Google's John Mueller on Twitter stated something that is obvious but he said "ff links are the reason why a site is ranking higher, then if you remove them the site will rank lower." But then he added that "links aren't the only reason sites rank." Thus he said "I wouldn't blindly focus on them [links]."
Here is John's tweet:
If links are the reason why a site is ranking higher, then if you remove them the site will rank lower. Links aren't the only reason sites rank, obviously, so I wouldn't blindly focus on them.
— 🍌 John 🍌 (@JohnMu) October 2, 2020
I would not downplay links either - they tend to be an important ranking signal for Google and other search engines. I mean, I am just saying.
But if you focus on getting links that Google will ignore anyway, you know, the unnatural kinds, then that is probably a reason not to blindly focus on them.
And Now a Word From Captain Obvious:
(1) Removing links that help you rank better can make your rankings decline.
(2) Removing links that do not help you rank better won't make your rankings decline.
The trick is to know which links help and which links do not.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
