How AI Affects Link-Building and What to Do Now: Interview with Antonio Gabric

How are SearchGPT and AI Overviews affecting SEO? How can SEOs prove the value of link-building? Why invest in your personal brand to source links?

In this episode, Antonio Gabric, Outreach Manager at Hunter, shared the secrets of the trade with Ranking Raccoon.

Let's dive in right now!

This year has been transformative for SEO. If you had to pinpoint the biggest change in SEO and link building, which one would it be?

Antonio: I’d highlight Search GPT. It has introduced a new pattern for what ranks well.

For example, in our analysis, we've found discrepancies between businesses that rank highly on Google versus those featured in Search GPT or AI overviews.

When analyzing Search GPT, we saw that it often highlights businesses with more relevant brand mentions around specific queries. These mentions increase the likelihood of appearing in AI-generated lists.

So, a strong strategy involves getting listed in all relevant listicles, increasing your chances of being recognized by AI systems.

Are you already adapting your link-building to AI algorithms?

Our link-building focus has shifted toward brand mentions in relevant contexts rather than just optimizing anchor text. We’re also contacting editors and webmasters to convert unlinked brand mentions into backlinks. Building a strong brand presence through mentions has been one of the most impactful changes for us.

Apart from that, in 2024, we adjusted our strategy to prioritize the page traffic metric over domain rating (DR). Pages with high traffic are often ranked for many relevant keywords, which usually require backlinks. This led us to target backlinks from high-traffic pages, even though it’s harder and results in fewer links overall. But the impact is clear: quality outweighs quantity.

Some marketers believe that Search GPT can make SEO obsolete. What’s your take?

Antonio: I don’t think AI will kill SEO - but it’s definitely going to get more challenging.

Traditional tactics like link insertions still work but are becoming overused. Everyone’s doing it, which makes those links less effective.

The future is about building relationships with editors and securing backlinks from trusted domains (e.g. in our niche, these would be Ahrefs or SEMrush). These links are harder to get but are far more valuable, especially in an AI-driven landscape. AI overviews favor high-quality mentions, so brands will need to invest more time in creating value and connecting with the right people.

To stand out in the world of AI-driven search and land the best links, brands need to invest in relationship-building

Building a personal brand alongside your company can also help.

For example, I’ve managed to build up my visibility on LinkedIn, and it’s opened opportunities for link exchanges and collaborations. Diversifying your approach beyond just backlinks — like developing a newsletter or blog — will be increasingly important.

What other link-building tactics worked well for you in 2024?

Antonio: Guest blogging and listicle insertions are still central to our strategy. Guest blogging lets us collaborate with other link builders, trading links across different guest posts or websites.

Unlinked brand mentions are effective and easy too, if you already have a well-known brand. We also track our links closely because links can disappear over time. On average, we lose about 25% of our links annually. Considering that high-quality backlinks in SaaS cost €300–500, that’s significant money wasted without proper tracking.

Since you mentioned paid backlinks, what’s your opinion on them?

Antonio: We don’t pay directly for backlinks, but we do leverage ABC exchanges. For example, we pay website owners for links on specific domains, which we then use in link exchanges. This makes the process appear natural.

However, working with freelancers who claim to own multiple sites can be tricky. We prefer building direct relationships with actual site admins to ensure quality and reliability.

Let’s speak about measuring link-building ROI. How do you analyze the impact of your link-building campaigns?

Antonio: For search performance, we use Google Search Console to track page views and rankings.

For conversions, we rely on Google Analytics and PostHog. PostHog is especially helpful for SaaS businesses because it offers granular insights, like tracking specific user actions from referral traffic to conversions.

For example, if a blog post isn’t converting despite high traffic, PostHog helps identify UX-related issues like poorly placed CTAs. Simple UI/UX adjustments can significantly improve conversions. This level of analysis helps you justify the cost of backlinks to the stakeholders in your company.

Read more: Can't Measure Link-Building ROI? Read this (A 5 steps’ Guide)

What advice would you give to marketers struggling with link-building?

Antonio: My top advice is to start with the right pages.

Before anything, make sure the page you’re building links to is optimized and has a real chance to rank well.

For instance, if it’s a blog post, ensure it’s set up for success before investing in backlinks. Focus on pages that already convert, not just top-of-funnel content. This helps demonstrate early wins to stakeholders by showing tangible results like revenue or conversions, which builds trust in your strategy. Once they’re on board, you can dive into more diverse link-building efforts.

Thank you for the many great tips Antonio - here’s to a quality-first approach and relationship-building!

Pro tip for easier link-building

As Antonio stressed, to land the best links and stand out in search in 2025, you need to foster relationships with the right people. Too bad, finding them can be a grind and a waste of many hours.

Ranking Raccoon makes it simple to reach genuine SEO pros and build robust backlinks. Connect directly with credible site admins in SaaS, eCommerce, Business Services, and 50 other niches. All you have to do is browse relevant partners in our database, automatically find perfect placements for your target keywords, send a link request, discuss the details, and get the backlink live. Join the community for free and explore the better way of backlink building!