Is Link Building Still Relevant for AEO and GEO?

Good backlinks can help demonstrate that your website is trusted beyond its own content.

Research supports a connection between traditional web authority and AI visibility, although the strength varies by platform. A Semrush study (Oct, 2025) of 1,000 domains found relationships between backlink signals and visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.

Ahrefs research (May 2025) across 75,000 brands also found correlations between AI visibility and backlinks, referring domains and Domain Rating. Interestingly, branded web mentions showed a stronger relationship with AI Overview visibility than traditional link metrics.

This fits our broader view of AI authority: AI engines have more evidence to work with when credible third-party sources repeatedly connect your brand with a specific topic, category or expertise.

Authority Goes Beyond Backlinks

You can appear in AI answers without earning a backlink. An Ahrefs study of more than 31,000 brand mentions found that most mentions of Ahrefs across six AI platforms did not include a link to its website.

That makes third-party presence increasingly important for GEO.

Depending on your industry, that can include:

• G2, Capterra, Gartner and other review platforms

• Industry publications

• “Best X,” comparison and alternative listicles

• Reddit and relevant community discussions

• Social posts

• Expert recommendations and interviews

• Customer reviews and partner websites

For example, a 2026 study analyzing 595,051 AI citations found G2, Capterra and Gartner among the dominant sources in B2B buying conversations across ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity.

Listicles matter too. Ahrefs analyzed 26,283 ChatGPT source URLs and found that recently updated “best X” lists were prominent sources for the top-of-funnel queries they studied, with a correlation between prominent listicle placement and ChatGPT mentions.

The exact source mix varies considerably by industry, query and AI engine, so source selection should be based on where authority is actually established in your market.

AI Engines Search the Web

This is particularly important because AI engines can actively search the web when generating answers.

OpenAI explains that ChatGPT Search can search the web, rewrite a user’s question into targeted search queries and conduct additional searches when necessary.

Perplexity similarly searches multiple sources and synthesizes the information it finds into an answer with citations.

So when someone asks for the best companies, tools, agencies or products in your category, the AI engine may encounter your website alongside review sites, industry publications, comparison pages, forums and other third-party sources.

The stronger and more consistent your presence across those relevant sources, the more evidence AI engines have to understand your authority.

So, Should You Still Build Links for GEO?

Yes. Focus on relevant, credible links that also strengthen your wider authority.

A mention or backlink from an authoritative industry publication can associate your brand with the right topics. A G2 profile can reinforce your product category. A comparison article can place you among relevant competitors. A Reddit discussion or social post can add another independent reference point.

So those offers for 500 “high-DA backlinks” still belong in the spam folder.

For AEO and GEO, build links where they make sense, and build the broader network of independent sources that establishes your brand as an authority.