Go beyond backlinks to gain authority in the new algorithm – with Joseph Kahn

Joseph Kahn expands on Christian’s tip to emphasise that building authority in 2026 is multi-faceted.

Joseph says: “Look beyond the blue links and build for AI.”

Are we just talking about blue links in Google?

“We're talking about blue links everywhere. Most people think, ‘Backlinks, backlinks, backlinks.’ The old world of SEO was just about using backlinks to build authority, and that isn't the way to build authority anymore.

Links still matter, but it's very specialised. I can beat just about anybody in the service business, and in a lot of different places in SEO, without using a single backlink strategy.”