Should I Buy Backlinks?

In Search Engine Optimization, SEO professionals stress the need to grow your website’s backlinks. Backlinks are inbound links that direct people back to your website; it works like a voting system, therefore, Google values backlinks to measure a website’s relevance and popularity. When website owners become aware of the importance of a steady growth in backlinks, they begin to research and try to find ways how to effectively go about doing so. Once they do their research, they might discover that it entails tedious work and eventually they will come across sites that offer backlinks for sale.  There are many services out there that could provide you with backlinks if you are willing to pay for it; however it’s not a practice that is recommended for sound site growth in the long run. Before deciding on whether or not buying links is a good idea there are a few things you should consider.

For websites that want to grow fast, buying backlinks could seem like the easiest and fastest way to go however it’s not cheap and it could end up harming your site instead of improving it. It is a slight misconception that the more backlinks you have, the higher your page rank will be as well as your site’s relevance on the web and in search results.  While there is much truth to that, not all backlinks have equal value. Sites that sell backlinks usually allow you to buy and sell backlinks which means they are in the business of making money, not necessarily having your website’s best interests at heart. Beware of these sites especially if the price seems too good to be true. The backlinks they might be selling you could come from web pages that have a low page rank. These kinds of backlinks could actually backfire and negatively affect your own website’s page rank.

Because Google eventually finds the artificial backlinks, many SEO experts do not recommend buying and selling links to avoid a website getting flagged or penalized. Google prefers natural links and will give more credibility to your site allowing it to rank higher in the search engines.  If you do decide to buy backlinks, choose purchasing permanent backlinks instead of paying a monthly fee for a website to keep your link active. Also, try to make sure that the site (webpage) that includes one of your backlinks is at least a Google PageRank of 4, preferably higher.

To build backlinks in a more consistent and natural way, consider writing content, article syndication, commenting on blog posts, and signing up in online directories. Before you begin your quest for backlinks, realize that it’s a tedious effort but being organized and consistent will pay off. Organize a link building plan by listing methods you want to use and what your goals are. Then work your plan … religiously.  You can click here for more information on how to build backlinks and how to properly track them.