Buying backlinks: Why it does more harm than good

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Backlinks have long been considered one of the pillars of a successful website ranking strategy.
Backlinks are external links that point from other websites to your site and serve as a kind of “vote of trust” for search engines like Google.

A robust profile of high-quality backlinks can greatly help increase your website's visibility in search results, which in turn increases organic traffic. Because of this high value placed on backlinks, some website owners have attempted to speed up the process by purchasing links rather than acquiring them organically.

Here we show the risks and consequences associated with buying backlinks.
We will also explain the meaning of the organic link building discuss and present effective, search engine compliant strategies for building a healthy backlink profile.

Violation of search engine guidelines

However, the practice of buying backlinks is not without risk and can do more harm than good in the long term.
In addition, purchasing links is prohibited according to Google guidelines:

Buying and selling backlinks is prohibited according to Google spam guidelines.

Search engines like Google have developed algorithms to detect and penalize unnatural link patterns.
These penalties can range from a simple downgrade of the links in question to drastic measures such as completely excluding a website from search results.

Buying backlinks is in direct contradiction to the webmaster guidelines from Google and can not only undermine SEO efforts, but also cause lasting damage to your website's credibility and ranking.

Mostly poor quality and relevance

Quality over quantity – this principle also applies to backlinks.

When buying backlinks there is a risk Low quality links to obtain.

These backlinks can do more harm than good because search engines not only count but also evaluate the quality and relevance of incoming linksLinks from unrelated or dubious websites can be interpreted as spam, which can have a negative impact on the ranking.

Caution: Straight Cheap links from Fiverr should be mentioned here - because there are many link sellers there who use spam practices.

Risk of algorithm updates

Search engines lead regularly updates their algorithmsto improve the quality of your search results.

Websites that have relied on buying backlinks are particularly vulnerable to negative impacts from such updates. As a result, a single algorithm update can cause a previously well-ranked website to drop dramatically in search results.

Backlinks on the Internet (symbolic image)

Search engines like Google have developed systems over the years to evaluate the quality of the backlinks pointing to a website. These algorithms are designed to distinguish purchased from organically created backlinks in order to identify and sanction attempts to manipulate the ranking system.

Unnatural link patterns

Search engines analyze a website's link profile to detect unnatural patterns. A sudden increase in backlinks, especially from low-quality or irrelevant sites, can be an indication to buy backlinks. Such patterns appear unnatural and quickly arouse the suspicion of search engines.

Low relevance and quality of the linking pages

Backlinks from pages that do not fit the target website thematically or that themselves have a bad reputation can be seen as a sign of purchased links. Search engines evaluate the quality and relevance of the linking pages to determine the value of a backlink.

Over-optimized anchor texts

If an unnaturally high number of inbound links use exact-match, keyword-rich anchor text, this can be viewed as an attempt at manipulation. Naturally formed link profiles usually have a variety of anchor text, including generic terms such as "here" or "website."

Quick link rejection

Websites that base their link building strategy on buying backlinks often experience a rapid increase and subsequent decrease in links when these purchased links are devalued by the search engines or the linking sites are penalized. This phenomenon of "link disavowal" is another sign of manipulative practices.

Direct labeling by competitors/whistleblowers

In some cases will Purchased backlinks reported directly to search engines, either from competitors or from people who want to take action against such practices. Search engines like Google offer forms that you can use to report unnatural links.

Step 1: Visit the Page for reporting spammy, misleading or low-quality websites

Step 2: Select that the page contains paid links.

Step 3: Enter the offending source and destination URLs.


Instead of buying links, you should aim to drive organic traffic natural link building to get. We have also written comprehensive instructions for this:

Here are proven, sustainable strategies that comply with search engine guidelines and can strengthen your website in the long run:

  • Create high quality content
  • Write guest posts
  • Build relationships with other website owners
  • Write content on social media

Not only can this increase the number of backlinks, but it also improves the overall quality and relevance of the links pointing to your website. Unlike buying backlinks, which is quick and risky, these methods require time and commitment but provide long-term benefits to your SEO efforts.


Buying backlinks may seem tempting, but the stories of those who have used sustainable, ethical SEO strategies speak for themselves:True success lies in authenticity, quality and patience.

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