Why Link Building Is The #1 Ranking Factor For AI Overviews and LLMs

Generative AI came onto the scene in late 2022 and instantly changed how people searched online. 

Google’s AI Overviews (the AI-generated answer boxes at the top of search results) started appearing and answering people’s questions directly, reducing the need for them to scroll or click through to individual websites. While AI tools like ChatGPT quickly became everyone’s virtual assistant, answering questions, solving problems, and delivering information in real-time.

As a result, “zero-click” searches have become the new normal.

Recent studies have shown that roughly 60% of Google searches now end without a click. In other words, people no longer need to visit a website to get an answer to their question, as they can get all the information they need directly from the AI Overview. 

Unsurprisingly, this is a major concern for businesses around the world. If users aren’t clicking through to the website, where will their traffic, leads, or sales come from?

In this study, we’ll examine the evidence behind these trends and explain why it’s crucial for businesses to get mentioned in Google’s AI Overviews and cited by tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. We’ll also explore the role link building plays in making that happen, and why earning authoritative backlinks is one of the most effective ways to get your brand seen, trusted, and referenced by AI.

How AI Overviews Have Changed Search

With the introduction of Generative AI and Google’s AI Overviews, how people find and consume information online has changed.

Instead of searching for something online and clicking through multiple search results to piece together an answer, people are now met with AI-generated summaries right at the top of the search results. These overviews pull information from multiple sources to deliver a single answer that includes all of the information a person could need. It’s fast, simple, and is quickly becoming the “norm”, with AI Overviews currently showing for almost 55% of all Google searches.

But for website owners and marketers, this presents a serious challenge.

Before the widespread rollout of Generative AI, zero-click searches were happening, but not at the volume we see today. In 2022, only 25.6% of desktop searches and 17.3% of mobile searches ended with no click. That meant the vast majority of searches still resulted in people clicking through to individual websites in order to get their questions answered. 

Fast forward to 2025, and due to the launch of numerous AI-driven tools, zero-click searches have more than doubled.

A study by Ahrefs, which analyzed over 300,000 keywords, found that the presence of an AI Overview in the search results correlated with a 34.5% lower average clickthrough rate (CTR) for the top-ranking page. That means even if a website is ranking #1 organically, they are now missing out on a large amount of traffic.

Another study by MarketingCharts also supports this, highlighted that in the last year alone the average position-one CTR for informational searches fell from 5.6% (March 2024) to just 3.1% (March 2025) when an AI Overview was present. 

This proves that if you want your business to stay visible and continue driving website visits and sales, you need to be featured in these AI Overviews. And with 76% of AI citations come from pages already ranking in the top 10 rankings, this makes SEO (and by extension link building) essential for visibility in AI search.

The Rise of AI Tools: ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude

While Google’s AI Overviews have reshaped traditional search results, AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude are quietly redefining how people access information altogether.

Unlike a standard Google search, where people scroll through multiple different website listings looking for an answer to their question, these generative AI tools deliver quick, personalized answers to any question. Often citing the websites they have used to gather the information, but removing the need for people to actually click through to the website. 

Take ChatGPT for instance, this AI tool was launched less than 3 years ago but is already the 5th most visited website in the world. With over 800 million monthly users, it now handles over 2.5 billion prompts every single day and has become deeply integrated into daily life. People now rely on it for everything from checking the weather and writing emails to researching product options and comparing different companies and services.

This creates a new reality for businesses. You could be providing the perfect solution for a prospective client, but you won’t get the recognition or website traffic unless you’re one of the sources the AI chooses to reference.

So how do you get your business cited by AI?

Link Building: The #1 Ranking Factor for Google and AI

The importance of link building in SEO has been debated for years, but recent data confirms that backlinks remain one of the most critical ranking factors for organic Google results, and by extension for AI-driven results as well.

Semrush’s ranking factors study confirmed that 8 out of the top 20 ranking factors relate to backlinks.

