{"id":2813,"date":"2025-01-30T11:01:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T11:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/google-says-links-matter-less-we-looked-at-1000000-serps-and-our-data-both-agrees-and-disagrees\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T11:01:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T11:01:52","slug":"google-says-links-matter-less-we-looked-at-1000000-serps-and-our-data-both-agrees-and-disagrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/google-says-links-matter-less-we-looked-at-1000000-serps-and-our-data-both-agrees-and-disagrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Says &#8220;Links Matter Less&#8221;\u2014We Looked at 1,000,000 SERPs and Our Data Both Agrees and Disagrees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Google has said links are less important than they used to be, and most SEOs have come to accept that as true. Our findings indicate that this is true overall, but for certain types of queries, links matter more.<\/p>\n<p>I still believe that links should be a part of your SEO strategy, but they shouldn\u2019t be your whole strategy.\u00a0A while back, I answered the question, <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/impact-of-links\/\">\u201cDo links still matter for rankings?\u201d<\/a> by disavowing all links to a few blogs. Traffic and rankings fell, so yes, links still matter.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1422\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png\" alt=\"impact of disavowing links\" class=\"wp-image-184710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/impact-of-disavowing-links-478x425.png 478w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/impact-of-disavowing-links-768x683.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/impact-of-disavowing-links-1536x1365.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This time, I was curious if the importance of links had changed over time. I also was curious if we could segment the data to see when links matter more, and when they matter less.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s dig in (after a huge thanks to our data scientist <a href=\"https:\/\/sg.linkedin.com\/in\/xibeijia-guan\">Xibeijia Guan<\/a> for doing all the hard data parts of this study, and to our CMO <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/author\/tim-soulo\/\">Tim Soulo<\/a> for his\u00a0input).<\/p>\n<p>We selected the top 1,000,000 keywords with the most search volume from the US and calculated the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spearman%27s_rank_correlation_coefficient\">Spearman correlation<\/a> between their SERPs ranking (top 20) versus different SEO metrics, including:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Domain rating: <strong>0.131<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Number of backlinks: <strong>0.248<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Number of followed backlinks: <strong>0.242<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Number of refdomains<strong>: 0.255<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Number of followed refdomains: <strong>0.250<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Number of internal inlinks<strong>: 0.117<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Number of internal outlinks: <strong>0.093<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Number of external outlinks:<strong> 0.083<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>If keywords present in URL: <strong>0.034<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Length of URL: <strong>-0.107<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I want to give all the normal warnings like <strong>Correlation \u2260 Causation.<\/strong> These are generally considered weak correlations or even very weak correlations on the Spearman scale, but that doesn\u2019t mean that these things aren\u2019t important. There are a lot of ranking factors and links do play a role in your rankings.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few box plots to show the data visually for important metrics. In case you\u2019re seeing box plots for the first time, here\u2019s how you should read\u00a0them:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1463\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots.png\" alt=\"how to read box plots\" class=\"wp-image-184711\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots-465x425.png 465w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots-768x702.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots-1536x1404.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1463\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots.png\" alt=\"how to read box plots\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184711\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots-465x425.png 465w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots-768x702.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-to-read-box-plots-1536x1404.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>The small lines on the edges represent the minimum and maximum values. And 50% of all values fall in the highlighted areas. The line in that area is the median value.<\/p>\n<p>Generally, better link metrics = higher rankings.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1962\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1.png\" alt=\"how links correlate with google rankings\" class=\"wp-image-184855\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1-412x425.png 412w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1-768x793.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1-1487x1536.png 1487w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1962\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1.png\" alt=\"how links correlate with google rankings\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184855\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1-412x425.png 412w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1-768x793.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-link-study-1-1487x1536.png 1487w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1962\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1.png\" alt=\"how referring domains correlate with rankings\" class=\"wp-image-184856\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1-412x425.png 412w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1-768x793.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1-1487x1536.png 1487w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1962\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1.png\" alt=\"how referring domains correlate with rankings\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184856\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1-412x425.png 412w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1-768x793.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-link-study-1-1487x1536.png 1487w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"2046\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2.png\" alt=\"how internal links correlate with rankings\" class=\"wp-image-184857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2-395x425.png 395w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2-768x827.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2-1426x1536.png 1426w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"2046\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2.png\" alt=\"how internal links correlate with rankings\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2-395x425.png 395w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2-768x827.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-link-study-2-1426x1536.png 1426w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1962\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1.png\" alt=\"how dr correlates with rankings\" class=\"wp-image-184858\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1-412x425.png 412w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1-768x793.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1-1487x1536.png 1487w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1962\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1.png\" alt=\"how dr correlates with rankings\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184858\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1.png 1900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1-412x425.png 412w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1-768x793.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-link-study-1-1487x1536.png 1487w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Links matter more at higher search volumes\" data-section=\"links-search-volume\"> <a id=\"post-184709-_58vbd4bw3v7r\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Links matter more at higher search volumes<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If we break these down by search volume, we see that links correlate better for searches with higher search volumes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I see 2 possible explanations, and there\u2019s probably some truth in\u00a0both:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>These queries are likely more competitive<\/strong>, and you may need links to move the needle for these competitive queries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>These pages get more exposure due to the higher volume<\/strong>, so higher-ranking sites may naturally get more\u00a0links.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1857\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes.png\" alt=\"links matter more at higher search volumes\" class=\"wp-image-184716\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes-366x425.png 366w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes-768x891.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes-1323x1536.png 1323w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1857\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes.png\" alt=\"links matter more at higher search volumes\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184716\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes-366x425.png 366w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes-768x891.