"short_summary":102,"word_count":105,"author":132,"categories":133},{"id":8,"name":23,"avatar":25,"email":24},[134],{"id":29,"name":30,"pivot":135},{"blog_id":98,"category_id":29}]