Podcast Summary: Grumpy SEO Guy

Episode 137: 4 Reasons You Built Backlinks and They Didn't Work
Release Date: January 22, 2026
Host: Grumpy SEO Guy

Episode Overview

In this concise, no-nonsense episode, the Grumpy SEO Guy breaks down the four most common reasons why building backlinks may have had zero noticeable effect on your website's rankings. Drawing on 14 years of agency experience, he offers a gruff but clear-eyed perspective on the mistakes and misconceptions that plague many SEO practitioners and website owners. If you’ve ever puzzled over disappointing results from your backlink campaigns, this episode is designed to diagnose and clarify exactly what may be going wrong.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Not Enough Authority from Backlinks

• Explanation: Simply put, building some quality backlinks may not be enough if your competition has much more authority.
• Authority vs. Quantity: The focus should be on how much cumulative authority your backlinks bring, not just the total number of links.
• SEO is a Race Analogy:

  “If the person in front of you is winning by 20 seconds… if you increase your time by 10 seconds, that's good, but they're still beating you by 10 seconds…”
  (A, 01:20)

• Practical Takeaway:
  You can do everything right in terms of link quality, but if you haven’t done enough to leapfrog competitors’ authority, you won’t see a ranking difference.

2. Building Low-Quality Backlinks

• Explanation: Not all backlinks are created equal; many common backlink sources add little or no value.
• Examples of Bad Links:
  • Forum profile backlinks
  • Blog comment backlinks
  • Low-quality marketplace links
• Memorable Quote:

  “Even if you get a thousand of them, they're not going to help you, okay?”
  (A, 03:25)

• Practical Takeaway:
  Avoid “garbage backlinks”—what matters is quality and relevance, not just making the numbers go up.

3. Site Issues or Penalties

• Explanation: Sometimes a website has underlying technical or penalty issues preventing success, regardless of backlink quality.
• Penalty Surface Phenomenon:
  A penalty might remain unnoticed until your site gains enough authority for Google to pay closer attention.
• Deeper Insight:

  “It is feasible that you build good quality backlinks and your rank drops because you had a problem on your website that was not handled before building the backlinks.”
  (A, 07:10)

• Practical Takeaway:
  Address all potential technical and penalty issues before scaling up backlink acquisition.

4. Lack of Keyword Relevance

• Explanation: Backlinks only help if your site is topically relevant to the keywords you’re trying to rank for.
• Blunt Example:

  “If you want to rank for toasters, you need content about toasters. You're not going to rank for toasters, even if you have lots of authority, if you're not relevant…”
  (A, 08:40)

• Practical Takeaway:
  Relevancy is foundational—ensure your website's content aligns explicitly with the keywords you’re targeting.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Authority, Not Just Quantity:
  “It's not about the number of backlinks you build, it's about the quality of the backlinks.”
  (A, 02:20)

• On Avoiding Bad Link Marketplaces:
  “Just because you realize, oh, I need backlinks doesn't mean you should just go buy any backlinks that you see or build any kind of backlinks that you hear about…”
  (A, 05:40)

• Penalty Alert:
  “If you're building quality backlinks and you notice nothing's happening, or if you get a penalty after building quality backlinks, it's because suddenly you have enough authority that the search engines can concentrate or be interested in your website. And oh, look, we found a penalty…”
  (A, 07:35)

• On Relevancy:
  “Relevancy is the easiest thing to get. Just write content about your topic and you will be relevant for that topic.”
  (A, 08:55)

Important Timestamps for Segments

• 00:00 – Episode introduction; statement of host’s grumpiness over failed backlink strategies.
• 00:36 – Legal disclaimer about the podcast's content.
• 00:57 – Structure of the episode; host’s fondness for lists.
• 01:15 – Start of the 4 reasons; authority as the first reason.
• 02:50 – Explanation of quality vs. quantity in backlinks.
• 03:25 – Dangers of building low-quality backlinks.
• 05:00 – Recap of the first two reasons.
• 06:15 – Reason 3: Underlying site or penalty issues.
• 07:35 – When good links surface hidden problems.
• 08:15 – Reason 4: Keyword/content relevance.
• 08:40 – Example illustrating lack of topical relevance.
• 09:10 – Episode wrap-up and call for listener questions.

Tone and Style

The Grumpy SEO Guy maintains his trademark direct, matter-of-fact style—cutting through hype and speaking candidly. He uses analogies and blunt examples (“race,” “toasters”) to drive home his points, and peppers in a few moments of dry humor and resignation regarding pervasive SEO myths.

Listener Value & Final Thoughts

This episode offers a clear, actionable checklist for troubleshooting why backlinks might not be delivering the ranking boost you expect. It’s a brisk, practical listen that dispels industry myths and sharpens your focus on what actually matters: authority, quality, site health, and relevance.

Contact & Further Learning:

• Email: hellorumpyseoguy.com
• Reddit: Grumpy SEO Guy subreddit
• Patreon: patreon.com/grumpyseoguy

For deeper dives, the host references previous episodes on good vs. bad backlinks, penalties, and link-building strategies—recommended for listeners seeking advanced understanding or diagnosis tools.