At Brighton SEO<\/strong> London<\/strong>, our Co-Founder, Mr. Harshal Shah<\/a> – Who’s also the driving force behind Elsner, EcomVA, MyAppGurus, Link Publishers, and the learning platform ELDI – broke it down in simple terms. It’s no longer about just building links. It’s about building a brand that commands attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in the early 2000s, link building<\/a> was a numbers game. You could post in forums, slap your site onto directories, leave random comments on blogs, and magically climb up Google’s rankings. Our own journey at Link Publishers saw us managing a 250-person team doing just that. And it worked like a charm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that world is long gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, simply throwing links at your site will not work. Google’s smarter now. SearchGPT\u2019s even smarter. Search engines aren’t just looking for any links; they\u2019re looking for credibility, authority, and genuine brand trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gary Illyes<\/a> from Google recently said that backlinks aren’t even in the “Top 3” ranking factors<\/a> anymore. That doesn’t mean they don’t matter. It means that backlinks are just a part of the picture, not the whole canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the biggest piece of the canvas today? Brand Authority<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When users ask questions through AI-driven searches like SearchGPT, the algorithms pull data from everywhere: websites, blog articles, Reddit conversations, review platforms like Trustpilot<\/a>, Clutch, and even public records. They form a “picture” of your brand based on what they find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means it’s not just about where your links live – it’s about what those links say about you. It’s about having your name, your company, and your reputation mentioned and praised across the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at Google’s search results today. They’re packed with images, videos, free listings, social media snippets, and now AI-driven summaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organic rankings have to fight against a lot more noise. The competition isn’t just the businesses in your field anymore. It’s the entire internet trying to crowd into that first-page real estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, AI overviews offer citation opportunities<\/strong>. If you get mentioned in quality sources, you still have a shot at showing up prominently, even without a traditional click. That makes getting the right mentions in the right places more critical than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlgorithms might change, platforms will evolve, but brand credibility and brand authority will remain forever.\u201d <\/strong>– Harshal Shah, CEO of Elsner Technologies at BrightonSEO London 2025<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no longer about just building links. It\u2019s about building a brand that commands attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how do you future-proof your SEO in this messy, exciting, challenging landscape? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what\u2019s working:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When people type into GPT-driven tools, they\u2019re asking questions, not just searching keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example,<\/p>\n\n\n\n We recommend structuring your blogs, landing pages, and articles around actual questions people ask. This way, you’re already aligned with how SearchGPT and similar engines fetch data. Build topic clusters, answer common questions, and make your site the go-to hub for solid information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Elsner Technologies and Link Publishers, we\u2019ve adapted our content approach to be topic-led<\/strong> instead of keyword-stuffed<\/strong>. It’s paid off in better visibility and higher engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Random backlinks from unrelated sites? Might as well not bother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, it\u2019s all about relevance<\/a>. If you’re selling crypto software, you need backlinks from finance, blockchain, or tech-related sites – not from someone’s abandoned knitting blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google\u2019s algorithms don’t just look at what\u2019s being said; they also look at who<\/strong> is saying it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take Lily Ray<\/a>, for example. Her deep credibility as an SEO expert got her a blog post ranking on Google and surfacing on AI results within just seven hours of posting. That\u2019s not just good writing \u2014 that\u2019s years of building trust and a strong personal brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building a credible author profile, showing expertise in your niche, and actively participating on platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit are no longer optional. They’re musts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, it’s not even about getting a hyperlink. It’s about getting your brand name<\/strong> mentioned organically across forums, blogs, and industry news sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reddit is a goldmine for this. Users trust Reddit threads, and now, so does Google. When real conversations happen about your brand on these platforms, AI picks it up and adds it to your reputation bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our team works with clients to quietly spark these brand mentions<\/a>, creating natural, user-driven conversations that build credibility over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take Roblox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With millions of backlinks, a huge brand footprint, and countless user-driven conversations happening daily, they dominate SEO rankings<\/a>. Even though 90% of their backlinks come from domains with a DA below 30, their brand carries them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s not just the “power” of the links. It’s the unstoppable force of brand presence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could build the best site in the world today, but without consistent brand conversation, PR pushes, and smart backlink building, you\u2019d still find it near impossible to topple giants like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat was link building like in the early days?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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SEO today: Why is brand authority so important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why is it harder to get noticed online now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How can you build real authority?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Create content that answers real questions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2. Get niche-specific backlinks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Authority first: Who is speaking?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Ignite unlinked brand conversations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A real example of why brand authority beats everything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve created a smart platform to find the right backlinks <\/em>to help you build brand authority!<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n
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