Should You Buy Backlinks to Boost Your SEO
Backlinks are an integral part of search engine optimization (SEO) because Google considers these when deciding the SERP rankings. Ideally, you would earn links by producing high-quality and valuable content that other websites want to quote and link back to. However, this can be a challenging and slow process, so some people turn to buying links. Whether this is a good practice or it’s something that will hurt them eventually, come find out in this article.
One thing you should remember is that your SEO strategies are only as effective as your internet connection. If it’s slow, starts acting up out of nowhere, and keeps you on your toes, your SEO strategies can take a hit. Consider signing yourself up with Cox Internet plans because of its super-fast speed and maximum reliability. Well, coming back to the topic, here is what you need to know about backlinks.
Why do people buy links?
Backlinks are a measure of quality, authority, and trust by the search engine, Google. Essentially, the more people link to your website, the better it is for your website’s visibility. This used to be true in the early days, but then people started making up spam websites and bulk-buying links, which led to an increase in low-quality content getting better visibility.
Moreover, a backlink is a great way for Google’s crawlers to find your content and show it to other users. The important thing to note is that not all backlinks carry equal weight. For example, a backlink from a high-authority website like Forbes will significantly boost your visibility while a backlink from a low-authority website won’t do you a lot of good.
How much do links cost?
Keep in mind that buying backlinks is a grey or black-hat SEO practice, which is frowned upon by Google. Google refers to this as link scheming in its Webmaster Guidelines and recommends against it. In addition, if it catches your bought links, your website will incur severe penalties and loss in traffic. However, people still want links to speed up the process of ranking their websites. This demand has created a huge online market for backlinks and you can find such deals on any platform.
Naturally, there is a lot of junk in the market because this isn’t a regulated area. Some people even create their private blogging networks with unique domain names but with the same plagiarized content. Then they sell these links for $5-$10 per website.
That’s not to say that websites with higher traffic don’t engage in this practice. A lot of good websites accept guest blogs, niche edits, PR articles, and more from potential advertisers in exchange for money. The price generally varies from $10 to as high as a few thousand dollars. Since this is a forbidden practice and there are no set rules, there is room for negotiation until both parties strike a deal.
Why are backlinks so expensive?
Keep in mind that SEO has become easier with the advent of various tools and AI applications. Anyone having an internet connection and a bit of money can do basic to intermediate SEO. It all comes down to backlinks that can make a significant impact on your SERP ranking and increase your domain authority.
Unfortunately, the link prices are highly subjective with every webmaster asking whatever they feel like because some people are still willing to pay that much. If you plan to buy links for your website, consider doing your due diligence and negotiating as much as you can, as these prices are not set in stone.
How to build backlinks safely?
Google has become smarter than ever and they keep making the criteria stricter with each update. For the most part, you shouldn’t buy links without personally vetting each one of them. Bulk sellers on online platforms like Fiverr and Upwork are unlikely to provide quality links.
Obtaining backlinks naturally is a difficult process especially if you’re working in a competitive niche. However, you can try creating high-quality and valuable content that engages users. The main problem with most of the website content you find online is a regurgitation of sorts where the author isn’t adding any value to the content.
Try doing a bit more research instead of recycling the same content that has been reproduced a hundred times before. Second, you can reach out to webmasters and request links without offering any money in exchange. It’s normally a hard sell, but you can earn links if you play your cards right.
Conclusion
To recap, Google doesn’t endorse link buying and your safest bet is to err on the side of caution. However, if you’re dead set on buying links, make sure that everything is up to the mark including the design, content, traffic stats, and historical trends. Moreover, if you’ve bought links in the past, you can conduct a backlink audit on your site and figure out which links might be hurting your visibility.
