Buying backlinks is a popular and controversial practice in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry. While it offers many advantages to site owners, there are potential risks to this link-building approach.
However, purchasing backlinks can significantly boost a website’s search engine rankings, making it critical that website owners understand how to apply this method safely and effectively.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of buying backlinks and examine the potential risks of the practice. We’ll also explain how to buy quality backlinks that improve your rankings with search engines without using deceptive or unethical practices.
What are Backlinks?
Backlinks are links pointing back to your site hosted on other websites. Search engine algorithms consider high-quality links a demonstration of your site’s authority. The assumption is that if a reputable website links you, you must be a trustworthy source.
The more good backlinks you have, the higher you can rank on search engine results pages (SERPs), and the more traffic you’ll receive.
Types of Backlinks
There’s a wide variety of backlink options, and your backlink strategy should include a mix of each. The most common options are the following.
1. Editorial Links
Editorial links are when your business is quoted as a source in an article written by someone else. This could be a link to an article hosted on your page, a quote from a business representative, or a link to your page from a roundup article. These are incredibly valuable, and seeking them out should be a priority in your SEO efforts.
2. Guest Posts
Guest posts are articles you create to be hosted on another site. Guest posting is a staple of SEO professionals’ link-building services, as they are almost always dofollow backlinks that build your backlink profile. A guest post can be a great opportunity, but it does require a thorough investigation of the link partner’s domain authority and reputation.
3. Directory Links
Directory links are links to your page in a business directory, such as a list of local businesses hosted by a chamber of commerce. These can be high-authority backlinks, especially if the organization has a good reputation in your industry and market.
4. Blog Comments
Blog comments are links to your site in a blog comment by you or a consumer. The holy grail of this would be an unaffiliated person linking to your site because they liked your content or are making a recommendation to other commenters, which creates a natural link profile.
5. Business Profile Backlinks
Business profile backlinks are links you and others include in your company’s profiles. An example would be a link to your site on your LinkedIn page and social media pages. Creating valuable content and performing outreach on social media can boost your site’s organic traffic.
6. Niche Edits
Niche edits involve editing pre-existing content on another website to add a backlink. The site owner will sell links in their posts, and you will revise the page.
How Do Backlinks Affect SEO Rankings?
Why are backlinks such an essential tool for your SEO strategy? External links demonstrate authority, especially when you are linked from high-quality websites that rank high in Google’s search results.
Leveraging another site’s Page Rank can boost your own, improving visibility and driving organic traffic.
What Does It Mean to Buy Backlinks?
Buying links involves paying relevant websites to include a link to your page. One of the most common ways to do this is guest posting, where you create content for a website and include a link to your page. You then pay the website owner to host the content for you.
Paid backlinks differ from natural link-building in one way: money is exchanging hands. Instead of just creating great content and hoping for the best, paid links offer guaranteed placement. Otherwise, though, they function the same way as natural links.
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Why Do People Buy Backlinks?
As your link profile influences your search engine ranking, the more high-quality backlinks, the better. However, it can be hard to get these on your own, especially when you’re just building your business.
Companies buy backlinks because they save time and offer a faster return on investment than building links through outreach and networking. Additionally, paid link schemes can offer competitive advantages for a website’s SEO, including getting more links than may be possible through traditional means.
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The History and Evolution of Buying Backlinks
Buying and selling backlinks emerged in the 1990s from a precursor to Google called Inktomi. This search engine determined search rankings by how many links a website had, so those without numerous inbound links would drop out of their index.
Early webmasters created link farms to counteract this, generating bulk backlinks for all members.
Soon enough, people realized that selling links to businesses was profitable, mainly because later search engines, like Google, also considered link popularity in their earliest algorithms. The links did not have to be from highly relevant websites; just having many links was enough to fool Google and others.
This changed dramatically with Google’s 2012 Penguin update, which punished paid link schemes by demoting sites with spammy links.
Acquiring paid links from cheap and untrustworthy sources like private blog networks became poisonous for search engine rankings, and site owners needed to innovate.
In the decade since Google Penguin, link-building methods have evolved to balance building a robust link profile with avoiding Google’s algorithms that devalue paid links. Those wanting to buy backlinks must be more strategic and cautious in today’s SEO landscape.
Risks of Buying Backlinks
Buying backlinks can be risky, which is why so many companies turn to SEO agencies when they want to try this strategy. The risks include penalties from search engines, lower rankings, de-indexed pages, and a poor consumer reputation.
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Google’s Guidelines on Buying Backlinks
Google’s Webmaster Guidelines expressly prohibit purchasing links, which are considered a link scheme. A link scheme is anything that attempts to manipulate search results through backlinks. Any backlink is a creditability vote to Google, so buying links is like buying your way to the top of a contest instead of winning on your own merit.
