Authority Builders Co.

Backlinks didn’t suddenly change but how they’re evaluated absolutely did. In our YouTube video of Ranking Secrets, Jake Serota breaks down which types of backlinks are still driving real results in 2026, and which ones quietly stopped mattering as search and AI systems raised the bar on trust, context, and relevance. This isn’t about outdated “good vs bad link” lists. It’s about understanding which signals consistently hold up across rankings, traffic, and AI visibility, and which ones no longer move the needle. In this video, you’ll learn: ☑️ The 6 backlink types that continue to support rankings and authority ☑️ Why editorial context and real usage matter more than raw link volume ☑️ How traffic and engagement influence link value ☑️ Why brand mentions can be as powerful as links ☑️ The backlink tactics that look fine in reports but do little in practice ☑️ Why lazy link building quietly stopped working If your link strategy feels less effective than it used to, this breakdown explains why and what modern search systems are actually responding to now. Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/ebcyRbEc

Moving from page 9 to page 2 takes more than optimizing a keyword. For one gift registry brand competing in a crowded eCommerce market, the challenge wasn’t simply getting a keyword to rank. It was building enough authority to compete. Over 30 months, we focused on a strategic combination of: 👉 Contextually relevant backlinks 👉 Intentional anchor text 👉 A natural anchor text ratio 👉 Links to both key pages and the homepage 👉 Consistent, long-term authority building The results:  ✅ #2 for “baby registry” (up from #9) ✅ Domain Authority increased from 35 to 49 ✅ 389 new ranking keywords discovered ✅ 75 keywords ranking in the Top 3 ✅ 1.9K visitors driven by Top 3 rankings The bigger takeaway is that competitive SEO rarely comes down to one tactic. When you're competing against established eCommerce brands, authority is what gives your content the ability to compete. And building that authority takes strategy, relevance, and consistency, not shortcuts. Read the full case study: https://lnkd.in/ejrgEJg2 #SEO #LinkBuilding #eCommerceSEO #SearchMarketing

What do you think is the strongest authority signal for a brand in 2026? SEO is moving beyond rankings and backlinks alone. As AI search becomes a bigger part of discovery, brands need to build credibility across the entire web.

How many backlinks can you build in a month? It’s a common SEO question. It’s also the wrong question. There’s no magic number that makes link growth “safe.” What matters is whether the growth makes sense within the bigger picture of a website’s history, authority, content, anchor text, and overall link profile. A sudden jump in links isn’t automatically a problem. And slow link building doesn’t automatically make low-quality links valuable. The real question is whether the pattern is credible. If you're building links based on a “safe” number you found in an SEO forum, it might be time to rethink the strategy. 👀 🎥 Watch the full episode of Ranking Secrets: https://lnkd.in/em_T9kug

What does sustainable eCommerce SEO growth actually look like? It’s not just ranking for a handful of keywords. It’s building the authority needed to compete for highly valuable search terms and continuing to grow from there. One eCommerce retailer came to Authority Builders with just 3,500 organic visits per month. After 45 months of consistent link building and authority growth: ✅ 23,000 monthly organic visits (a 600% increase) ✅ 8.1K ranking keywords ✅ 662 keywords ranking in the top 3 ✅ Domain Authority increased from 33 to 46 ✅ 1,078 referring domains The strategy wasn't about chasing quick wins. It focused on building high-quality backlinks, strengthening topical relevance, and targeting competitive eCommerce keywords, even those with difficulty scores above 70. The lesson is simple: Competitive SEO requires competitive authority. Technical optimization and great content create the foundation. But if you want to consistently compete in crowded search results, you need the authority to back it up. Read the full case study: https://lnkd.in/eASFTsk6 #AuthorityBuilders #BuildingAuthority #SEO #Content #Keywords #AEO #LinkBuilding #Backlinks #TechnicalSEO #TechnicalOptimization

If you had an extra $5,000 to invest in SEO this quarter, where would you put it? The SEO playbook is changing. The question isn't just how to rank higher, it's how to build the authority and trust that make your brand more visible across search and AI.

