Be careful when buying links - Google can choose to ignore them no matter the source

Cristian Level X³

June 11, 2017, 5:16 pm

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Be careful when buying links - Google can choose to ignore them no matter the source

For a long time now we know for sure Google has ways of detecting fake link building, especially the paid link building when you will pay a blog or some online publication to write about you in an "ads" type article and link to your site with a dofollow link on a very keyword specific backlink.

While we knew this kind of deal can be easily detected if done on shady / low authority websites, apparently Google can choose to ignore ANY link coming from ANY source, including HIGH authority sources like Forbes or Bloomberg.

Here is Google response on the mention that certain sellers can offer backlinks to Forbes, Inc or Entrepreneur:

Of course, I seriously doubt how effective Google can be in determining if a link was bought or not. I still think if you manage to buy the "advertorial" behind closed doors and you have a good enough copywriter to write the article you can pull it off on any websites, transferring the link authority in the process.

The only SEOs that get caught doing this are the ones that don't want to spend enough for a good copywriter and are hiring dubious sellers with ridiculously low prices offering "miracles" on a stick, but the only thing they'll get are some worthless from some worthless sources that Google won't take into consideration and just raise your spam score.

What do you thin? Is Google smart enough to figure out that a well-written article was just "bought" and all the link it includes are worthless?

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overcast

overcast

I think with search engine promotion, they are going to ignore a lot of links. So those who offer social media links, are in trouble. As their links have not much value in terms of SEO. Like this google must have made list of good sites and bad sites and ignore links based on that. It's hard to say. I guess reputation of domains matter now.

8 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

I honestly have no idea as to how effective Google actually is when it comes to detecting the fake links but for sure, I, personally, wouldn't risk it.

However, I also know quite some SEO's that do buy these fake links and haven't gotten any bad results due to it. It's really up to you and how much you are willing to risk - just be careful about the quantity and quality. And also be careful about the scammers, there's plenty out there.

8 years ago

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lisa7878

lisa7878

If its not about links these days then what actually SEO's can do to improve their websites and outrank their biggest competitors?

8 years ago

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Cristian

Cristian

Well, it is still about the links. Only in Google's perspective, you aren't allowed to pay for those links, even if you buy promotion posts which are legal essentially.
I don't believe Google can figure out a well-placed link if the content is good enough. This statement is just Google bluffing in the hope fewer people will abuse this system that still works.

8 years ago

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anwebservices

anwebservices

Google tricky and ever changing rules and algorithms are able to reveal if it's organic or bought backlink, so buying backlinks should be done very careful task. We know that even adding free backlinks can have negative effect.
It's becoming so much complicated to choose right blog / website to place your link that i believe most of bloggers would need to hire freelancer for just choosing right place for it...

8 years ago

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VickyBurg

VickyBurg

Well this is good information to know. It's a mistake thats all to easy to make and without you pointing it out I might have made this mistake myself. Thanks!
Guess the only real way to rank high these days are by staying up to date with the newest SEO trends and doing a lot of research to work as strategic as you can to get the best results.

8 years ago

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keen2write

keen2write

At one point I kept buying links but these day's I do tend to try stay clear and build them my self by using forums and blog comment even dropmylink helps me to find all the juice I need.

Great information as always mate you do offer great advice and posts. I do try work hard daily few hours on just finding and building my links and also In my opinion not sure if you agree but I try also to work hard on social signals as well as this does seem to help my websites it really does. I seem to generate more traffic using social signals.

8 years ago

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jpyy

jpyy

One question which boggles my mind is, "What is the difference between guest posting and buying links?". Note, they seem, in a certain way, to be the same thing. Does Google always ignore links in guest posting, even if they might be able to detect they were paid for?

8 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

This buying of backlinks is getting a big issue with me because I still cannot comprehend the reason why website owners buy backlinks. Is it because they have no time to do it by themselves or they don’t know how to do it? For me, it is better to hire a virtual assistant to spread your backlinks because you can choose the site and you can specify how to build the backlinks of your site in the right way.

6 years ago

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