During the study, Semrush analyzed over 16,000 English keywords with a monthly search volume of over 100. They pulled the top 20 results for each keyword, reviewing a total of 300,000 search results, to understand how specific factors correlate with search engine rankings.

They looked at everything from content relevance, which took the top spot as being the most important ranking factor, to newer signals like NLP-based content scores. But even after taking all of these factors into consideration, backlinks came out as a leading ranking factor. 

Ahrefs 1,000,000 SERPs study confirmed that “Generally, better link metrics = higher rankings”.

After examining 1 million of the highest-volume keywords, they found a positive correlation between higher Google positions and metrics like number of referring domains, total backlinks, and Domain Rating (DR). 

They also noted that links are especially important for local and informational queries. This is because the content across these types of sites is often very similar, and the competition for relevant keywords is high. Therefore, the number of high-quality backlinks a website has becomes a key differentiator, helping search engines determine which site is more authoritative and popular.

The study’s author even speculated: “With the rise of AI content, Google may end up relying on links or other signals more, and may start weighting them higher.”

Backlinkio’s 11.8 million Google search study revealed a strong connection between backlinks and higher rankings

After analyzing millions of Google search results, they confirmed that pages with a greater number of backlinks consistently outrank those that don’t have as many backlinks. In fact, the #1 ranked page on Google has, on average, 3.8x more backlinks than pages ranking in positions 2-10.

The study’s author noted: “Even though Google continues to add diversity to its algorithm, it appears that backlinks remain a critical ranking signal.”

But what does all this have to do with getting your website featured in AI Overviews and cited by LLMs?

The connection is simple.

Backlinks don’t just improve your organic Google rankings, they also increase the chances of your website being referenced by AI.

That’s because AI tools do not generate responses independently. Instead, they pull information from external sources, most of which have already been evaluated and ranked by search engines based on a variety of quality signals. These include domain authority, backlink profiles, content relevance, and overall credibility.

As a result, the websites AI tools are most likely to select and reference tend to be those already recognised as authoritative, trustworthy, and well-established within their industries.

This was confirmed in a study by Search Engine Land’s study, which analyzed 8,000 AI citations to identify how websites are chosen for inclusion in tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and Perplexity. Their conclusion was clear: “To get cited by ChatGPT, focus on building authority.”

And what’s the best way to build that authority? It’s building high-quality backlinks.

This is supported by SurferSEO’s study of 405,576 AI Overviews, which concluded that pages ranking in positions 1–2 are far more likely to be cited in an AI Overview than those in positions 3–10.

In short, the stronger your backlink profile, the more likely it is that AI tools will find, trust, and cite your content, whether in a Google AI Overview or a ChatGPT response.

Link building isn’t just for SEO anymore, it’s also critical for visibility in the AI-powered future of search.

 

5 Ways to Rank in AI Overviews and Get Cited by LLMs

If you want your content to appear in Google’s AI Overviews, Bing’s AI-generated answers, or be cited in tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, you need to understand what these systems look for.

1. Build High-Authority Backlinks (The #1 Ranking Factor for AI Visibility)

Building a strong backlink profile is one of the most important steps you can take to increase your chances of being cited in AI-generated answers.

You can do this by:

• Publishing unique guest posts on reputable websites in your niche. Publish original, high-quality posts that add value to another site’s audience while linking naturally back to your content. This builds authority and lets you guide anchor text, context, and relevance for better rankings and citations.
• Creating shareable assets like infographics, data reports, and research pieces. Original visuals and research papers often get linked to naturally, especially by bloggers, journalists, and content creators. These assets are therefore likely to be referenced by AI tools when answering factual, data-based queries.
• Using digital PR to get media coverage for your expertise, content, or campaigns. Pitch unique insights or data sources to journalists, editors, and publications in your industry. Media backlinks from trusted news sites are incredibly powerful trust signals and can position your brand as a thought leader in your industry.
• Getting featured in listicles and roundup-style content. Think “Top 10 Tools for X” or “Best SEO Agencies of 2025”. These types of articles are often favored by AI tools because they consolidate recommendations from trusted sources, making them highly likely to be cited in AI summaries.
• Participating in high-signal forums like Reddit, Quora, and Stack Exchange. Many AI models (including ChatGPT and Perplexity) now reference Reddit threads and community discussions. By contributing genuinely helpful answers or insights in these communities, you increase the likelihood of being referenced, even if the AI is citing Reddit rather than your site directly.
• Securing citations and mentions from trusted third-party sources. Even without a live link, being mentioned on respected platforms (including Wikipedia and.edu glossaries) can still increase your credibility in the eyes of AI models. These citations act as indirect signals that your brand is relevant, trustworthy, and known within your space.

