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💡 If you're a website owner and have started looking into backlink-building, you've likely came across a person or service that can help you build links, and for a cost, of course. But should you buy backlinks? And will they help grow your traffic and rankings? These are pressing questions and ones we answer below – let us dive on in!
🎁 Read until the end of this article if you'd like a free coupon to test out buying backlinks!
What Is Backlink Buying? 🤔
It is the practice of buying links.
How is this done exactly, you ask?
Very simply - by paying a person to place a link on their website that leads to yours.
What is the benefit of this, you wonder? Well, the more quality links you have the easier it should be to increase traffic and rankings in search engines. But is link-buying good practice? Join us below to find out!
Should You Buy Backlinks? 🤷
This answer is not so black and white.
Some say no while many others say yes!
This said, those who refuse to buy links will miss out on quality ones from relevant and powerful sites.
In competitive industries, like solar and insurance, paid links are often the only way to acquire links from quality websites that can bring in traffic and qualified leads.
In billion-dollar markets like casino and finance, you can bet link-buying occurs among top-ranking sites. But is buying backlinks a good idea? For many it is but it should be done carefully, and in a non-spammy way that gives value to readers.
Google's View on Link-Buying 🔎
Avoiding a penalty for unnatural links should be your main goal as if you get one, you will likely lose the links and traffic streams you worked hard to build.
As such, you need to know how Google views paid links as you want to stay in their good graces. So let us be clear, Google does not like link-buying as they want sites to gain them naturally, not artificially!
They warn of this in their Link Spam policy that forbids the transfer of funds for a link from another site.
However - most do not heed this warning and buy links anyway - and from small to large companies, to agencies and SEOs, people from all walks and industries buy links in aim to one-up competitors in SERPs.
Why SEO Pros Buy Backlinks ❗
Five to ten years ago was an easy time to build links.
From Web 2.0's to the SkyScraper Technique; a tactic where you publish a unique and enhanced version of a competitor article in hopes of convincing publishers linking to it to link to yours instead - there were many free and easy ways to build links reliably.
But times have changed, as have the smarts of revenue-sighted website owners who now know just how valuable and desirable a link is to those who reach them for one. You will have learned this, firsthand, if you reached a site owner in recent times as now, most will not offer a link unless they are compensated.
How Much Do Backlinks Cost? 💸
How much are backlinks, you ask?
The answer to this is not universal!
If you look up the average backlink cost you will find a wide range of prices.
A link on one site may be $20-$100 while on another site it may be over $1k.
The price you pay has all to do with the niche and the quality of the website.
This said, you will likely pay $300-$1.5k for a link on an authority site in a competitive niche - this may be costly - but with links from authority sites often yielding a jump in rankings soon after they are placed - it is a justified and worthwhile expense for most, and most so for those in competitive yet lucrative niches!
Why Do People Charge For Backlinks? 🤑
As said above, website owners know how valuable links are to those who want them.
As such, most take lucrative advantage of this opportunity by charging to place a link.
But let us not forget, it does take some time out of the day of the site owner to post it.
And due to this, most who own a site feel it is only fair they are paid for their time in doing so.
Bloggers are one example of site owners who are very well known to charge for link placements.
In fact, it is not rare to hear of a blog earning five figures monthly from Sponsored (paid) content.
Ads and affiliate links aside, sponsored content is one of the main ways blogs are monetized today!
Successful Bloggers Who Sell Backlinks 👇
Selling links is a BIG business.
And one that is only growing!
Let us have a look at a few sample blogs that achieved great success and revenue from sponsored posts:
👉 Itstopscoffeeshop.com, this coffee shop blog sells homepage placements (for a monthly fee) and inner-blog posts for $200! It leverages the high metrics of their own site to price backlinks at a high price.
👉 urbaninformatics.net, a website that has been repurposed to sell backlinks, with over $10k in revenue earned from them alone in July of 2024.
👉 kmh-photography.com, this photography blog earns an impressive amount of monthly revenue from paid content with nearly $1k earned from them in June of 2024 alone.
These are just a few of the countless sites and blogs that largely rely on sponsored content for income.
And with the above earning figures in mind, it is very easy to see why many are compelled to sell them!
But let us not forget the upside potential for link buyers! Each one you secure for your site can help you increase trust and credibility with the Google search engine, which in turn, may reward you higher SERP positions for your desired keyword. This is not all, as strong backlinks will likely raise your page rank too!
What is page rank, you ask?
It is simply an algorithm used by Google to determine the relevance and authority of a post or website.
How does it do this, you wonder?
By not only assessing the number of links that point to the site or web page but the quality of them too.
This algorithmic scale gives a site a Page Rank from zero to ten, with a PR 10 being the best you can get!
Keep this and the risks in mind when deciding if you should buy links as it is not a strategy for everyone.
Risks of Buying Backlinks 🚨
There are many benefits of buying backlinks but there are inherent risks that come with it as you may:
👉 Waste money: novices who buy backlinks for the very first time may unwisely purchase ones from low-quality websites; avoid these as Google doesn't provide any benefit for low-metric backlinks.