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/links-matter-more-at-higher-search-volumes-1323x1536.png 1323w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>External links correlated better than incoming internal links. I was surprised at how big of a difference there was here. Links from other sites probably are weighted more or viewed as more credible than the links on your own\u00a0site.<\/p>\n<p>Links correlate better with branded searches than non-branded searches. But I don\u2019t want people to interpret this as links matter more for brands. In my opinion, the correct way to interpret this is that due to the popularity of many brands, they tend to have more links. Their links and #1 rankings skew these results.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1722\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations.png\" alt=\"brands vs non-branded spearman correlations\" class=\"wp-image-184717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations.png 1722w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations-357x425.png 357w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations-768x913.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations-1292x1536.png 1292w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1722px) 100vw, 1722px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1722\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations.png\" alt=\"brands vs non-branded spearman correlations\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations.png 1722w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations-357x425.png 357w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations-768x913.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/brands-vs-non-branded-spearman-correlations-1292x1536.png 1292w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1722px) 100vw, 1722px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>The other side of the equation here is that links correlate a little less with non-branded queries for the chart above, which would pull those numbers down a bit. This context is important for a historical comparison below.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Links correlate to rankings slightly less than they used to\" data-section=\"links-rankings\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-184709-_4rirosh0q3i7\"\/>Links correlate to rankings slightly less than they used\u00a0to<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We did <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/links-with-traffic-study\/\">a study<\/a> back in 2019 that looked at some of the same correlations.<\/p>\n<p>The methodology was a bit different. It was low volume (2,000\u20135,000), non-branded queries. I can\u2019t do an exact comparison, but the correlations were higher at the\u00a0time:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Links: <strong>0.27<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Followed links: <strong>0.25<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Referring domains: <strong>0.29<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Followed Referring Domains: <strong>0.26<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The current correlations for these metrics and similar queries are 0.22\u20130.24, and may be slightly lower than that for non-branded terms as I mentioned before.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1430\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t.png\" alt=\"Spearman correlations for different metrics 2019 to 2024\" class=\"wp-image-184718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t.png 1800w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t-535x425.png 535w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t-768x610.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t-1536x1220.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1430\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t.png\" alt=\"Spearman correlations for different metrics 2019 to 2024\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t.png 1800w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t-535x425.png 535w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t-768x610.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-for-different-metrics-2019-t-1536x1220.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This is in line with Google comments on links becoming less important and how SEOs perceive them. However, one of the reasons I wanted to run this study is to see how this changes in the next couple years. With the rise of <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-content-is-short-term-arbitrage\/\">AI content<\/a>, I suspect Google may end up relying on links or other signals more, and may start weighting them higher.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Links matter a lot more for local queries\" data-section=\"links-local\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-184709-_p6r34ng8brmb\"\/>Links matter a lot more for local queries<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Links and RDs correlated at .33 for local queries, which is a lot higher than what we\u2019ve seen and even higher than what we saw overall years ago. I suspect that because content on sites for local service companies is very similar, links make a good differentiator to see which company is popular.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1722\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations.png\" alt=\"local vs non-local spearman correlations\" class=\"wp-image-184719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations.png 1722w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations-357x425.png 357w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations-768x913.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations-1292x1536.png 1292w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1722px) 100vw, 1722px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1722\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations.png\" alt=\"local vs non-local spearman correlations\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations.png 1722w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations-357x425.png 357w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations-768x913.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/local-vs-non-local-spearman-correlations-1292x1536.png 1292w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1722px) 100vw, 1722px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>I want to point out that internal links seem to matter a lot more for local queries. I suspect there are fewer external link signals for these queries, so the additional signals from internal links become more important.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Links matter more for informational content\" data-section=\"links-informational\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-184709-_bryng84i4cwj\"\/>Links matter more for informational content<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If we look at the data by search intent, navigational queries have the highest correlation. These are mostly branded, and as I said, brands have more\u00a0links.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more interesting is that backlinks for informational queries seem to have a higher correlation for rankings than commercial and transactional queries.<br \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1722\" height=\"2048\" class=\"wp-image-184720\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent.png\" alt=\"spearman correlations by search intent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent.png 1722w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent-357x425.png 357w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent-768x913.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent-1292x1536.png 1292w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1722px) 100vw, 1722px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1722\" height=\"2048\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-184720\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent.png\" alt=\"spearman correlations by search intent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent.png 1722w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent-357x425.png 357w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent-768x913.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/spearman-correlations-by-search-intent-1292x1536.png 1292w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1722px) 100vw, 1722px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I suspect that because competition levels for these terms are high, links may be considered a good signal by Google. It could also be that better content ends up getting more links over\u00a0time.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-184709-_f9y5tnaop5xa\"\/>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Links are one part of a bigger ranking puzzle, but you still need to do other things well, like create great content. Where Google has more signals, they may rely less on any one signal. Where they have fewer signals, they may rely more on things like links. In high-competition areas where content may be strong, they also may rely on link signals as more of a differentiator.<\/p>\n<p>The way I view it is that companies, especially local companies, probably should focus on at least foundational links. Larger companies likely already have marketing efforts and content bringing them links, so links may not be as much of a priority. However, when pages for large companies need a push, I\u2019ve seen even internal links give a nice\u00a0boost.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\nif(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','1511271639109289');fbq('track','PageView');<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/links-matter-less-but-still-matter\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google has said links are less important than they used to be, and most SEOs have come to accept that as true. Our findings indicate that this is true overall, but for certain types of queries, links matter more. I still believe that links should be a part of your SEO strategy, but they shouldn\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}