Backlinks still help in 2026 when they are earned: real partners, local press, associations, sponsorships and genuinely useful resources that other sites choose to reference. Links bought or traded to pass ranking credit violate Google's spam policies and can be ignored by Google's systems or lead to a manual action. Paid placements are fine only when the link is marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Most sites never need the disavow tool.
Key takeaways
- Google's spam policies treat links made mainly to manipulate rankings as link spam, including buying links that pass ranking credit.
- Paying for a placement is allowed if the link is qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
- For local businesses, the best links come from the real world: partners, suppliers, chambers, sponsorships and local press.
- For national businesses, useful resources and genuine digital PR earn links that cheap packages can't.
- Google says most sites don't need the disavow tool. It is for a large volume of spammy links tied to an actual or likely manual action.
Do backlinks still matter for SEO in 2026?
Yes. Google's own spam policies still describe links as an important factor in determining the relevancy of web pages. For local results, Google's guidance on how local ranking works names links to your site among the signals that show how well-known a business is.
What has changed is how much Google can ignore. Its systems are built to discount links that look manufactured. A thousand low-quality links can add up to nothing, while a handful of real ones from relevant, trusted sites can make a visible difference.
So the question is not "how many links can we get?" It is "which links would exist even if Google didn't?" Those are the ones worth pursuing.
Links also do something rankings reports miss: they send people. A link from your trade association's member directory or a local news story brings visitors who already trust the source. That traffic is worth having whether or not the link moves a ranking.
What does Google consider link spam?
Google defines link spam as links created primarily to manipulate search rankings. Its spam policies list examples, including:
- Buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, whether paid in money, goods, services or free products.
- Excessive link exchanges and partner pages that exist only to cross-link.
- Automated programs or services that create links to your site.
- Requiring a link as part of a terms of service, contract or similar arrangement, without letting the site owner qualify it.
- Low-quality directory or bookmark site links.
- Keyword-rich, hidden or low-quality links embedded in widgets distributed across sites, and widely distributed footer or template links.
- Advertorials and guest posts where payment is received for articles with links that pass ranking credit, or large campaigns of articles and press releases built around optimized anchor text.
- Forum and comment spam with optimized links in the post or signature.
If you recognize your last SEO vendor's monthly report in that list, take it seriously. The "500 high-DA backlinks" package is the same thing with a nicer invoice.
Can you ever pay for a link?
You can pay for exposure. You can't pay for ranking credit.
Google's spam policies say buying and selling links for advertising is a normal part of the web, as long as the links are qualified. Its documentation on qualifying outbound links explains the attributes:
| Attribute | Use it for |
|---|---|
| rel="sponsored" | Ads and paid placements. Google prefers this value for paid links, though nofollow is also acceptable. |
| rel="ugc" | User-generated content, such as comments and forum posts. |
| rel="nofollow" | Cases where the others don't apply and you don't want Google to associate your site with the linked page. |
Sponsoring a Little League team, a charity 5K or an industry conference is a real business decision with real local visibility. If the organization links to you as a sponsor, that's a normal thing on the web. Paying a stranger's blog $200 for a keyword-rich link in an article nobody reads is not.
How do local businesses earn good backlinks?
Local businesses have an advantage: the real world already generates link opportunities. You just have to make sure the links happen. Places to look:
- Suppliers and manufacturers. Many keep dealer, installer or stockist pages.
- Trade associations and licensing bodies with member directories that people actually use.
- Your chamber of commerce and business improvement district.
- Sponsorships and community events you already support.
- Local press. Openings, expansions, hires, community work and expert comment on local issues. Reporters need sources, and a business owner who answers the phone is a source.
- Partners you refer work to. A realtor who sends clients to your inspection company, a contractor who uses your windows. A genuine referral relationship is a reason to link, not a link exchange.
A dozen links like these, from sites in your area and industry, are the backbone of good local SEO. They are worth more than any generic directory package. They also send customers, which is the point. We cover how links fit with reviews and your Business Profile in what makes a website rank locally.
Make it easy to link to you
Many earned links never happen because nobody asked. Keep a short list of every organization you belong to, buy from, sponsor or partner with, and check whether each one has a page where members, dealers or sponsors are listed. If you're missing, send a polite note with the correct business name, address and website. Make sure the page they would link to actually exists and explains what you do.
How do national businesses earn backlinks?
National brands need links from beyond their own town, which means giving other publishers a reason to cite them.