Whatever option you choose, the key is quality over quantity. A single link from a well-known, authoritative website in your industry can boost your credibility more than dozens of low-quality links from PBNs or spammy websites.

However, it’s critical to remember that backlinks are one part of a broader SEO strategy. Content quality and user experience remain equally essential to ensure AI models find your content valuable and trustworthy.

How Rhino Rank Can Help

At Rhino Rank, we focus on strengthening your backlink profile to help your website rank higher in search results.

Since we know the pages ranking in positions 1–2 are far more likely to be cited in an AI Overview, improving your organic rankings increases the likelihood of being featured by Google’s AI and tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude.

Our services support this strategy in two main ways:

• Curated Links & Visual Links. We place your links into existing, high-performing content on niche-relevant websites that are already indexed and trusted by Google. These placements boost your site’s ranking potential, making it more likely that your own pages appear in the top results, and therefore get referenced in AI-generated answers.
• Guest Post Service. We create unique, high-quality articles and publish them on reputable websites. Each placement adds topical relevance and strengthens your backlink profile, helping your pages climb the rankings and giving your content a far better chance of being featured directly in AI responses.

All campaigns we build prioritize sustainable, long-term ranking improvements to help you increase your visibility in both traditional organic search and the evolving AI-driven search.

 

2. Create Unique, User-Focused Content

AI is always looking for clear, trustworthy content that directly answers user questions. So, if you want to appear in AI, then content needs to serve both people and AI models by being well-structured, easy to understand, and providing value.

This means content quality and user experience should be at the core of your strategy, complementing your other marketing efforts. AI is getting better at assessing relevance and user engagement, so high-quality content that fully satisfies user intent is crucial.

To optimize content for AI, consider the following:

• Use clear, descriptive headings and logical structure. Proper use of title tags (H1, H2s, H3s tags) and organized formatting helps AI understand your content hierarchy and improves scanability for users.
• Write concise, answer-focused paragraphs. Wherever possible, start a section with a direct answer to a likely question, then elaborate. This increases the chance that an AI snippet will grab your direct answer.
• Add TL;DR or summary boxes at the top of key pages or articles. A brief summary of the main points (e.g. 2-3 sentences or a few short bullet points) can help both human readers and AI models quickly grasp your content’s takeaway.
• Optimize your page metadata. Use descriptive title tags, meta descriptions, and URL slugs that clearly explain what the page’s content is about. These elements can influence whether your page is selected for display in search or AI results.
• Highlight real authors and sources. Make sure to include author bios with credentials and link to their social profiles or other work. This builds trust with users and aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) framework.
• Include social proof. Customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies are a great way to demonstrate your credibility to both users and AI. So where appropriate, make sure to incorporate quotes, statistics, and named client success stories.

The more your content aligns with what both people and AI models are looking for, the more likely it is to be read, understood, and referenced in AI-generated results.

3. Leverage Schemas & Structured Data

To AI, your content is only valuable if it can be accurately read and interpreted. That’s where schema markup, also known as structured data, comes in.

By adding schema to your pages, you provide search engines and AI models with a “cheat sheet” that clarifies what your content is, who created it, how it’s structured, and why it’s credible. This increases the chances of your content being displayed in rich search results, AI Overviews, and AI tools like ChatGPT.