In its efforts to remove paid backlinks, Google periodically releases spam updates that improve its understanding of link profiles and devalue pages with these links.
Recently, the company started using artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate how links fit together and identify deceptive linking methods.
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The Danger of Low-Quality Links
Just as Google assumes that you’re a reputable source if high-quality websites recommend you, they will also think you’re untrustworthy if you have low-quality links from spammy sites. As such, you must avoid purchasing backlinks from shady sites and disavow any links from sources with low domain authority.
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What Happens If You Get Caught Buying Links?
When search engines notice that you buy backlinks, you can be penalized with lower rankings, making it more difficult to get organic traffic. Building strong SEO takes time, so you may struggle to recover from these penalties.
Sometimes, it can take months, or even years, to remove penalties and start rising in the rankings again.
If your site has been penalized for buying links, don’t wait—learn the 6 Signs You Need Expert Help with Google Penalty Recovery to restore your rankings and rebuild your SEO!
How to Buy Backlinks Safely?
Any attempt to manipulate a website’s ranking will naturally involve some risks, as Google and other sites want to keep their rankings as neutral and accurate as possible. However, this isn’t to say it’s impossible to benefit from paid links.
You must carefully research any potential link-building leads, balancing the cost, potential rewards, and risks.
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How to Buy High-Quality Backlinks?
You must know what to look for to buy backlinks that offer the most value. Companies that sell backlinks should be transparent, relevant to your niche, and provide high-quality content with contextual backlinks that make sense in each article.
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What Makes a High-Quality Backlink?
High-quality backlinks come from reputable sources and make sense within the text. The placing website should be highly relevant to your niche and have good domain authority (DA), usually between 50 and 60.
A website with a DA above 60 is exceptionally high quality and will be much more expensive.
Another important element of a high-quality backlink is its placement. For example, if you have a guest post, your content should clearly connect the website’s theme and your services. The link should make sense in context and sound natural in the text.
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Evaluating Backlink Sellers for Quality
You must vet all site owners selling links to ensure that they have a good track record of producing results for their customers. Ask for testimonials and, if possible, hard evidence that their links improved a customer’s SEO.
You can also use tools like Ahrefs to analyze their backlink profile. A link can harm your rankings if the rest of the site’s backlinks are to a private blog network or link farm.
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How to Assess the Quality of Purchased Backlinks?
For those looking to monitor their backlinks more comprehensively, check out our detailed guide: 15 Backlink Monitoring Tools To Try!
After you’ve purchased your paid links, you must check the placement to ensure it makes sense. The linking site should be relevant to your niche or host other articles related to your industry. For example, the site could have guest posts from various industries, but the posts should all be categorized into different sections related to that topic.
Examine whether the link makes sense in context and is relevant to the linked page. For example, if the page is a travel guide to Spain, but the link connects to your page on Costa Rica, this isn’t properly contextualized and will seem spammy.
Lastly, the anchor text should sound natural to a reader in the sentence. If your target keyword is about herbal supplements but is thrown into a sentence about spa treatments, it will look suspicious.
Metrics, like referral traffic seen on Google Search Console, can be helpful when assessing paid backlinks. Still, you should also focus on the authority and credibility of the linking site rather than dismissing it based on metrics.
Where to Buy Backlinks?
Site owners looking to buy backlinks have numerous options, though not all paid backlinks are created equal. Some of the most well-known and reputable marketplaces for buying links include HeySERP, Collaborator, and Digital Point Forum.
You may also find excellent links from niche-based websites like Backlinks.com and Authority Builders.
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Trusted Platforms for Buying Backlinks
When trying to build your backlink profile by buying links, stick to sites with a good reputation and years of experience in the industry. These are some of the most well-respected options for buying backlinks.
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- HeySERP stands out through its rigorous adherence to Google’s guidelines and focus on white-hat SEO techniques. It works with each site owner to find other websites that meet their niche and have a good reputation, ensuring safety and building long-term relationships.
- Collaborator is integrated with SERPstat and Ahrefs, which lets you easily review a potential link’s metrics. They have a variety of link options from different niches and industries, ensuring that you get highly relevant backlinks that protect your reputation.
- Digital Point Forum can help you build a powerful backlink strategy. They thoroughly vet each seller and explain their sourcing process so you can be confident buying backlinks through their service.
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Niche-Specific Link Building
When buying backlinks, niche-specific sources can be a solid choice. While they may not have the high traffic of more prominent sites, buying backlinks from niche sources will seem more natural.
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- Backlinks.com has been around for a long time and specializes in selling backlinks that are highly industry-specific. Website owners explain their niche and needs, and Backlinks.com will create a link-building strategy with highly relevant sources.
