There is a great controversy over purchasing backlinks. Google, for one, really
frowns on this practice because it makes their ranking system hard to administer
fairly. Google did put the word out that they would be “punishing” people who have
bought backlinks but the fact is it will be very difficult to tell in the long run which
links are natural and which are sold.
There may be a few ways for them to tell based on the domain of the person
backlinking to you, but then again, that’s about the same as avoiding link farms.
So, it doesn’t exactly isolate the fact that one link is paid and another is natural.
However, there is more and more controversy over this practice as Google tries to
get a handle on improving their algorithm yet again.
Google, though, is not the only search engine and many people are not trying to
optimize their site for search engines as much as make money from their sites. Yes,
quality backlinks can translate into money, a higher PageRank, and more visitors
but bought backlinks can also generate traffic. If your purpose is to bring traffic,
many of the sites that fell in rank after Google shifted its algorithm didn’t report a
loss in traffic. So, it’s debatable whether it really hurts you to buy links or not.
It also appears that buying links to be listed in directories does not seem to be
weighted as poorly as buying links from major sites selling them. You do want to be
listed in the major directories under your relevant category and that’s something
many search engine optimization companies will do for you, if you pay them. This
also provides relevant backlinks to your site.
PROS
Numerous backlinks added quickly,
Less time-consuming for webmaster,
Can build PageRank very efficiently,
Brings in traffic to your site.
CONS
Can cause you to be banned and de-indexed by Google,
Might dilute the quality of your neighborhood,
Costs money,
No guarantees you get the results you want.
Obviously, when you choose to go the link buying route, you will need to gauge the
reputation of the company selling links. If they are someone that Google has
blacklisted, it could mean that you also would be blacklisted if your links were found
to originate from them.
CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE YOU BUY
It’s really a personal decision whether you choose to buy links or not. Despite
Google’s obvious distaste for this practice, many webmasters do use paid links as
part of their marketing strategy. However, there are some things to consider before
you buy.
Timeframe
Usually, you can buy links based on the number of links and/or a
timeframe. You may have to decide on being in a six-month program if
your site is relatively new and has little exposure. Otherwise, you probably won’t see any lasting effect from a one-shot deal.
Budget
How much are the links and do you have the money to spend on them?
Include the timeframe in your budget estimations.
Featured Areas
As mentioned earlier, you want to get a backlink in a very visible area of
the page that is referring you. Putting it near the top, highlighting it in
some way, or paying to be a featured link can do this.
Relevant Links
The content of your referrer should have some relevance to your own
website. Don’t buy links just to link farms because that’s just going to get
you penalized.
Neighborhood
Are you paying to get into a great neighborhood or a slum? The PageRank
of your referrers will tell the story there.
Ratio of Natural to Paid Links
If you have only sponsored or bought links, it will quickly become
apparent that you are paying for promotion. One way to keep this from
being obvious is to have some percentage of your links as natural free
links so the paid links get lost in the crowd.
Choosing Anchor Text
See if you have the option to customize the anchor text. This can greatly
benefit the value of the backlink. Be sure to vary the anchor text but keep
it closely matching the content of the page you want backlinks to.
One-way
The links you buy should be one-way links to make them appear more
natural and count more.
Edu sites
There is some indication that the credibility rating might have something
to do with the extension, particularly .edu sites. If you can buy a backlink
from an .edu site, it could increase your PageRank significantly.