SEO Foresight: AI Overviews, Topical Authority, and the Return of Quality Link Building – Hacks for Building an Effective Strategy for 2025

Hey, community! Recently, the SE Ranking team hosted the SEO Foresight 2025 Online Conference! We invited experts and discussed navigating AI, Google updates, and search habits. Let's dive into the discussion together and highlight the most interesting insights for building your SEO strategy in 2025! **The Future of Link Building: Sustainable Strategies for 2025**  ***by Peter Mead, Head of SEO at Bring Performance*** In 2025, link building once again becomes an important part of SEO strategy. As Peter notes, "*Link building is back in style, baby. I guess the question is, did it ever really go out of style?"* However, the approaches to link building have changed significantly. It's important to focus on high-quality links and avoid the risks associated with manipulation. *"We do know that with link building there are certain risks that get carried with it,"* the speaker mentions. **Sustainable Link Building Strategy** In 2025, the key approach becomes integrated digital PR. As the expert stresses, "*We want these links sustainably, and so the sustainable strategy for 2025 is integrated digital PR."* This means not only building links, but also creating high-quality content and engaging with the audience. As the author states, "*There are two fundamental building blocks here, which are content and links."* **Quality Is More Important Than Quantity** Statistics confirm that the focus has shifted to the quality of links: * **93.8%** of link builders say that quality is more important than quantity. * **79.7%** of SEOs consider link building an important part of their SEO strategy. * **52.3%** of digital marketers say that link building is the hardest part of SEO. **How to Build Natural Links and What Digital PR Involves** To build natural links, it's important to focus on content: *"The first thing I would do before embarking on any outreach or link building is to really work on improving that content."* Digital PR involves not only building links, but also active interaction with media: *"The general approach would be to define what your objectives are, identify your audience, develop a compelling campaign idea, create high-quality content, and outreach to media and influencers."* **How to Measure Success** To assess effectiveness, it's essential to focus on the relevance of links: *"Relevance to me is the biggest and most important metric."* Pay attention to quality domains: *"In the last three months, we had 57 new domains in the DR range of 50 to 98."* **So…** Link building in 2025 is about quality, integrated digital PR, and an ethical approach. As Peter summarizes: "*Spend time on the research and strategy, create the highest quality content you can, and enjoy the process."* # Navigating the AI and LLM Revolution in Search ***With Sarah Tar, SEO Manager at Digital Cisco*** Sarah Tar emphasized the need to adapt to the rapidly evolving search landscape driven by AI and large language models (LLMs). *"SEO has already changed,"* Sarah remarked, challenging the notion that it's only now in the process of evolving. # Traditional SEO vs. New SEO The classical approach to SEO, centered on Google’s 10 blue links and checklist workflows, is no longer sufficient. *"We are focused on Google, the 10 blue links, and traditional SEO tools like G4 and Google Search Console. But there’s a tornado of changes reshaping everything,"* Sarah noted. The new SEO expands its focus to multiple platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and Quora. *"Any platform taking space in the search results should now be part of your strategy."* **User Behavior and Search Trends** AI has fundamentally altered user search behavior. Sarah highlighted that users often start their search journey on platforms like TikTok or Facebook rather than Google. *"The type of content users consume has changed. It’s no longer just blogs or traditional articles; they expect more dynamic and engaging content."* # Data-Driven Insights Sarah underscored the importance of understanding and adapting to user behavior with key statistics: * *"****96.5%*** *of pages get zero traffic from Google,"* based on a study of 14 billion pages. * *"CTR (Click-Through Rate) manipulation can move a page from position 34 to 10 in just 22 days without other changes."* # The Role of AI and LLMs in Search Generative AI and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) are becoming integral to search algorithms. *"AI overviews and search systems like RAG retrieve and generate responses grounded in facts, reshaping the way we approach SEO,"* Sarah explained. **Expanding Beyond Google** SEO strategies must now incorporate a broader array of platforms: * *"Google is no longer the sole traffic referrer. Platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and Quora hold significant value."* * *"YouTube is the third-largest search engine, and video is the most frequently linked content in AI overviews."