You invest time and money into links, but Google just takes your content and shows it in AI Overviews — without a single click. No traffic. No leads. Panic.
You can’t escape the trends. Search is becoming generative, SERPs are fragmented, and clicks are rare. But before canceling your link building efforts, consider changing your approach. Classic backlinks may be less powerful because Google and AI now prioritize context over URLs. But that doesn’t mean links have lost their value — it just means your site must “live” in the right thematic context, not just exist as a hyperlink.
How zero-click affects SEO: the new role of links
Today, around 60% of searches end right in the search engine or AI interface, without visiting a website. Naturally, this raises questions like: is link building still worth it if users no longer click through? Why invest in links? And how does zero-click affect SEO? The answer: link building is still important, but its goal is evolving.
Rather than “driving traffic,” links increasingly serve as markers of trust and expertise, which AI and search engines use when forming:
- SERP fragments (zero-click snippets)
- sources for AI-generated answers
- rankings in deep, niche searches where topical depth and authority matter more than just keywords
Links now help your site become part of the information graph AI pulls from. So how does
Links-Stream recommend adjusting your strategy?
Rethink link building: Focus on topical relevance, not just DR
“I have high DR, but my site rarely appears in AI Overviews. Why?” Because AI doesn’t look for the strongest domain — it looks for the most relevant and in-depth source.
What to do:
- Build content clusters.
- Create a pillar page — a guide or analytical article on the topic.
- Support it with related content that covers sub-questions. (Offer real value, and even zero-click users will want to learn more. We explain how in our AI Link Profile blog post.)
- Strengthen internal links and link externally not just to the homepage, but to deeper pages.
Example:
Pillar page: “How to choose project management software in 2025”
Supporting content:
- “How our tool helps teams eliminate task chaos”
- “5 myths about project management software — and how we debunk them”
- “Comparison: [our brand] vs Asana vs Trello”
These pages are interconnected internally and externally — building topical weight that AI detects. In AI search, this structure is no longer just nice-to-have — it’s essential. Today’s AI (like Google SGE and ChatGPT Search) analyzes inter-page relationships, topical consistency, and depth. Sites that form a content ecosystem — not just with many links but with interconnected, coherent structure — are given priority.
“Link building is evolving. That’s why the main task now isn’t just building links — it’s creating a link profile that AI can ‘recognize and value’ first and foremost. Over the past 9 years, we at Links-Stream have tested hundreds of strategies, and today we see in real time how AI refers to our resources. Staying ahead of the curve, thinking two steps ahead, and approaching change wisely — that’s the ultimate superpower in SEO,” — Svitlana Velychko, CEO of Links-Stream.
We’re transforming commercial anchors
Should you still build links with anchors like “buy X”? In a zero-click and AI-driven search environment, context is more important than keywords, while aggressive commercial anchors carry less weight. Instead of “CRM for business price,” go with something like “this article outlines the benefits of CRM for businesses with practical case studies.”
- Seek mentions in topical content, not just on commercial landing pages. Relevant mentions in niche blogs or reviews appear natural, earn more trust, and convey expertise better than promotional pages.
- Use varied mention formats: source lists, case study examples, expert opinions.
- Avoid toxic templates — algorithms and LLMs filter them easily. Mass-placed links (“buy now,” “best price,” “click here”) are caught by filters and hurt your site’s reputation.
We focus on long-term mentions in trusted sources
High-quality content that remains in the top positions for years is considered the most reliable source for AI-generated answers.
- Invest in links from evergreen content (guides, long-form articles, niche portals).
- Minimize “one-time” guest posts that generate no traffic.
- Revisit and update old backlinks — this improves AI bot “saturation” with fresh information.
We build links through partner integrations and APIs
By the way, it’s just as important to remember that AI search reads not only articles but also open databases, APIs, and various aggregators. A relevant mention of your site or product in public integrations, API documentation, or, for example, tech blogs — is also an effective but often underestimated link-building opportunity.
- Integrate into niche systems and open ecosystems.
- Ensure brand presence in industry open-source projects or communities.
- Distribute links via Dev.to, ProductHunt, GitHub README.
The advantage of such platforms is that they don’t disappear in a month and don’t lose their value over time. On the contrary — they live long, generate stable organic traffic, and are often hosted on high-authority domains.
Conclusions
So what should you do for promotion in 2025? Breathe — and shift your perspective. Shift focus from DR to topical authority, emphasize not just “backlinks” but highly thematic mentions, work with diverse formats: long-reads, guides, case studies, and also optimize content clusters for AI “reading”, not just indexing. Finally, analyze the queries where AI answers appear — and find ways to become their source.
