Backlinks aren’t dead. They’re worth 1/10th what they were.
Backlinks were the #1 SEO ranking factor for fifteen years straight. By 2026 they’re worth maybe 3% of the ranking math — down from around 30% in 2018. Entity signals and citation patterns took the displaced weight. Most agencies still selling link-building packages haven’t caught up. Here’s where to redirect a 2018-era SEO budget.