* Sarah advocated for leveraging video content: *"It’s never been easier to create videos with AI, and they rank not just on Google, but in multiple areas like video search filters and YouTube itself."* # The Power of User Experience (UX) User experience has become a crucial ranking factor. *"Google doesn’t taste the cake; it imitates the behavior of users,"* Sarah explained. She shared an example where restructuring content based on user behavior led to a **50%** increase in traffic within two weeks: *"Microsoft Clarity revealed users frequently scrolled to a specific section. By moving this content to the top, engagement improved dramatically."* # New Metrics and Tools Sarah highlighted the need for innovative metrics and tools to stay competitive: * **CTR over Rankings:** *"The better your CTR, the higher you go up in search."* * **Custom Tools:** *"DIY tools for data analysis and automation are essential. If we all use the same tools, we limit our competitive edge."* Key recommendations included Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, and leveraging LLMs for automation and analysis. # What About AI and Brand Mentions? Mentions in LLM training data are the new backlinks. *"If your brand isn’t cited in training data, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity,"* Sarah warned. She shared a success story: *"GoFish Digital improved its ChatGPT referral traffic by updating their website content to include notable clients. Within a week, the changes reflected in ChatGPT’s results."* **Actionable Advice from Sarah** * *"Be agile. Test fast, fail fast, and adapt."* * *"User experience must be part of your strategy. Analyze, test, and iterate constantly."* * *"Don’t take radical measures like blocking LLMs without understanding the full implications."* **Mastering Topical Authority: Becoming the Go-To Source in Your Niche for 2025** ***Presented by Dixon Jones, CEO of InLinks*** The final presentation explores the depths of topical authority and how to position your brand as the ultimate source in your niche. Guiding us is none other than Dixon Jones.  **Why Traditional Content Planning Tools Fall Short** Dixon kicked things off with a sharp critique of current content planning methodologies: *"Keyword planning tools are broken because they don’t consider context. They only show keyword variations without understanding whether they are relevant to your business."* He emphasized that businesses often fall into the trap of relying on keyword volumes or brainstorming sessions, which lack direction and alignment with user intent. This leads to duplicated, uninspiring content that creates unnecessary noise: *"Duplicated, uninspiring, repetitive content doesn’t just dilute your authority—it creates unnecessary noise that search engines have to sort through."* **Shifting from Keywords to Entities** The key to mastering topical authority lies in understanding the progression from keywords to topics and entities: *"Keywords are words. Topics are concepts. Entities are unique identifiers, like records in a database. To master topical authority, you must focus on entities rather than just keywords."* By connecting topics through entities, your content gains depth and relevance, increasing its value to both users and search engines. **The Power of Storytelling in Content** Dixon urged businesses to treat their websites like a narrative, connecting subtopics in meaningful ways: *"Think of your content as a connected story. Each piece should tie into a larger plot, creating a web of related topics that strengthens your authority."* For example, instead of creating isolated pages about screws, drills, and raw plugs, frame them around solving a problem, such as "How to Hang a Door." **Leveraging Semantic Relevance** To identify opportunities and fill content gaps, Dixon suggested mapping out your current topics and analyzing their semantic clusters: *"By mapping your site’s existing topics and comparing them with semantic clusters from Google Suggest, you can find the gaps and create content that truly matters."* **Prioritizing Internal Links and Context** When discussing link strategies, Dixon made a crucial distinction: *"The word backlinks is probably overused, while the term citations is underused. What you really need is for your brand to be quoted in context in the right place."* He added that internal linking plays a vital role: *"Internal links complete the referencing between pillar pages and subtopics, creating a network that makes it easier for search engines to understand your authority."* To wrap up, Dixon highlighted actionable takeaways for building topical authority: 1. Cluster topics around your existing business 2. Solve problems, don’t just target keywords 3. Define pillar pages and subtopics 4. Leverage internal linking and citations *"If you want to master topical authority, you need to walk the walk before you talk. Build your foundation with entities, connect your topics, and never lose sight of your audience's needs."