- Authority Builders is well-known for offering affordable, relevant links to website owners. After you provide your industry and niche, Authority Builders will match you with potential link-building partners. You can sort them by DA and traffic to ensure you get the right fit.
Where Not to Buy Backlinks?
Using a link form is one of the most dangerous ways to build links. These sites don’t provide any helpful content to readers and exist only to boost a client’s backlink rating. This is considered a black-hat SEO strategy, and Google may manually penalize you if you use these link-building services.
Private blogging networks (PBNs), a set of connected websites owned by the same company, are similar to link farms but not quite the same. PBNs are a group of niche blogs that link out to their clients. Now, it’s entirely possible that one company can own multiple blogs in related fields; this isn’t against any rules.
What makes a group of blogs into a PBN is that it has low-quality content, little internal linking, and infrequent updates. Niche blogs with informative content, consistent internal linking, and regular updates are not PBNs and can be a good source of backlinks.
Some website owners turn to Fiverr and Upwork for cheap backlinks. These are freelancing platforms where SEO professionals create a link-building strategy for you. Fiverr and Upwork are legitimate sites, and you can find some good opportunities for an affordable price.
However, your results may be hit or miss because these platforms are meant for freelancers from many industries. Freelancers in adjacent fields may try building links to boost their income, so they may not have the necessary experience to provide good backlinks.
You need to vet sellers on these platforms and ask for examples of their work, as some can be untrustworthy.
The Costs of Buying Backlinks
Like any industry, the price of paid backlinks can vary dramatically. On average, paid links cost about $280 per placement, but the range can go from just $100 to over $1,000. Factors such as the site’s traffic, DA, and type of placement you request will all contribute to how much links cost.
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What Factors Affect the Cost of Backlinks?
Firstly, niche edits are cheaper than guest posts because they require less editorial oversight; you’re only going to add a paragraph or two to existing content. Guest posts must be edited and reviewed for relevance before being hosted, so they cost more.
A well-trafficked site, such as one getting thousands of hits per month, provides more value to buyers and can charge more.
Sites with a high domain authority will help boost a buyer’s own DA, so they can also sell backlinks for a higher premium. Backlinks cost far more on a site with 65 DA than just 45 DA.
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Cost vs. Value of Backlinks
When buying backlinks, you need to consider the return on investment. One or two great backlinks will provide more value than dozens of low-quality links; those cheap links might actually harm your SEO.
How much to pay also depends on where you are in your SEO journey. If you’ve already optimized your on-page SEO and still aren’t seeing results, you may choose to pay for a few excellent backlinks in hopes of seeing better growth.
If you are still optimizing your other SEO efforts but want to begin building your link profile, some midrange backlinks could be a better choice.
Alternatives to Buying Backlinks
If you’re leery of buying links, don’t worry: there are many other ways to build your link profile organically. They may take more effort, but they can also avoid the risks of paying for backlinks. These options include guest posts, content creation, and networking.
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How to Build Links Organically?
While many assume that guest posts are always paid, you can secure these links for free by reaching out to a relevant website with your value proposition. Show them your traffic and DA, then provide some sample blog posts to show how your content fits their site’s theme.
Linkable assets are another great option. These can be articles, infographics, images, and videos that provide authoritative, helpful content. Make sure that you clearly label the content with your URL so that interested viewers know where to look for more.
Networking is vital for business success, and that includes SEO. A popular option is to find influencers in your niche and suggest a collaboration. For example, if you’re a sports company, you could offer them products to review in return for a link back to your site.
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The Importance of Content in Link Building
Creating excellent content and promoting it through different distribution channels can eliminate the need to buy links. When you offer valuable information to your audience, they will want to share it with their friends or link it to their content, gaining you valuable backlinks without paying.
Your content should be well-researched, centered around your niche, and understandable for a general audience. Include authoritative links like reputable news outlets, peer-reviewed journals, or industry sources.
You must offer something a little different from your competitors. This could be something as simple as an exclusive interview or explaining a complicated concept to the average person.
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Outreach for Natural Link Building
Relationship-based link-building is a powerful strategy because it offers long-term benefits. Instead of buying one blog post, you open up doors for further collaborations in the future.
To get started, send personalized emails to potential partners, demonstrating that you understand their niche and have done your research. Explain the benefits of working with you for their brand and offer information about your experience so that they recognize your authority.
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Link Building Through Partnerships
Strategic partnerships allow you to exchange links naturally, and they are often more long-lasting than paid links. Good link-building partners have services adjacent to yours but are not direct competitors. For example, if you run a cake decorating business, working with a local wedding planner would make perfect sense.
