Since Google's Helpful Content Update in 2024, low-quality sites are being deindexed at scale. The directories, link farms, and guest post networks that used to move the needle are being wiped from search results entirely. A link from a site Google no longer trusts is worth exactly nothing. Earned media is the opposite. A placement in CNA, Forbes, or the Straits Times is a high-authority, editorially independent publication vouching for your brand. Google treats it as a genuine trust signal. It holds its value through every algorithm update. And as AI-generated search results increasingly surface brands with strong authority signals, these are the links that get you seen. There's no shortcut that replicates it.