* # Closing Thoughts The SEO industry thrives on adapting to change. Embrace AI tools, experiment, and focus on building a strong foundation of trust and authority. The future belongs to those who evolve! Hey, community! Recently, the SE Ranking team hosted the SEO Foresight 2025 Online Conference! We invited experts and discussed navigating AI, Google updates, and search habits. Let's dive into the discussion together and highlight the most interesting insights for building your SEO strategy in 2025! **The Future of Link Building: Sustainable Strategies for 2025**  ***by Peter Mead, Head of SEO at Bring Performance*** In 2025, link building once again becomes an important part of SEO strategy. As Peter notes, "*Link building is back in style, baby. I guess the question is, did it ever really go out of style?"* However, the approaches to link building have changed significantly. It's important to focus on high-quality links and avoid the risks associated with manipulation. *"We do know that with link building there are certain risks that get carried with it,"* the speaker mentions. **Sustainable Link Building Strategy** In 2025, the key approach becomes integrated digital PR. As the expert stresses, "*We want these links sustainably, and so the sustainable strategy for 2025 is integrated digital PR."* This means not only building links, but also creating high-quality content and engaging with the audience. As the author states, "*There are two fundamental building blocks here, which are content and links."* **Quality Is More Important Than Quantity** Statistics confirm that the focus has shifted to the quality of links: * **93.8%** of link builders say that quality is more important than quantity. * **79.7%** of SEOs consider link building an important part of their SEO strategy. * **52.3%** of digital marketers say that link building is the hardest part of SEO. **How to Build Natural Links and What Digital PR Involves** To build natural links, it's important to focus on content: *"The first thing I would do before embarking on any outreach or link building is to really work on improving that content."* Digital PR involves not only building links, but also active interaction with media: *"The general approach would be to define what your objectives are, identify your audience, develop a compelling campaign idea, create high-quality content, and outreach to media and influencers."* **How to Measure Success** To assess effectiveness, it's essential to focus on the relevance of links: *"Relevance to me is the biggest and most important metric."* Pay attention to quality domains: *"In the last three months, we had 57 new domains in the DR range of 50 to 98."* **So…** Link building in 2025 is about quality, integrated digital PR, and an ethical approach. As Peter summarizes: "*Spend time on the research and strategy, create the highest quality content you can, and enjoy the process."* # Navigating the AI and LLM Revolution in Search ***With Sarah Tar, SEO Manager at Digital Cisco*** Sarah Tar emphasized the need to adapt to the rapidly evolving search landscape driven by AI and large language models (LLMs). *"SEO has already changed,"* Sarah remarked, challenging the notion that it's only now in the process of evolving. # Traditional SEO vs. New SEO The classical approach to SEO, centered on Google’s 10 blue links and checklist workflows, is no longer sufficient. *"We are focused on Google, the 10 blue links, and traditional SEO tools like G4 and Google Search Console. But there’s a tornado of changes reshaping everything,"* Sarah noted. The new SEO expands its focus to multiple platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and Quora. *"Any platform taking space in the search results should now be part of your strategy."* **User Behavior and Search Trends** AI has fundamentally altered user search behavior. Sarah highlighted that users often start their search journey on platforms like TikTok or Facebook rather than Google. *"The type of content users consume has changed. It’s no longer just blogs or traditional articles; they expect more dynamic and engaging content."* # Data-Driven Insights Sarah underscored the importance of understanding and adapting to user behavior with key statistics: * *"****96.5%*** *of pages get zero traffic from Google,"* based on a study of 14 billion pages. * *"CTR (Click-Through Rate) manipulation can move a page from position 34 to 10 in just 22 days without other changes."* # The Role of AI and LLMs in Search Generative AI and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) are becoming integral to search algorithms. *"AI overviews and search systems like RAG retrieve and generate responses grounded in facts, reshaping the way we approach SEO,"* Sarah explained. **Expanding Beyond Google** SEO strategies must now incorporate a broader array of platforms: * *"Google is no longer the sole traffic referrer. Platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and Quora hold significant value."* * *"YouTube is the third-largest search engine, and video is the most frequently linked content in AI overviews."* Sarah advocated for leveraging video content: *"It’s never been easier to create videos with AI, and they rank not just on Google, but in multiple areas like video search filters and YouTube itself."