This way, you can promote one another’s services without deceptive tactics. They may also refer potential clients to you and suggest business opportunities, providing far more value than just a few good links.
Ethical Considerations
Purchasing backlinks is a hotly contested topic in SEO. Some companies swear off it, while others incorporate it into their strategy with minimal issues.
Because backlinks can manipulate algorithms in your favor, some professionals consider them a shortcut to success that doesn’t offer value to consumers.
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Is It Ethical to Buy Backlinks?
There are arguments on either side regarding the ethics of paying for backlinks. Let’s consider both the pros and cons so that you can decide for yourself whether you believe it’s a valid strategy.
Some of the arguments in favor of purchased backlinks include:
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- Added Value – When done correctly, guest posts and other backlinks can be helpful to consumers, reaching them on platforms that they already use.
- Relevance – Good backlinks are relevant to your niche, so you share information with an audience interested in your services.
- Similarity to Organic Links – When done correctly, purchased backlinks appear no different to a consumer than an organic link, meaning there’s no harm done.
Arguments against purchasing backlinks include:
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- Deceptiveness – You are boosting your reputation without actually demonstrating your value. Essentially, these kinds of backlinks could be seen as a way to trick consumers into thinking you are more authoritative than you are.
- Cutting Corners – Buying links is much faster than doing outreach, promoting your content, and networking with other websites. As such, it could be considered a shortcut.
- Ignoring Guidelines – One of the strongest arguments against paid links is that search engines have explicitly stated they are against link schemes. By using them, you are not playing by the rules.
Ethical Link-Building Strategies
Other, more ethical link-building strategies comply with search engine best practices, which are known as white hat practices and are the gold standard of SEO.
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Broken Link Building
With this strategy, you search for broken links on external sites and offer to replace them with a redirect to a relevant page. For example, if you find a broken link that should have gone to a marketing course, you can ask the site owner if they’re willing to replace it with a link to your page instead.
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Creating Value Through Infographics and Statistics
This requires more effort because you must perform research and provide it in an easily shareable format. However, other sites want to support their content with good statistics, so you can get high-quality backlinks through study and a bit of keyword magic.
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Link Insertion
Link insertions are slightly different from niche edits, where you are paying to add more content to an existing page. Instead, you’ll search for content that could use citations and ask if they’d be willing to link to you somewhere on the page.
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Develop Guides
How-to guides are desirable in every niche. You can get many backlinks if you can provide useful and engaging content that teaches readers something new.
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Produce Journalistic Content
Deep dives into little-discussed facets of your industry could be an invaluable resource for others performing research.
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Join Link-Building Communities
This is a type of online networking where industry professionals come together to support one another’s content, and it can be a great way to get authoritative links without paying for them.
Case Studies and Examples
Let’s examine two case studies to help you decide whether to buy backlinks. Each one has a very difficult result, demonstrating how this approach can backfire if you’re not careful.
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Case Study: The Benefits of Buying Backlinks
A marketing firm ran an experiment to see how links impact ratings. First, they took a poorly performing review of an SEO tool and placed it on their site without changing any content. The domain change brought the page from a rank of 95.4 to 25.1.
Next, they partnered with a backlink provider, who provided them with a free backlink. The page moved from 25.1 to 15.5 in just one month. Several months later, it had risen to a 6.6 ranking.
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Case Study: The Risks of Buying Backlinks
A home services company purchased 87 backlinks from a service provider and used duplicate content in guest posts across several domains. Google manually penalized them in March 2024, when they had about 21 organic hits.
Despite the penalty, their organic traffic rose during April and May, reaching an all-time high of 28 average hits in May. In June 2024, Google released a spam update, sending the site’s traffic plummeting down to only 14 hits per day.
The site’s hits continued to drop to an all-time low of about ten hits per day until August 2024, when they began to recover.
Conclusion: Should You Buy Backlinks?
Receiving quality backlinks is the goal of SEO, as this helps boost rankings and drive visibility. As such, it can be tempting to buy backlinks because they are convenient and provide faster results than a long-term, labor-intensive outreach strategy.
However, purchased backlinks can also have significant downsides, including manual penalties from Google and a reputational hit. If you decide to buy backlinks, you must thoroughly vet the seller by checking out their metrics and reviewing their site to see if they mostly host spammy content. Look at their referring domains and DA before agreeing to anything.
A more sustainable strategy is to network, create authoritative content, and promote your business through above-board means like social media. Building partnerships with others in your industry can help you grow while gaining access to vital resources like referrals.
Our link-building services are tailored toward growth-minded businesses seeking a sustainable SEO method. We offer a comprehensive strategy that considers content and technical SEO to build your online reputation and increase your rankings. To learn more about how our services work, contact Stellar SEO today for a consultation.