• Use the right schema types. A schema tells search engines what your content is, which helps them match it to relevant search and AI-generated queries.
  • Article: For general news or editorial content published online.
  • BlogPosting: For blog entries or opinion-based posts.
  • FAQPage: For pages with a list of questions and direct answers.
  • Product: For individual product pages with pricing and availability.
  • HowTo: For step-by-step instructional guides or tutorials.
  • VideoObject: For pages containing embedded videos with metadata.
• Include core metadata. This showcases that your content is accurate, up-to-date, and includes information from real, accountable sources. 
  • Author: Identifies the person or entity behind the content.
  • DatePublished: Shows when the content was originally published.
  • DateModified: Highlights when the content was last updated, signaling freshness.
• Add Brand identity. This strengthens your brand’s visibility in Knowledge Panels and supports Google’s E-E-A-T framework. 
  • Organization: Identifies your company, its logo, contact info, and website.
  • Publisher: Links your content to your brand, which is particularly valuable on blog pages.
• Implement FAQ schema. These answers can be quoted in AI Overviews or featured snippets, which is great for increased visibility.
  • Mark up each Q&A pair using FAQPage and Question/Answer properties.

Structured data ensures that when AI “reads” your page, it doesn’t misinterpret critical details. Therefore, make sure you also test your schema regularly with Google’s Rich Results Test or the Schema.org validator, as broken or incorrectly implemented schema won’t help to improve your visibility and ranking-ability.

4. Build Topical Authority and Expertise

Another way to signal the AI that your site is a leading authoritative figure is to build topical authority. As if your site is seen as the expert on a given topic, both search engines and AI models will favor your content.

To build that authority:

• Cover your core topic thoroughly. To establish topical authority, create a series of in-depth articles that cover every major area of your core subject. For example, if your website is about digital marketing, don’t limit your content to just one or two posts on SEO. Instead, ensure you have high-quality content on all key subtopics like SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing. 
• Use a pillar-and-cluster strategy. Start with a comprehensive “pillar” page that gives a broad overview of the main topic. Then, create supporting “cluster” content that dives deep into specific subtopics, each linking back to the pillar and to one another. This internal linking structure not only improves user navigation but also helps search engines and AI better understand your content.
• Cite credible sources. Support your claims by referencing data sources, and industry experts. Linking out to authoritative sites may feel counterintuitive, but it actually increases the trustworthiness of your content. AI models that are trained on large volumes of web content are more likely to trust and cite pages that include reliable evidence and references.
• Showcase real experts as contributors. Featuring industry experts and popular influencers as content contributors adds another layer of credibility. This reinforces the authority of your site and gives both readers and AI systems additional signals of expertise.
• Include data-driven content. Publishing original research, surveys, case studies, and infographics increase the likelihood of your content being cited by other websites and picked up in AI summaries as notable facts.
• Update your content regularly. Make sure to update your content with the latest statistics, trends, and industry developments. This not only improves your rankings in search engines but also makes your content more appealing to AI tools that favor fresh, relevant information.

By establishing yourself as a go-to source in your industry, you increase the chances that your site will be indexed, ranked, and referenced in Google AI Overview or a large language model like Claude or ChatGPT.

5. Embrace Multichannel Engagement

Search behavior is no longer confined to Google.

In 2025, people are now asking questions to ChatGPT, watching YouTube tutorials, scrolling through Reddit threads, or searching on TikTok. So, to maintain visibility, you need to meet your audience where they are.

• Be where your audience is. Join conversations on Reddit, participate in Quora threads, and post on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn. When you consistently participate and provide value on these platforms, you increase the likelihood that your brand or content gets cited by AI.
• Repurpose your content. If you have a great blog post, why not turn it into a short-form video for YouTube or TikTok, an infographic for Pinterest or LinkedIn, and an email newsletter for your clients. This broadens your reach and solidifies your brand’s authority.
• Encourage engagement and discussion. When you post on social media or in online communities, ask questions, invite comments, and be responsive. The more people interact with your content (with likes, comments, shares), the more visible it becomes. This high engagement can indirectly signal to AI that your brand has authority whilst also expanding your online audience. 
• Monitor and respond to brand mentions. If someone asks about your brand or product on Reddit or if an industry publication mentions your business, be there and contribute. This keeps the conversation positive and informative, and shows that your brand is active, engaged, and trustworthy
• Use analytics to find what works. Identify which platforms drive the most engagement and referral traffic, for example, do people come to your site more from YouTube or from LinkedIn posts? This can help you focus on the platforms that generate the best reach and influence for your industry.

