Hi iwan,

Kevin Indig just wrapped up one of the most comprehensive link building studies I've seen.

35,000 backlinks across 1,000 sites.

His goal? Figure out what AI search engines actually care about.

The results throw most traditional link building advice out the window.

Here's what actually moves the needle in 2025:

1. The Authority Threshold Reality

According to Indig's research, you need to hit a minimum authority level before AI consistently mentions you.

Small authority gains? They barely register.

Think of it like a video game. You need to level up to a certain point before you unlock the next stage.

Here's the part most people miss: diversity beats volume every single time.

One link from 10 different websites crushes 100 links from the same 2 sites.

AI wants to see multiple sources talking about you. Not the same source talking about you over and over.

2. The Nofollow Myth Dies Here

Remember being told nofollow links are basically worthless?

Search Engine Journal's analysis shows AI doesn't care about that distinction.

The correlation scores:

  • Regular "dofollow" links: 0.504

  • "Nofollow" links: 0.509

ChatGPT and Gemini actually give nofollow links slightly more weight.

This changes everything about where you should spend your time.

Guest posts, social media mentions, forum discussions - all fair game now.

If you've been avoiding these because they're "nofollow," you've been missing opportunities.

3. Images Outperform Text Links

Backlinks from images (like when someone shares your infographic and links back) perform better than standard text links.

The data from Indig's study:

- Image links: 0.538 correlation score

- Text links: 0.472 correlation score

Perplexity and SearchGPT especially favor image links.

The takeaway?

Create shareable visuals. Build infographics from your data. Design charts worth embedding.

When other sites use your images, those links carry serious weight with AI search.

4. Quality Crushes Quantity (And It's Not Even Close)

Here's where Indig's research gets really interesting.

Websites in the top 10% for link quality got mentioned 4x more often than websites just one tier below them.

You could spend 12 months collecting 50 mediocre links.

Or spend that time securing 5 strong links from respected websites in your space.

The 5 strong links will likely win.

The old link building playbook focused on volume.

The new playbook focuses on quality, diversity, and visual content.

That's what gets you mentioned by AI in 2025.

Stop chasing link counts. Start chasing the right links from different sources.

Want to see how your current backlink profile measures up for AI visibility?

My agency is offering free audits to help you identify the gaps.

Click here to claim yours.

To your continued success,

Matt Diggity