Big Reputable SEO companies outright condemn buying of links, most don’t talk about it or admit to doing it and with good reason – Google’s stance makes it clear that buying links is a clear violation of Google’s TOS. If you choose to buy links or not is ultimately your decision. However, you should be aware that paid links draw a high level of attention. Nevertheless, we still buy links for a number of reasons.
• Buying links work when done properly and you won’t have to worry about the risk of a penalty. This is due to the reason that it’s impossible to distinguish between a plaid placement and one that’s not.
• Coverage is being bought by PR companies for decades: you might assume that (fully funded) start-up FastCo coverage as a result of their amazing app but in reality, the wheels were greased.
Paid links are considered by many people as the fastest and easiest way to have your website quickly ranked in SEPRS. Nonetheless, this is only if you have enough funds to spend on your SEO campaign.
What exactly are paid links?
According to Google, a paid link is exchanging money for links or posts that contain links; exchanging goods or services for links; or sending someone a ‘free’ product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link. This also means, even sponsored guest posts and paid reviews are regarded as paid links. “Safer” paid link building strategies are also at risk of being considered part of a link scheme and violate Google’s terms and conditions.
The Reasons Professionals Still Buy Links.
Buying and selling links were considered good business in the early 2000s, and were in fact, a trend. This led to the rise of service companies that allowed you to buy or “rent” links or directories that let you pay for reviews. Google then launched Penguinupdate which penalizes websters that build backlinks by buying backlinks. The weed was later launched by Google which enables users to report paid links. This compelled link buyers and sellers to make better schemes, changing their tactics.
Buying links has become very risky over the last decade due to Google’s ability to find and destroy the SEO value of paid links which has become uncannily accurate. However, this isn’t 100 percent accurate. There are still some companies who resort to buying links, reasons being that, it’s easier, it’s all they know and perhaps, it’s standard practice in their industry.
Ways to buy and not buy links
The practice of buying good links takes time and patience. You want to start with the exact content you would use to launch an organic link building campaign (relevant content to your niche, good quality, and appealing to the audience you want).
Before you consider buying links, you must have a well-rounded link profile. This means, cultivating high-quality organic backlinks first. Once these assets are in place:
• Thoroughly go through a website before buying a link. Investigate the donating for anything that might seem off like the domain history, PageRank and too many Spammy outbound links
• Never let your link profile scar past ten to twenty-five percent paid links. But your links slowly and intentionally. You can begin with up to five and then gradually increase over the next few months.
Many people end up buying terrible links because they buy links Google has been working diligently to stamp out over the past few decades. These consist of link farms and price blog networks (PBNs). Should your paid links be yielding an enormous magnitude of low-quality links, be careful as you are at serious risk of getting penalized.
Here are a few recommendations
Avoid buying sitewide links: Links in the sidebar, footer, or navigation are examples of sitewide links that scream “spam” to Google.
Do not pay anyone on Fiverr for a backlink package as it could result in a Google penalty. Also, avoid contracting a link selling services, like Sape for example as it could result in you getting penalized by Google. In summary, deter from link selling services and anyone selling “backlink packages.
Previously penalized websites remodeled into link/article farms, and pages that generally rely on ad-heavy, content-thin pages should all be avoided.
Its always important that you monitor the health of your backlink, whether or not you’re buying links or building them organically. Make use of link tracking software to estimate your links’ influence, and prune links of low quality that might have a negative effect on your side.
If you’ve purchased links, be very diligent. Have your page quality, authority, double-checked thoroughly. Ensure your link anchor hasn’t been changed to non-follow.
Do Paid Links Work?
This question is still hotly contested. Many businesses deem it to be efficient, some do not. However, a survey on the success rate if buying links is surprisingly high. Nonetheless, the threat of a Google penalty is significant and in fact, real. When buying paid links, just ensure you understand the risks involved
