Backlinks are still one of the strongest signals Google uses to judge whether a page deserves to rank . But the math changed. Google's December 2024 and October 2025 spam updates devalued link networks, paid placements, and AI-generated guest-post farms . The old volume play is dead. The new play is about quality, relevance, and context.

In the age of AI search, backlinks influence visibility differently. They act on the retrieval layer the live search index that grounds AI answers rather than the model's frozen training weights . A domain's Authority Score correlated with AI mentions at Pearson 0.65, according to a Semrush study of 1,000 domains tracked across five AI surfaces . Raw backlink volume correlated far more weakly.

Two insights from the data:

You probably have someone in your family who isn t very tech-savvy and occasionally needs help with technology. Many of us have grown up with it, but older generations (or simply those with less experience) often find it challenging.

How do you help them navigate and learn to use modern technology?

My way is daily walks and regular meetups with someone s orange cat who also loves walking with us