# Backlinks

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> A backlink is a link from another site to yours. How search engines use them, what Google calls link spam, and what third-party pages do for AI answers.

- Canonical page: https://attensira.com/glossary/backlinks
- Family: glossary
- Last updated: 2026-10-04
- Author: Karl-Gustav Kallasmaa (https://attensira.com/about)
- Claims as data: https://attensira.com/claims.json?slug=backlinks

**In short:** A backlink is a hyperlink on another website that points to a page on yours. Search engines use backlinks to discover pages and as one signal of which pages deserve to rank. For AI answers, the third-party pages that link to or describe you matter in a second way: engines often cite them instead of your own site.

**ChatGPT, asked 2026-09-30:** "Semrush alternatives for AI search"

> Why choose it: You get a mature SEO platform underneath the AI-search layer, including keywords, backlinks and competitive research.

Sources cited, in order: help.ahrefs.com, ahrefs.com, semrush.com.

Attensira: not named.

_Source: attensira.com workspace, read over the Attensira MCP, as of 2026-10-04 (n=117 answers (ChatGPT 54, Perplexity 63), Attensira named in 0)._

## Key facts

- Also known as: Inbound link, incoming link
- Not a backlink: [A link within your own site](/glossary/internal-linking)
- Paid links: Must carry rel=sponsored or nofollow (Google)
- Related term: [Domain authority](/glossary/domain-authority)
- In Attensira: [Measure › Who decides an answer](https://docs.attensira.com/measure/deciding-sources)
- Placements: [Agent › Off-site: listings wait for approval](https://docs.attensira.com/agent/off-site)

## What do third-party pages do for AI answers?

They supply most of the evidence. The answer above is ChatGPT on "Semrush alternatives for AI search", asked on 30 September 2026. Its inline sources were Ahrefs' help centre, ahrefs.com and semrush.com: vendors' own pages, each describing its own product. Across the 117 answers ChatGPT and Perplexity gave to that question in the 30 days to 4 October 2026, read over the Attensira MCP, Semrush was named in 115 and Attensira in none. None of them linked attensira.com.

That is the modern shape of the backlink question. A link from a respected site still helps a page get found and ranked. But in an AI answer, the page that links to you, or merely describes you, can be the thing that is quoted. Being present on the sources an engine already trusts is much of the work.

## What is a backlink?

A hyperlink on another website pointing to a page on yours. Search engines use backlinks two ways:

- **Discovery.** Crawlers follow links to find pages. A page nobody links to, and that is missing from your sitemap, may never be crawled. See [crawling and indexing](/glossary/crawling-indexing).

- **Ranking.** A link is one signal that a page is worth showing. Google's original PageRank idea treated links as votes, weighted by the importance of the page casting them. Google today uses many signals, and links are one of them. See [domain authority](/glossary/domain-authority) for why third-party authority scores are not Google's.

A link from your own site to your own page is [internal linking](/glossary/internal-linking), which does the discovery job but not the endorsement one.

## What does Google consider link spam?

Google's [spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies) define link spam as creating links to or from a site mainly to manipulate rankings. The named examples are buying or selling links for ranking, excessive link exchanges, using automated programs to create links, and requiring a link in terms of service or a contract without letting the other site qualify it.

Paid links are allowed if they say so. Google [documents](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links) three rel values:

| Attribute | Use it for |
| --- | --- |
| rel="sponsored" | ads, sponsorships, paid placements |
| rel="ugc" | user-generated content such as comments and forum posts |
| rel="nofollow" | links you do not want associated with your site when the others do not fit |

Links carrying these will generally not be followed, though the target may still be crawled if found another way.

## Do backlinks help AI visibility?

Indirectly, and through a door most link builders ignore.

**Indirectly**, because AI search engines retrieve from indexes, and links help pages get into indexes and rank there. Google's AI Overviews draw on the ordinary search index, so a page that ranks is a candidate.

**Through the third-party page itself**, because engines cite what answers the question. A comparison post on a software review site, a directory listing, a forum thread or an expert's LinkedIn post that names you can carry your brand into the answer even when the engine never opens your site. Across our whole workspace, three citations in four go to pages that belong to none of the brands being compared.

So the useful AI-era question is not only "who links to us?" but "which pages do the engines cite for our questions, and are we on them?"

## Whose pages do the engines cite across the whole workspace?

Mostly pages that belong to nobody in the race. Of 100,380 citations attached to 4,524 answers, 74,884 (74.6%) went to third-party pages such as review sites, publishers and forums, 14,382 to tracked competitors and 1,588 (1.6%) to our own site, counting every host and URL variant. The third-party share is where the AI-era backlink lives.

**Citations by kind of source** (ChatGPT and Perplexity, 4,524 answers to 61 tracked questions, 2026-09-04 to 2026-10-04, n=100,380 citations)

|  | Citations | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Third-party pages | 74,884 | 74.6% |
| Tracked competitors' sites | 14,382 | 14.3% |
| AI platforms' own pages | 8,383 | 8.4% |
| Our own site, every host and URL | 1,588 | 1.6% |
| Reference works | 1,143 | 1.1% |

_Source: attensira.com workspace, read over the Attensira MCP, as of 2026-10-04 (n=100,380 citations)._

## What are the objections about backlinks and AI answers?

**"Buy links, it still works."** Unqualified paid links are the first example Google lists under link spam. The risk is to every page on the site.

**"Nofollow links are worthless."** For ranking credit, mostly. For being present on a page an AI engine cites, the rel value is irrelevant: the engine reads the text.

**"More links means more AI mentions."** Not by count. One mention on a page each engine actually cites for your question is worth more than many links on pages nobody cites.

**"We can't control third-party pages."** You can be listed, reviewed, quoted and corrected on them. That is outreach work, and it is measurable by whether those pages start naming you.

## How does Attensira work on off-site sources?

For each question you track, Attensira records which domains and pages decided the answer on each engine and whether you appear on them. The crew then works the gaps, starting with sources an engine already cites. A directory listing is prefilled from your brand profile and always waits for your approval. Community replies are drafted for you to post yourself. Pitches go from your own Gmail or Outlook, never from an Attensira domain, and none sends on its own until your first ten have gone out by hand. A placement counts as verified only when the page shows you and an answer has cited it. [Off-site work](/features/off-site) shows each channel and its limits.

## FAQ

### What is a backlink?

A link on someone else's website that points to a page on yours. Search engines follow backlinks to discover pages and treat them as one signal of which pages are worth ranking. A link from your own site to your own page is an internal link, not a backlink.

### How does Google define link spam?

Google's spam policies define link spam as creating links to or from a site primarily to manipulate search rankings. Examples include buying or selling links for ranking, excessive link exchanges, automated link creation, and requiring a link in terms of service without letting the site owner qualify it.

### What is the difference between rel=sponsored, rel=ugc and rel=nofollow?

Google documents sponsored for ads and paid placements, ugc for user-generated content such as comments and forum posts, and nofollow when neither applies and you would rather not be associated with the linked page. Paid links must carry sponsored or nofollow.

### Do backlinks make an AI assistant cite you?

Not directly. An assistant cites what it fetched and found relevant. Links matter upstream, because they help pages get discovered and rank into the pool a search step draws from. The third-party pages themselves matter too: engines often cite a review or directory page about you instead of your site.

### Does a nofollow link stop a page from being crawled?

Not reliably. Google states links with these rel values will generally not be followed, but the linked pages may still be found through sitemaps or other links and crawled. Nofollow is a hint about association, not an access control.