Backlinks and Why They Suck in 2025

I’ve been in the SEO world for a while now, starting as an employee before transitioning into running my own agency in mid-2023. Over the years, one thing that’s consistently baffled me is the obsession with backlinks. What Google says about them and what actually helps you outrank your competition are two entirely different realities.

Backlinks were originally considered the holy grail of SEO—a digital handshake between websites signaling trust and authority. The idea was simple: more backlinks meant more credibility, right? But in practice, the whole concept has proven to be flawed.

Instead of fostering quality, backlinks became the driving force behind a Wild West of SEO tactics. From endless guest blogging to shady link farms and outright paid links, the focus shifted away from content quality to exploiting the system. And while Google claims these black hat practices are punishable, the reality is often the opposite. I’ve worked with clients who used these tactics heavily, and not only did they avoid penalties, but they often reaped significant benefits.

This gold rush for backlinks has watered down their value. The current landscape isn’t about earning links through merit but about who can pay the most or manipulate the system better. It’s turned SEO into a game of sneaky tactics rather than meaningful content or user-first strategies.

When you break it down, using backlinks as a key ranking factor feels outdated and fundamentally broken. The more I experiment, the more I see that the system is ripe for abuse, and the value of backlinks as a signal for quality is diminishing fast.

Isn’t it time we rethink how we measure authority and relevance in SEO? Backlinks may have been king once, but in 2025, the crown is slipping.