By adopting a multichannel strategy and actively engaging across platforms like YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and LinkedIn, you increase the chances of being discovered by users and cited by AI. So even if organic clicks from search engines decline, your brand remains visible where your audience is spending their time online.

Case Studies: How We Got 2 Clients Featured in AI in Just 3 Months

At Rhino Rank, our link building strategies are designed not just to improve organic rankings, but also to increase visibility in AI-generated results. By strengthening keyword performance, we increase the likelihood that client content is cited by Google’s AI Overviews and tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Below are two case studies showing how our custom link building campaigns helped our clients increase their organic keyword rankings and AI mentions.

1: B2B Tech Company Sees +990% Increase In AI Citations

A fast-growing B2B tech company had a strong content strategy but lacked the backlink authority to rank for competitive keywords. Without this keyword visibility, their content wasn’t being referenced by AI models or being shown in Google’s AI Overviews.

To fix this, we launched a 3-month link building campaign focused on boosting organic keyword rankings in their niche.

Our team secured contextual backlinks in indexed, authoritative content across various tech publications and blogs, whilst also publishing bespoke guest posts on popular websites in the AI and tech industry. This improved the client’s ability to rank for mid to high-difficulty search terms. Every placement was carefully vetted for topical relevance to ensure maximum SEO impact.

As keyword rankings improved, the results carried through to AI. Within 90 days, the client’s blog content began appearing in Google’s AI Overviews for industry-defining queries such as “how does [specific AI technique] work.” Their AI citation count increased by +990%, with over 200 references in AI-generated search results. Not only that, but the client’s monthly organic traffic grew by 24%, and branded searches also increased as users discovered the brand in AI answers and returned to the website via a Google search.

2: B2C Wellness Brand Ranks for 2,000+ AI Citations

A wellness brand specializing in natural supplements came to us after experiencing a sharp drop in organic traffic. To make matters worse, several of their customers reported that ChatGPT was recommending competitor products when asked about supplement options, while their brand was never mentioned. 

To reverse this, their Rhino Rank account manager designed a 3-month campaign aimed at improving their keyword rankings for supplement-related queries.

We secured guest post placements on leading wellness and health blogs, secured curated links in educational supplement focussed articles, and placed visual links within highly engaging lifestyle and nutrition articles. These links were strategically embedded in content that clearly supported and advocated the target terms, such as “natural remedies for sleep” and “best magnesium supplements.”

As their rankings climbed, so did their AI citations. The brand began appearing in Google’s AI Overviews for supplement-related searches and is now referenced in over 2,000 AI-generated results across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. This increase in keyword ranking and AI visibility also led to some fantastic brand PR, with one of their products going viral on TikTok when a local influencer posted a product review video after being recommended it by ChatGPT.

The Bottom Line: Link Building Is Your AI-Search Growth Engine

With the introduction of AI, it’s clear that the rules of search have changed. If your website isn’t ranking, then it isn’t being cited in Google’s AI Overviews or referenced by tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, which means your brand is invisible where it matters most.

The good news? Despite all the changes AI has brought to search, one thing remains constant: link building is still one of the most effective ways to improve your rankings (and secure visibility in AI).

This is because authoritative, relevant backlinks are the most powerful indicators of trust and credibility, not just for Google rankings, but for AI-driven results too. Every high-quality link you earn strengthens your rankings and increases the likelihood your content will be cited by AI.

So if your goal is to show up in AI Overviews, get cited by AI tools, and remain top-of-mind as search evolves, then investing in high-authority backlinks isn’t optional, it’s essential.