* # The Power of User Experience (UX) User experience has become a crucial ranking factor. *"Google doesn’t taste the cake; it imitates the behavior of users,"* Sarah explained. She shared an example where restructuring content based on user behavior led to a **50%** increase in traffic within two weeks: *"Microsoft Clarity revealed users frequently scrolled to a specific section. By moving this content to the top, engagement improved dramatically."* # New Metrics and Tools Sarah highlighted the need for innovative metrics and tools to stay competitive: * **CTR over Rankings:** *"The better your CTR, the higher you go up in search."* * **Custom Tools:** *"DIY tools for data analysis and automation are essential. If we all use the same tools, we limit our competitive edge."* Key recommendations included Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, and leveraging LLMs for automation and analysis. # What About AI and Brand Mentions? Mentions in LLM training data are the new backlinks. *"If your brand isn’t cited in training data, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity,"* Sarah warned. She shared a success story: *"GoFish Digital improved its ChatGPT referral traffic by updating their website content to include notable clients. Within a week, the changes reflected in ChatGPT’s results."* **Actionable Advice from Sarah** * *"Be agile. Test fast, fail fast, and adapt."* * *"User experience must be part of your strategy. Analyze, test, and iterate constantly."* * *"Don’t take radical measures like blocking LLMs without understanding the full implications."* **Mastering Topical Authority: Becoming the Go-To Source in Your Niche for 2025** ***Presented by Dixon Jones, CEO of InLinks*** The final presentation explores the depths of topical authority and how to position your brand as the ultimate source in your niche. Guiding us is none other than Dixon Jones.  **Why Traditional Content Planning Tools Fall Short** Dixon kicked things off with a sharp critique of current content planning methodologies: *"Keyword planning tools are broken because they don’t consider context. They only show keyword variations without understanding whether they are relevant to your business."* He emphasized that businesses often fall into the trap of relying on keyword volumes or brainstorming sessions, which lack direction and alignment with user intent. This leads to duplicated, uninspiring content that creates unnecessary noise: *"Duplicated, uninspiring, repetitive content doesn’t just dilute your authority—it creates unnecessary noise that search engines have to sort through."* **Shifting from Keywords to Entities** The key to mastering topical authority lies in understanding the progression from keywords to topics and entities: *"Keywords are words. Topics are concepts. Entities are unique identifiers, like records in a database. To master topical authority, you must focus on entities rather than just keywords."* By connecting topics through entities, your content gains depth and relevance, increasing its value to both users and search engines. **The Power of Storytelling in Content** Dixon urged businesses to treat their websites like a narrative, connecting subtopics in meaningful ways: *"Think of your content as a connected story. Each piece should tie into a larger plot, creating a web of related topics that strengthens your authority."* For example, instead of creating isolated pages about screws, drills, and raw plugs, frame them around solving a problem, such as "How to Hang a Door." **Leveraging Semantic Relevance** To identify opportunities and fill content gaps, Dixon suggested mapping out your current topics and analyzing their semantic clusters: *"By mapping your site’s existing topics and comparing them with semantic clusters from Google Suggest, you can find the gaps and create content that truly matters."* **Prioritizing Internal Links and Context** When discussing link strategies, Dixon made a crucial distinction: *"The word backlinks is probably overused, while the term citations is underused. What you really need is for your brand to be quoted in context in the right place."* He added that internal linking plays a vital role: *"Internal links complete the referencing between pillar pages and subtopics, creating a network that makes it easier for search engines to understand your authority."* To wrap up, Dixon highlighted actionable takeaways for building topical authority: 1. Cluster topics around your existing business 2. Solve problems, don’t just target keywords 3. Define pillar pages and subtopics 4. Leverage internal linking and citations *"If you want to master topical authority, you need to walk the walk before you talk. Build your foundation with entities, connect your topics, and never lose sight of your audience's needs."* # Closing Thoughts The SEO industry thrives on adapting to change. Embrace AI tools, experiment, and focus on building a strong foundation of trust and authority. The future belongs to those who evolve!