👉 Receive a manual-action penalty: if a person from the web spam team manually reviews your site and finds it is not policy-compliant, your traffic and links will likely drop and be removed! Your site and its posts may even be de-indexed from search results if the violation at hand is serious enough.
How to Buy Backlinks? The Do's and DON’Ts of Buying Links in 2024 and Beyond 📙
There are many ways to buy and obtain backlinks.
And as you likely guessed - not all ways are equal!
Join us as we cover safe and risky ways to go about it.
Risky – Forum and Freelance Marketplaces ☣️
New link buyers often buy links from services they find on forums or freelancer marketplaces like Fiverr.
And before we say it, do not get us wrong, such places likely host a range of link-building services worth trying but most times, they are often ones that offer a large number of low-value links for a cheap price.
In other words, if a five-dollar service sells many links from a weak forum or Edu / Gov blog. It is best to avoid it!
Higher-risk link-building services often bundle in tons of backlinks for a low price.
And despite being anything but, some sellers even brand them as white-hat links!
So make sure you know what you are buying to avoid penalties and wasted time.
Keep in mind, high-quality backlinks often take lots of time and money to obtain.
So if a cheap link seller has claims that sound too good to be true, trust your instinct!
White hat link-building and search engine optimization is a timely process that involves:
1. Creating a strategy for obtaining links.
2. Writing an effective and personalized outreach letter.
3. Messaging sites in your niche or industry with a guest-post inquiry.
4. Discussing and negotiating the cost and requirements with the site owner.
5. Gathering content guidelines from the site owner so you can create content.
These are the steps often taken by people to obtain links from sites that have strong traffic and metrics.
As such, if a service sells many links for just a few bucks, you can bet shortcuts are being taken, and that the links to be built will not compare to ones from a high-authority site that charges ten times the price.
Be Wary of Private Blog Networks (PBNs) 🤔
In places like Fiverr and SEOClerks, there is no shortage of sellers who provide private blog network links.
But what are PBN links? Are PBN links safe? And should PBN links be used if the aim is to grow traffic?
To start, a Private Blog Network is a group of sites often under the control of one person - the link seller!
Black-hat in all its glory, PBNs often include websites that are built on expired domains with history and strong link profiles. And most times, these sites are hosted on unique IPs and built on different CMSs to prevent the network from being exposed or detected.
PBN link services are far from a short supply.
There is an endless supply of people who offer them.
After all, it is a lucrative, minimal-effort way for sellers to build links.
Given the fact sellers do not need to perform outreach to obtain them.
All they need to do is publish your link on their blogs and their job is done!
You can now see why it is enticing as it is for services to sell this type of link.
But when it comes to Google and their stance on buying PBN links it is a practice they highly frown upon.
Sure, such links may raise your domain stats and SERP positions but if the network ever gets detected or penalized by the all-mighty G, your website, as well as its traffic, rankings, and link profile, will take a hit!
Poor-Quality Links 👎
Sellers are not only notorious for selling PBN links but low-quality ones that are often placed in AI-made content or in forum links, blog comments, or directory sites. These links you want to avoid as they carry none to very little value and will likely have no impact on SERP rankings, especially in competitive niches.
Niche-Edit Links 💎
Niche edit links are one of the most popular link types today.
But to build them, you need to first get a hold of a website owner who sells them.
Once you do, give them the page you want them to link to and await a reply and price. If the cost makes sense, you then pay for the link and then wait for the seller to place it.
These links can be powerful, and they are a solid way to build backlinks as you can:
👉 Hand-pick the sites you want links from.
👉 Build links to your pages that have few organic links.
👉 Specify to the link seller the anchor text you want used.
👉 Swiftly secure link placements as sellers are motivated to earn your business.
Many people opine niche edit links to be the best backlinks to build in 2024.
And for good reason, too, as it is not easy for Google to detect this link type.
If the seller does things properly, niche edit links will look just like organic ones.
This has made buying niche edit links a highly common practice in recent years.
But as with most things in life, the benefits are accompanied by some risks too.
Risks and Downsides of Niche Edit Backlinks ️️⛰️
You need to be mindful of the types of links you buy.
Set high standards and look for sites worth having a link from.
Remember, if you buy a link from a seller, you are likely one of many.
This can be a problem as while link-buying often goes unnoticed by Google, their search engines may be able to learn you bought links if the site you got them from is a link farm that over-sells link placements.
As such, if you buy niche edits from a link farm that sells links to seemingly every site under the sun, the authority and rankings you garnered will surely plummet if the scheme is ever detected by Google, such sites you never want to associate your site with!
For this reason, most who buy these links often use tools, like Moz, Semrush, or AHREFS to analyze a site and its data before even trying to reach the owner for a link. This is something all link buyers should do!
Low-Quality and High-Quality Niche Edit Links – Compared and Reviewed 🕵️
We spoke on how to tell which sites are low or high quality though there are other things to review too.