Useful resources
Calculators, checklists, original guides, cost breakdowns, glossaries and templates. If your content answers a question better than anything else online, writers and educators link to it on their own. The bar is high: it has to be the best version, not another version.
Original data
Survey results, anonymized internal data or analysis of public records. Journalists need numbers and they cite where they got them. The data must be real and the method explained. Never publish a statistic you can't defend.
Digital PR
Pitching a genuine story or expert comment to relevant journalists. Done well, it earns coverage editors chose to run. Done badly, it turns into mass-distributed press releases stuffed with anchor text, which Google's spam policies specifically call out.
Expert contributions
Writing for respected industry publications is fine when the article is the point and the publication edits it. Guest posting at scale for the anchor text is the pattern Google flags.
Whatever the tactic, the content behind the link has to deserve it. Pitching a thin page to journalists wastes the pitch and the relationship. Build the asset first, then promote it.
What newer link and authority tactics get sites penalized?
Beyond classic link buying, Google's spam policies now name several tactics that try to borrow authority instead of earning it:
- Expired domain abuse. Buying an expired domain mainly to use its old reputation for low-value content. We treat buying old domains just to redirect their links into your site as the same kind of risk.
- Site reputation abuse. Publishing third-party pages on an established site mainly to exploit that host's ranking signals. Think coupon or casino sections bolted onto an unrelated, trusted site.
- Private blog networks. Networks of sites built to link to each other or to clients are a link scheme, whatever they're called on the sales page.
Google enforces these policies with automated systems and, when needed, human reviewers. A site in violation may rank lower or not appear at all. When a human reviewer is involved, the site owner sees it in the Manual Actions report in Search Console. One of the listed actions is for "unnatural links to your site", which covers a pattern of artificial or manipulative links pointing at you.
The warning sign is the same in every case: a tactic whose main purpose is to move rankings rather than serve readers. If you'd be uncomfortable explaining it to a customer, it probably doesn't belong in your SEO plan.
Should you use the disavow tool?
Probably not. Google's disavow help page says that in most cases Google can work out which links to trust on its own, so most sites will not need the tool.
Google describes two conditions for using it: you have a considerable number of spammy, artificial or low-quality links pointing to your site, and those links have caused a manual action or likely will. It also warns that the tool is an advanced feature and can harm your performance if used incorrectly.
In practice that means:
- Random spammy links from sites you've never heard of: ignore them. Every site gets them.
- A history of bought links or a link scheme you or a past vendor ran: try to get them removed, disavow what you can't, and document it.
- A manual action for unnatural links: clean up, disavow the remainder, then file a reconsideration request through the Manual Actions report.
Anyone selling a monthly "toxic link disavow" service to a site with no manual action and no link-buying history is selling a fix for a problem you likely don't have.
How do you judge whether a link is worth getting?
Ignore third-party authority scores for a moment and ask four questions:
- Would a real customer ever see this page? If the site has no audience, the link has little value.
- Is the site relevant to your industry or your area?
- Did an editor or owner choose to link, or did money change hands for ranking credit?
- Would you be comfortable explaining this link to a Google reviewer?
If the answers are yes, yes, chose, and yes, pursue it. If not, skip it. Links are one part of a full SEO program, and they work best when the site they point to deserves them. If you're not sure what's pointing at your site today, our free audit includes a look at your link profile. Results vary by market, competition, budget and campaign.
Frequently asked questions
Is buying backlinks against Google's rules?
Buying links that pass ranking credit is link spam under Google's spam policies. Paying for an ad or sponsored placement is allowed if the link is qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
Are guest posts still a good way to get backlinks?
Writing a genuinely useful article for a respected publication in your field is fine. Large guest posting campaigns built around keyword-rich anchor text, or paid posts with links that pass ranking credit, are specifically named in Google's link spam policy.
Do I need to disavow spammy links pointing to my site?
Usually not. Google says most sites won't need the disavow tool. It's meant for sites with a considerable number of spammy or artificial links that have caused, or likely will cause, a manual action.
What are the best backlinks for a local business?
Links from real local relationships: suppliers, trade associations, your chamber of commerce, sponsorships, community organizations and local press. See our local SEO service for how we approach this.
How many backlinks do I need to rank?
There's no fixed number. It depends on your market and competitors. A small number of relevant, earned links often outperforms a large number of low-quality ones, which Google's systems are designed to ignore.