A lot of clients ask me if Ii think that they should buy links to increase their ranking in their search engine. The question is not always that easy to answer. Buying links is against Google guidelines and your website might get penalized for doing it. It can however be very effective if done correctly.
On this web page we are going to talk about whether or not it is worth the risk of buying links. Please know that I do not recommend that you buy links. I do not know enough about your website to be able to tell you that it is worth the risk and you should never buy links unless you are 100% certain that it is worth the risk.
99% of all websites do not need to buy links to rank well and if you do not need to buy links then it is best to avoid it. There are however a few niches where everybody is buying links and you might be forced to do the same if you want to be able to compete in these niches.
Why you should not buy links
Lets start by diving a little deeper into the risk of buying links and why you should not do it. Google Webmaster Guidelines states that you should not buy links or be involved in other activities designed to manipulate your ranking in the search engine. This means that your site might get penalized or de-indexed if you buy links. 100 000:s of sites are penalized for this each year.
The risk of getting a penalty is very real and it can be very hard to get back to the top even after a penalty has been lifted. Many webmasters chose to start a new site on a new domain rather than try to rescue a site that has received a penalty.
A penalty can affect one, several or all search terms. All types of penalties can be devastating because you are unlikely to get penalized for an unimportant term. It is almost always your main keyword. The one you have worked the hardest for that get penalized. This can cause you to lose a large part of your income from the website.
It is never a good idea to risk buying links on a website that your are depending on. You need to be able to survive even if the site get penalized.
How big is the risk of a penalty
This is an impossible question to answer. The risk is very real and it happens to 100 000:s of websites every year. How likely it is to happen to your website if you buy links depends on countless different factors such as.
- Where did you buy the link.
- Where is it placed (In text, footet, sidebar etc).
- How many links did you buy.
- How many links did you have before you bought the links.
- From which websites did you buy links.
- How good is your content.
- Countless other factors.
The more trusted your website and the site you bought the link from are the smaller is the risk of a penalty. Being able to buy links in a safe way is an art and I do not recommend that anyone try it. If you despite all this want to throw the dice and buy links then I recommend that you hire a professional that can help you buy links in a “safe” way.
Never buy link packages or PBN links
Never buy links that are advertised as from PBN networks or from link packages. These links are always low quality and will almost certainly hurt your site. I also recommend that you stay away from cheap links in general since you get what you pay for and cheap links are usually low quality. A high quality link cost several hundred dollars and up. Why would someone sell one to you for 10 bucks? Do not get tempted. Buying cheap links is very expensive in the long run.