Here are other traits and aspects of a site to look for when searching prospective sites to buy links from:
Domain Metrics, this alone will not conclusively tell you if a site is of quality as this metric can be easily manipulated. Plus, most PBN sites are built on expired domains with pre-established domain authority. Regardless, utilizing tools like MOZ or AHREFS is a wise idea as they can let you make informed link buys.
Steady Organic Traffic, you ideally want to get links from sites that have a healthy and consistent stream of traffic from Google as doing so will likely lead to more traffic to your site. However, if you check a site via Semrush and see huge traffic drops or many spammy keywords being targeted - it is best to move on.
Transparent Ownership, who owns the site you want a link from can be as essential as the quality of the site itself. If the site has one, peruse the About Us page to see who you would be dealing with. You can also check the domain via WhoIs to see who owns it – unless the owner has private registration enabled.
Traffic and Quality of Content, these are arguably the most accurate indicators of a quality site that puts readers before revenue. If you find a site that has a great design - and one with original content and few sponsored posts - you will have found a gold-in-the-rough site whose owner you can confidently contact.
Paid Guest Posts 💳
These links come from articles you pay to have published on a given site.
And like niche edits - paid guests posts bring similar benefits to the table.
Given the fact you can pick your anchor and the site you get the link from.
Overall, paid guest posts can be very effective if you properly vet websites.
Paid Niche Edits and Guest Posts 💰
To obtain links these ways you will need to provide original content to the owner.
Whether you hire a writer or do it yourself will depend on budget and experience.
In some but rare cases, a site may not even charge you if the content is top-notch.
Paying an agency to build you links may be a rewarding or devastating experience.
We say this at not all build links the same way, nor do all obtain quality links for clients.
This said, we see no wrong in hiring an agency for links as you may for content or web design.
But when it comes to the health of your traffic, link profile, and trust with Google, the agency you hire should be vetted with a proven track record of results as if you go with a fly-by-night agency that uses your funds to build PBN links in the name of profit - you might be in for a long ride of disavowing links!
On the flip side, if you hire a team that builds links via organic PR and outreach, you are in good hands.
How can you tell if an SEO agency is good? ✅
It goes without saying; you want to hire a vetted agency to lessen the risk of penalty as much as you can.
Of course, this is easier said than done, but there are steps you can take to make a wiser pick - including:
👉 Asking the agency how they build links.
👉 Reviewing their past results and case studies.
👉 Checking to see if their site itself has quality links.
👉 Perusing their customer reviews and testimonials.
If the agency checks all of the above boxes they are likely a good one to go with.
On the contrary, agencies that make any of the below claims should be avoided:
👉 “Quality Links At Ultra Low Prices” - this is a red flag as links from quality sites do not come cheaply!
👉 “Guaranteed First-Page Rankings” – no agency, not a single one, can assure this, avoid ones that do!
👉 “Fast Backlinks In A Day or Under” – quality links take time to build; rarely are fast ones a good sign!
Sponsored Content ✨
This is a safe way to buy and get links, and doing so is as easy as paying to have a sponsored blog post published on another website. If you ever read an article with the tag Sponsored Post atop it, it was a post a person like yourself paid for.
What makes guest posts unique is they make it clear to readers and search engines it was paid for by giving the outbound link (your site) a rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" tag, which tells Google not to trickle any page rank or authority from the site you bought a post on to the website you have it link to.
As you likely guessed, this caveat of sponsored content makes this link type less powerful than others.
This said - let us now review each of these link tags in case you are unfamiliar with the way they work.
👉 Rel="sponsored", this tells Google the link was paid for and that it should not be crawled as a result.
👉 Rel="nofollow", this tells G not to crawl the link; you can use this instead of the above tag if you like.
While sponsored posts do not give page rank or authority to your site they can still attract tons of traffic.
This new traffic flow may bring more sales and revenue for your site and possibly more organic links too!
Prioritize the Quality, History, and Traffic Levels of Sites You Want Links From 📈
The final choice in buying or not buying a link from a site should come down to the quality of its content and number of outbound links. If a site is flooded with posts that link to adult sites and online casinos or pharmacies, move on as if you get a post in a link farm that gets caught by Google, you will be penalized!
In contrast, if you buy links on sites that perform well in Google, and ones that adhere to quality content guidelines and strict submission policies, it is very, very unlikely you will endure an issue or penalty at all.
If a site has clear ownership details with original content that is engaged by a consistent flow of organic visitors, you have a good prospect at hand! And may consider buying a link from the site if you so wish!
🎁 You've made it this far! As a thank you for reading, Niche Ranker would like to offer you a free backlink! Please open the live chat in the bottom right of your screen and ask to claim your free backlink!
Final Thoughts on Buying Links 🧠
As we said above, buying backlinks can be a rewarding investment that increases your ranks and traffic.
However, if you build links on shady sites or link farms, buying them can do much more harm than good!
So at the end of the day, be sure to do a full review and due diligence on a site before buying a link on it.
Lack the time or budget? Then use a white-hat, link-building strategy or SEO agency to get the job done, just be sure the SEO company you go with has a proven track record of securing results and quality links!
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