For years, SEO was largely about winning the ranking battle. Better keywords. More content. More backlinks. Higher rankings. But search is changing. As AI-powered search engines become better at understanding entities, context, expertise, and trust, simply ranking well isn't enough. The brands that will have a lasting advantage are the ones that have built authority that competitors can't easily replicate. That authority comes from: 🔹 Being consistently mentioned across trusted sources 🔹 Earning high-quality links from relevant publications 🔹 Building recognizable experts and authors 🔹 Creating original research and insights 🔹 Establishing a strong, consistent brand presence 🔹 Becoming the source other websites, and AI systems, reference This is what makes authority a moat. You can copy a competitor's keywords. You can publish more content. You can even acquire similar backlinks. But building genuine credibility across an entire ecosystem takes time. The future of SEO won't be about who can optimize the most pages. It will be about who has earned the most trust. The brands investing in authority today are building an advantage that will be much harder to catch tomorrow. #AuthorityBuilders #BuildingAuthority #SEO #Content #Keywords #AEO #LinkBuilding #Backlinks

Ranking is no longer the only goal for SEO content. In AI search, your content also needs to be useful enough to be cited. That means moving beyond keyword placement and word counts and focusing on what actually makes content worth referencing: ➡️ Answer the question clearly and early ➡️ Make each section understandable on its own ➡️ Use specific entities, data, and examples ➡️ Add original insights or first-party information ➡️ Attribute expertise to a real person ➡️ Build the authority that makes your content worth citing in the first place Content quality determines whether you’re citable. Authority determines whether you’re considered. You need both. We break down how to structure SEO content for citation, what Google says you can stop worrying about, and how to measure performance in our latest guide. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/e9JwG2Z9 #AuthorityBuilders #BuildingAuthority #SEO #Content #Keywords #AEO #LinkBuilding #Backlinks

The best link isn’t always the one with the highest metrics. As AI gets better at understanding the web, the way we think about “valuable” links needs to change. A link can have strong traditional SEO metrics and still provide very little value if the surrounding context doesn’t make sense. At the same time, a relevant mention from the right source, especially one that drives real people to your brand, can send a much stronger signal of credibility. So what does this mean for link building? It means we need to stop asking: “How powerful is this link?” …and start asking: “What does this link tell an AI system about this brand?” In an episode of Ranking Secrets, Jake Serota takes a closer look at what’s happening behind the scenes and why some of the tactics that worked for years are becoming less effective. If you're rethinking your link strategy for an AI-first search landscape, this one is worth a watch. 🎥 Watch the full episode of Ranking Secrets: https://lnkd.in/e5BAjnr2

There was a time when a backlink was viewed as a ranking signal. Today, it's becoming something much bigger…. A reputation signal. The best backlinks don't just tell search engines where your website exists. They tell the market that someone was willing to associate their credibility with yours. Think about the links that actually matter. They're earned because: ☑️ Your research was worth citing. ☑️ Your expertise added value. ☑️ Your brand was trusted enough to be referenced. ☑️ Your insights contributed to a larger conversation. That's a very different mindset from simply asking, "How many links did we build this month?" The future of link building is about becoming the kind of company that deserves them. When brands invest in original ideas, industry expertise, strong customer experiences, and meaningful relationships with publishers, the links become a byproduct… it’s not the whole goal. The best link-building strategies have always been rooted in reputation. The difference is that today's search landscape makes that reputation harder to fake and more valuable to earn. Maybe it's time we stop thinking of link building as a technical SEO tactic and start treating it as a business strategy. What are your thoughts? 🤔 #SEO #LinkBuilding #DigitalPR #BrandReputation #AuthorityBuilders #SearchMarketing #ThoughtLeadership