The Rankticker blog
Practical, sourced articles on link building and AI visibility for SEO teams, agencies and founders: how to judge a publisher, what Google's policies say, and how AI answers pick their sources.
Paid links and Google's spam policies: what buyers need to know in 2026
Paid links and Google's spam policies in 2026: the link spam text, rel="sponsored", manual actions, SpamBrain, site reputation policy and UK ASA disclosure.
6 October 2026 · 8 minLocal link building for UK businesses
Local link building for UK businesses in 2026: local news, chambers of commerce, sponsorships, UK directories that matter and Google Business Profile.
29 September 2026 · 8 minHow to measure link building ROI: a framework for SEO and AI visibility
How to measure link building ROI: leading vs lagging indicators, referring domains, rankings, traffic, conversions, AI share of voice and attribution caveats.
22 September 2026 · 8 minDigital PR vs guest posts vs link insertions: which format fits which job
Digital PR vs guest posts vs link insertions: when each format fits, what drives cost, risks, turnaround and AI visibility value, with a comparison table.
15 September 2026 · 8 minHow to spot PBNs, link farms and sponsored post factories: a 2026 checklist
A 2026 checklist for spotting PBNs, link farms and sponsored post factories: traffic patterns, outbound links, footprints, expired domains and TF:CF.
8 September 2026 · 8 minAnchor text strategy in 2026: distribution, types and how to plan anchors per page
Anchor text strategy for 2026: branded, naked URL, partial and exact match anchors, what Penguin and SpamBrain changed, and example mixes for each page type.
1 September 2026 · 8 minHow to budget a monthly link campaign, and what link velocity really means
How to set a monthly link building budget in 2026: sizing the gap, true cost per link, link velocity myths, pacing, max cost rules and auto vs semi-auto.
20 August 2026 · 8 minLink building for AI search: how publications get cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews
Link building for AI search: how ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews find sources, what citation research shows, and how to pick publications.
19 August 2026 · 9 minHow to evaluate a backlink in 2026: the signals that matter
How to evaluate a backlink in 2026: relevance, real traffic, TF:CF, outbound links, indexation, placement, anchor, attribute, permanence and AI citations.
4 August 2026 · 10 minPress releases, SEO and AI visibility in 2026
Do press releases still help SEO and AI visibility in 2026? What Google says about syndication links, how often AI cites releases, and when editorial PR wins.
30 July 2026 · 8 minBrand mentions in AI answers: how to measure them and how to earn them
How brand mentions, entities and unlinked citations shape AI answers in 2026, how to measure share of voice and sentiment, and how to get into cited sources.
9 July 2026 · 8 minTopical relevance vs Domain Rating: what to pay for in 2026
Why topical relevance beats raw Domain Rating when you buy links in 2026, how Google reads link context, and a practical checklist for judging relevance.
18 June 2026 · 9 minSee the publishers before you spend a penny
Filter real publications by niche, DR, traffic and price. Every metric and the full price are on the listing.