Survey says: AI is changing search, but links still matter to SEOs

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Survey says: AI is changing search, but links still matter to SEOs

sdtech2532@gmail.com

June 28, 2025

Link building in 2025 is costly, complex, and still crucial, according to a newly published survey of SEO professionals from Editorial.Link.

Links still matter. 73.2% of respondents said links influence visibility in AI search results (e.g., Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT). Other findings of note:

91.9% think their competitors buy links.
80.9% believe unlinked brand mentions impact rankings.
78.8% think nofollow links affect rankings.
64.9% say a site can rank without links.
56% doubt Google can reliably detect paid links.

Link building costs and budgets are rising. 80.9% of respondents expect link building costs to keep rising in the next two to three years. Gambling/iGaming is the industry with the highest link budgets. Other findings related to link building costs:

$8,406 is the monthly budget needed to compete in high-difficulty niches.
$508.95 is the average “acceptable” cost for one high-quality link.
56% outsource at least part of their link building work.
In-house SEO teams spend more on links (36.0% of SEO budget) than agencies (32.1%).

Link strategies. PR reigns and relevance rules:

48.6% say digital PR is the most effective tactic right now.
66.6% believe finding unique link opportunities beats copying competitors.
52.7% prioritize acquiring links to product/service pages (a.k.a., “money pages”).

Link building risks. What are link builders worried about in 2025?

89% avoid sites with spammy outbound links.
86.3% flag low-quality content as a dealbreaker.
63.1% are open to using sites that sell links, if the quality is right.

Link building challenges. 55.2% of respondents consider link building the hardest part of SEO. Other challenges:

75.1% say premium links are too expensive.
67.2% struggle to scale link building without sacrificing quality.
52.9% say measuring ROI is hard.

Why we care: AI is rapidly changing search. Although the rules of SEO are changing, the link building arms race isn’t slowing down. SEOs remain convinced that traditional link signals still impact rankings, including in AI search.

A note on methodology. This data was conducted and published by Editorial.Link, a link building agency. While the sample includes a mix of 518 SEO professionals (from agencies, freelancers, and in-house teams), the company’s business model centers on selling link building services.

Some findings, especially those highlighting the continued importance, difficulty, or rising cost of link acquisition, could reflect the perspectives or priorities of professionals more immersed in (or reliant on) link building than the broader SEO community.
As with all industry surveys, readers should consider the context and potential for self-selection bias when interpreting the results.

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Link building in 2025 is costly, complex, and still crucial, according to a newly published survey of SEO professionals from Editorial.Link.

Links still matter. 73.2% of respondents said links influence visibility in AI search results (e.g., Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT). Other findings of note:

91.9% think their competitors buy links.
80.9% believe unlinked brand mentions impact rankings.
78.8% think nofollow links affect rankings.
64.9% say a site can rank without links.
56% doubt Google can reliably detect paid links.

$8,406 is the monthly budget needed to compete in high-difficulty niches.
$508.95 is the average “acceptable” cost for one high-quality link.
56% outsource at least part of their link building work.
In-house SEO teams spend more on links (36.0% of SEO budget) than agencies (32.1%).

Link strategies. PR reigns and relevance rules:

48.6% say digital PR is the most effective tactic right now.
66.6% believe finding unique link opportunities beats copying competitors.
52.7% prioritize acquiring links to product/service pages (a.k.a., “money pages”).

Link building risks. What are link builders worried about in 2025?

89% avoid sites with spammy outbound links.
86.3% flag low-quality content as a dealbreaker.
63.1% are open to using sites that sell links, if the quality is right.

Link building challenges. 55.2% of respondents consider link building the hardest part of SEO. Other challenges:

75.1% say premium links are too expensive.
67.2% struggle to scale link building without sacrificing quality.
52.9% say measuring ROI is hard.

Some findings, especially those highlighting the continued importance, difficulty, or rising cost of link acquisition, could reflect the perspectives or priorities of professionals more immersed in (or reliant on) link building than the broader SEO community.
As with all industry surveys, readers should consider the context and potential for self-selection bias when interpreting the results.

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