Luke Kyte

Search is fundamentally changing in 2025, forcing marketers to rethink optimisation strategies. Nothing has been more fundamental than backlinks over the years, but could this change in the age of AI search? Some theories argue backlinks are already less important for SEO, but the data tells a very different story. In fact, early analysis of AI search patterns suggests backlinks are becoming more important as a ranking signal. Are backlinks still important? The short answer is: yes,...

Google kicked every ecommerce team into gear last year, by announcing that Core Web Vitals will become a ranking signal for their search results. The rollout has been delayed until May 2021, whilst the world concentrates on beating COVID-19, but the threat to many ecommerce websites is very real. Ever since the days of Boo.com , online retailers have focussed more on the “buying experience”, than the web experience. But what are the “Core Web Vitals” and how will they affect the SEO traffic...