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We’re joined by Pontus Magnusson, a former professional poker player turned SEO operator and the CEO of Serpify. After years working in SEO affiliate marketing across highly competitive verticals such as iGaming, Pontus repeatedly encountered the same structural problem: acquiring high-quality links at scale was far harder and less transparent than it should be.
That experience led to the creation of Serpify.com, a transparency-led publisher placement platform designed to bring structure, exclusivity, and visibility to link acquisition. In this interview, Pontus shares his perspective on how link building is evolving in 2026, what separates effective strategies from outdated tactics, and why deliberate, well-structured link profiles now matter more than sheer volume.
Pontus & Serpify
Pontus, what originally inspired you to start Serpify, and what gap in the link building market did you want to solve?
I spent years working in SEO affiliate marketing in verticals such as iGaming following a career in Poker igniting my interest in the industry. Through my time in the affiliate marketing space I was repeatedly noticing the same problem, being able to get the right links, at the right quality level, was far harder than it should be.
The market was fragmented and inefficient, the same sites were being resold endlessly so everyone essentially had almost identical link profiles. On top of this pricing lacked transparency, and quality control was often missing. Even when you had a good budget, standing out wasn’t guaranteed.
Over time, I built a strong network of publishers across multiple markets, and instead of treating that as another agency setup, I saw an opportunity to productise self-serve access. We established exclusive agreements with publishers and webmasters where Serpify is their only partner, which allowed us to control quality, pricing, and availability.
Serpify was built to solve the gap I saw, creating a marketplace where serious SEO teams can access premium, exclusive links in a structured, scalable way, rather than relying on spreadsheets, middlemen, or guesswork.
What would you say makes Serpify different from other link building providers today?
Most link building providers still operate like agencies or a broker network, engaging in manual outreach, recycled inventory, and very little structural differentiation. There are often no insights into strategy, or recommendations on how to operate efficiently in these highly competitive markets.
Serpify is different because we’re a product-driven marketplace, not a service business. We build exclusive supply through long-term publisher agreements and relationship building, which lets us control quality, pricing, and availability at scale.
Another key difference is transparency. One of the main pain points we heard from our clients was that information was not clearly being conveyed to them. We allow our clients to follow the entire lifecycle of every link they order — from the moment they order, throughout the content production process, to the moment of placement. Clients are able to manage their link portfolio over time. They always know what’s live, where it sits, and when something needs renewal. Instead of relying on reports or chasing updates, our system updates them.
Serpify removes the chaos from link buying and turns it into infrastructure, simplifying the process.
How has Serpify evolved over the past few years, and what has changed most in how clients approach link building?
Serpify has grown from purely a relationship-focused service into a fully connected ecosystem. Over the last few years, we’ve focused on joining the dots across ordering, publisher access, content, delivery, and post-placement management so link building becomes a structured, repeatable system, not a string of one-off transactions.
At the same time, we’ve noticed that buyer behavior has matured. A few years ago, a lot of teams chased volume or surface metrics without a clear strategy behind why links were being placed and what really mattered. In many cases, that did more harm than good.
Today, clients are far more intentional. They understand their risk tolerance, know which URLs actually move the needle, and care about relevance, context, and long-term value. One thing is clear: links continue to play a major role in rankings, but only when they’re built with purpose and consistency.
That’s what our evolution has been about. We’ve built Serpify to give experienced SEO teams the structure, visibility, and control they need to execute smarter, more deliberate link strategies. Less guesswork. More strategy that translates into real results.
The State of Link Building in 2026
If you had to summarize link building in 2026 in one sentence, what would it be?
In 2026, the biggest gains come from links on a site’s highest-authority pages like homepages or core hubs where link equity flows fastest, and from contextually relevant editorial links on genuine, high-quality publications or closely related niche sites.
What is the biggest misconception the SEO industry still has about backlinks?
The biggest misconception is that backlinks are still primarily about metrics like DR. These are vanity metrics that we see a lot of publishers, especially in PBN networks, are able to manipulate. The same applies to traffic, which can appear high but come from only a few keywords.
Looking for sites that rank repeatedly for high-volume keywords, especially in adjacent or relevant niches, is the key. Indexation and authority proximity matter far more than the number on a third-party SEO tool.
How has Google’s relationship with links changed over the last 12–18 months?
Links have become more important than ever, especially in the age of AI-generated content. As content scales rapidly, Google increasingly relies on links as core signals of trust and legitimacy, helping validate which sites are publishing genuinely authoritative information. Rather than losing influence, links have been elevated into a broader trust architecture, working alongside content quality, authoritativeness, and user experience to shape overall credibility. They remain foundational, but now operate as part of a more sophisticated ecosystem of signals.
At the same time, Google has become far better at understanding why a link exists, not just that it does. Context now carries significantly more weight: topical alignment and semantic relevance matter far more than they did even a year ago. Pattern detection has also improved, with repetitive anchor strategies, low-value directories, and scaled link schemes being devalued more consistently. The algorithm is increasingly effective at separating genuine editorial endorsements from manipulative link building.
What types of links seem to be performing best in 2026 — and which are starting to lose impact?
In 2026, the links that perform best are the ones rooted in real, trusted environments. Contextual editorial links on authoritative, topically aligned sites still drive the most impact, especially when they sit on pages with genuine traffic and regular crawl activity, whether that’s a homepage, a strong hub page, or a well-ranking article.
Well-executed guest posts absolutely still work when they’re placed on real publications, written with editorial intent, and tightly aligned to the niche, but scaled or templated approaches are steadily losing effectiveness. Editorial links and niche authority placements continue to punch above their weight because they combine relevance with credibility.
The common thread is simple: links work when they feel like genuine endorsements inside living ecosystems, and they fade when they start to look engineered.
