Scale & Strategy
This is Scale & Strategy. The newsletter that collects the best of Business and plays it back to you 2x a week (like your favorite mixtape).
Here’s what we got for you today:
- Do Links Still Matter for SEO? Here’s What the Data Says
- Google has unveiled Gemini 2.0
- Ad Tools Shifting, Threads Winning, and AI Traffic on the Rise
Do Links Still Matter for SEO? Here’s What the Data Says
Remember when memorizing phone numbers was essential? Now, not so much.
Google seems to feel the same way about backlinks. But is that actually true?
Patrick Stox and his team analyzed the top one million most-searched keywords in the US to see how backlinks correlate with rankings. Here’s what they found:
1) Links Matter More for High-Volume Searches
The more competitive the keyword, the more backlinks top-ranking pages tend to have. External links also hold far more weight than internal ones.
2) Brands Naturally Attract More Links
Branded searches tend to have a stronger link profile, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the links are driving rankings—it’s often just a reflection of brand popularity.
3) Links Are Slightly Less Important Than Before
Since 2019, the correlation between rankings and backlinks has weakened slightly. But with AI-generated content increasing, Google might start relying on links more again.
4) Links Play a Bigger Role in Local Search
For local services, where content is often similar across competitors, backlinks help signal authority. Internal links are also more influential in local rankings.
5) Informational Content Benefits More from Links
High-quality informational pages tend to attract more backlinks over time, reinforcing their rankings in competitive spaces.
Bottom Line:
Backlinks don’t hold the same weight they once did, but they’re still relevant—especially for competitive keywords, local SEO, and informational content.
The key is knowing where they matter most and prioritizing accordingly.
Google has unveiled Gemini 2.0
its most advanced AI model to date, now accessible to all users. This release marks a significant leap in artificial intelligence capabilities, with Gemini 2.0 designed to handle complex tasks across various domains.
Key Features of Gemini 2.0:
- Multimodal Functionality: Gemini 2.0 can process and generate text, images, and audio, enabling more dynamic and versatile interactions.
- Agentic Capabilities: The model is equipped to autonomously perform tasks, such as conducting online searches, interpreting images, and strategizing in video games, with minimal human intervention.
- Enhanced Performance: Building upon its predecessors, Gemini 2.0 offers improved speed and efficiency, making it a robust tool for both developers and end-users.
Initially, certain features of Gemini 2.0 were limited to test groups and subscribers. However, Google has now made the model fully available, aiming to integrate it across a wide range of applications, including Search, Ads, Chrome, and Google Workspace.
This development underscores Google's commitment to advancing AI technology and maintaining a leading position in the field. The company continues to explore innovative applications of AI, such as Project Astra and Project Mariner, which focus on real-time assistance and web navigation, respectively.
As AI technology evolves, Google emphasizes the importance of safety and ethical considerations in its deployment, ensuring that advancements benefit users while maintaining responsible use.
Ad Tools Shifting, Threads Winning, and AI Traffic on the Rise
Where one door closes, another opens.
The Closed Door:
Meta is removing the customer budget cap from Advantage+ shopping campaigns.
Losing budget control makes ad management more challenging.
The workaround: Exclude existing customers and manually split ad sets for better control. Not ideal, but better than nothing.
The Open Door:
Instagram is testing Optimized Target Mix, a new in-app tool that fine-tunes performance goals.
Ad group options include:
- Engagement
- Profile visits and follows
- Instagram messages
- A dynamic optimization option
This could be worth testing.
Threads’ Engagement Looks Strong
Marketers might want to pay attention—Threads is generating more engagement than X (formerly Twitter).
Threads has an average engagement rate of 6.25 percent, while X sits at 3.6 percent.
With 320 million active users, these metrics suggest Threads could be a valuable platform for brands.
AI & Analytics Updates
AI Chatbots Are Driving More Traffic Than Expected
A study by Ahrefs found that 63 percent of websites receive traffic from AI chatbots, with 98 percent of it coming from three main sources:
- ChatGPT (50 percent)
- Perplexity (30 percent)
- Gemini (18 percent)
On average, AI chatbots account for 0.17 percent of visitors and 0.12 percent of page views. However, some top sites see up to 6 percent of their traffic coming from AI.
Smaller websites benefit the most, making this an interesting opportunity for those without massive traffic.
Google’s Search Rendering Change: A Heads-Up for SEOs
Google now requires JavaScript for rendering search results.
Why this matters:
- SEO tools will have a harder time tracking rankings.
- Spam and bot traffic may decrease.
- Additional complexity, costs, and potential data accuracy issues.
If you rely on rank tracking software, expect disruptions.
Was this email forwarded to you?
That’s it for today and as always It would mean the world to us if you help us grow and share this newsletter with other operators.
Our mission is to help as many business operators as possible, and we would love for you to help us with that mission!
