Was link building ever really dead — or did SEOs simply stop talking about it openly?

In this episode, Björn Darko talks to Tamara Novitovic, Head of SEO at Bazoom, about the reincarnation of link building. Together, they discuss why backlinks remain one of the most controversial topics in SEO, why the market keeps growing despite Google’s warnings, and why AI Search, LLMs and brand citations are bringing external authority signals back into focus.

Tamara explains why modern link building is no longer just about do-follow links and Domain Rating. Instead, relevance, context, semantics, brand mentions and positive third-party coverage are becoming more important. Many tactics that used to be considered classic link building — digital PR, brand mentions, unlinked mentions, citations and content placements — are now also relevant for visibility in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI-driven search experiences.

The episode also covers what makes a good link in 2026, why DR and DA are no longer enough as standalone KPIs, how anchor texts are changing in the age of LLMs, and how in-house SEOs can better connect link building, PR and brand communication.

A conversation about old SEO debates, new AI Search realities, and the question of whether link building is currently experiencing its biggest comeback yet.

Takeaways:

• Link building was never really dead — it just became less openly discussed.

• AI Search makes third-party sources, brand mentions and citations strategically more important again.

• A good link is relevant, contextually strong and placed in a trustworthy topical environment.

• Domain Rating alone is no longer enough — traffic, relevance and context matter more.

• LLMs do not only rely on high-authority domains, but also cite smaller, niche-specific and highly relevant sources.

• Anchor texts are changing: less exact match, more semantic, question-like and brand-related wording.

• Link building, digital PR and brand communication are moving closer together through AI Search.

• Negative brand sentiment in LLMs can be counterbalanced with positive third-party signals.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro: Tamara Novitovic from Bazoom
01:37 Was link building ever really dead?
03:08 Why backlinks are so controversial in SEO
04:00 The link building market after Penguin
05:13 Which industries still strongly rely on links
07:08 Where does PR end and link building begin?
08:09 AI Search, LLMs and the return of third-party sources
10:09 Are brand mentions and citations the new backlinks?
11:24 How Bazoom looks at AI Search and LLM visibility
13:23 Why AI visibility tools make link building more visible
14:53 Domain Rating, Domain Authority and new link KPIs
16:23 Why small niche sites can matter for LLMs
18:07 What makes a good link in 2026?
20:08 Old link building tactics and what has changed
21:00 The role of anchor texts in LLMs
23:10 Quality vs. quantity in modern link building
24:01 First priorities for a modern authority strategy
25:27 How in-house SEOs can connect PR, brand and link building
29:44 Sentiment, AI visibility and brand communication
31:09 How to balance negative signals with positive sources
33:29 Why LLM citations enable a new link building strategy
35:24 Testing link building with small experiments
36:32 Outro: Black hat, link spam and future discussion