Do you see major differences in what works in smaller niches versus highly competitive industries?
Yes, there’s a big difference.
In smaller or less competitive niches, you can still make strong progress with a fairly traditional mix of editorial links, guest posts, and the occasional higher-authority placement, especially when those links help elevate E-E-A-T through relevant, credible content. The barrier to entry is lower, so quality contextual links alone can move the needle.
In highly competitive industries, it’s a different game entirely. You’re competing against sites with massive link profiles, so success usually comes from combining authority-heavy placements with supporting editorial links, being much more intentional about anchor strategy, and building scale in the areas that matter most.
At that level, it’s less about individual links and more about shaping an overall authority footprint and E-E-A-T profile that Google can’t ignore.
Quality, Risk & Strategy
What does a “high-quality backlink” really mean in 2026 — is it still about DR/DA, or something else entirely?
Compared to before, a high-quality backlink has much less to do with DR or DA and far more to do with whether Google actually trusts and engages with the site. Those metrics are still useful as a quick filter, but they’re easy to inflate and don’t tell the full story.
What really matters is context and credibility. Is the link placed editorially on a topically relevant site? Does the page have real traffic and crawl activity? Is the domain ranking for genuinely competitive keywords?
Strong links now come from real environments with real audiences, where the placement makes sense within the content. If a site can rank for hard terms in its niche, that’s usually the clearest signal of quality — far more meaningful than any third-party score.
How should SEO teams think about risk management in link building today compared to a few years ago?
Today, risk management in link building is far more contextual than it was a few years ago. It’s less about following blanket rules and more about aligning strategy with the business model, the niche, and how much volatility a site can realistically absorb.
Operators with established brands tend to prioritise stability and defensible link profiles, while affiliates often accept more risk in exchange for faster growth.
What’s changed most is how important it is to avoid obvious patterns. Google is much better at spotting repetition in anchors, placements, site types, and acquisition velocity, so successful teams now focus on diversification, natural pacing, and genuine editorial context.
The goal isn’t just building links — it’s building an authority footprint that looks organic, varied, and aligned with real business objectives.
Is it still possible to build links at scale without creating an unnatural footprint?
Yes, it’s absolutely possible to build links at scale without creating an unnatural footprint. Scale itself isn’t the issue — patterns are.
Real brands regularly see spikes in links when they launch campaigns or run PR, so Google understands that velocity can change when there’s a reason for it.
Where teams get into trouble is when links are purchased in batches and sent to publishers all on the same day. That can make sense for a PR campaign, but when those placements are all guest posts, it creates an obvious footprint. The same applies when sites gain the same volume of links month after month, often from similar sources, with little variation.
Sustainable scale comes from diversity: different site types, changing placements, natural pacing, and evolving link profiles. The goal isn’t to slow growth — it’s to make growth look like it belongs to a real business, not a growth tick-box checklist.
What is the right balance today between content-driven links, PR, and paid placements?
You need a mixture, and that mix should change month to month. There isn’t a fixed formula — it depends on the niche, the competition, and what the business is trying to achieve at that point in time.
Content-led links and PR help build E-E-A-T, brand authority, and topical relevance, but in competitive SERPs that alone usually isn’t enough. Paid placements add the control and consistency needed to grow authority at pace.
The strongest strategies blend all three, adjusting the balance over time so link profiles evolve naturally. It’s about combining trust with scale, not locking yourself into one channel or treating link building like a static checklist.
AI, Automation & the Future
How is AI influencing link building in 2026 — both in terms of opportunity and increased risk?
AI isn’t a risk to link building in 2026 — it’s turning it into a credibility filter.
Most generative systems surface and summarize brands that already rank well and carry strong off-page signals, effectively amplifying what Google already trusts. That creates opportunity for authoritative sites to gain compounding visibility across both SERPs and AI platforms, but it also increases risk for anyone without a solid backlink profile or brand footprint.
As Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) matures, links, brand mentions, and digital PR now influence not just rankings but whether AI considers you a legitimate source at all.
The upside is bigger market share for brands investing in real authority; the downside is deeper invisibility for those that don’t.
In short, AI doesn’t replace link building in 2026 — it raises the stakes. Off-page signals have become the gateway to both search traffic and AI inclusion, making link building less optional and more foundational than ever.
Do you believe Google is getting better or worse at detecting manipulated link patterns going forward?
Google is unquestionably getting better at detecting manipulated link patterns, especially obvious footprints like PBNs, reused site templates, and shared technical fingerprints.
Where it becomes more complex is at the business-model level. In fast-moving affiliate and churn-and-burn environments, domains rotate, structures shift, and tactics evolve quickly, making it harder for Google to treat everything as a static pattern-recognition problem.
So while Google continues to improve at identifying artificial link ecosystems, there’s still a natural lag between how fast strategies adapt and how fast large-scale systems can react.
That gap isn’t about exploiting loopholes — it’s about scale, incentives, and speed. In practice, enforcement is always playing catch-up, even as detection becomes more sophisticated.
If you could give one key piece of advice to SEO professionals who want to win in 2026 and beyond, what would it be?
Align your SEO strategy with the business you’re actually running.
Too many professionals apply the same playbook across completely different models. Operators and e-commerce sites need to optimize for longevity, brand trust, and sustainable growth. Affiliates, on the other hand, operate in a faster, more competitive environment where timing, execution, and risk tolerance play a much bigger role.
The days of relying on long-term exit multiples alone are largely gone, which makes execution and return on effort more important than ever. The key is understanding your upside, your downside, and acting accordingly — not defaulting to overly cautious or overly aggressive strategies without a reason.
As with poker, you won’t win a tournament by folding every hand, but you can win by knowing when it’s worth playing.
