Paying for Backlinks
Exchanging money, goods, or services for a link that passes PageRank, which Google treats as a link scheme when the intent is to manipulate search rankings.
If you have ever bought a cheap backlink package and seen no ranking change, you already know the money does not guarantee SEO value.
Key points
- A paid link must use rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" to avoid being counted as a ranking signal.
- Cheap backlink packages often come from link farms or PBNs that can be deindexed or penalised.
- Earned editorial links from relevant, high-traffic sites provide more sustainable value than any paid placement.
- Google enforces its link spam policies both algorithmically and through manual actions that can remove your site from results.
- Never judge a linking site by DR or DA alone; relevance, traffic, and editorial context matter more.
A £50 backlink package that cost a site its rankings
An ecommerce site selling handmade furniture paid £50 for a package of 20 backlinks from a marketplace. The links appeared on unrelated blogs about car insurance, all with sitewide footer placements. Three weeks later, Google issued a manual action for unnatural links. The site lost rankings for its main keywords and spent six months filing a reconsideration request. The paid links were removed, but the traffic never fully recovered.
Three situations where paying for backlinks changes your decision
- Legitimate sponsorship If you pay for an ad or sponsorship on a credible site and tag it with rel="sponsored", it is not a link scheme and carries no SEO penalty.
- Undisclosed payment Paying for a link that passes PageRank without disclosure is a direct violation of Google’s spam policies and can trigger algorithmic devaluation or a manual action.
- Low-quality sources Buying links from link farms, PBNs, or spammy marketplaces often results in links that disappear, get deindexed, or harm your site’s trust over time.
Three ways it goes wrong
- Manual action Google can issue a manual action for unnatural links, removing your site from search results until you clean up the paid links and file a reconsideration request.
- Algorithmic penalty Google’s algorithms can devalue paid links automatically, reducing your rankings without any manual notice or warning.
- Wasted budget Cheap backlink packages often deliver links from irrelevant or low-traffic sites that provide no real SEO benefit, even if they are not penalised.
Common questions
What is a backlink in SEO?
A backlink is a link from one website to another, used by search engines as a signal of authority and relevance.
How to create backlinks in SEO?
Create backlinks through guest posting, digital PR, blogger outreach, and earning editorial links from strong content.
Are free backlinks safe?
Free backlinks from directories or forums can be safe if they are relevant and not part of a link scheme, but they rarely provide strong SEO value.
Sources
- Google Search Central - Link spam policies Official policy on buying and selling links that pass PageRank.
- Google Search Central - Qualify outbound links How to use rel="sponsored" and rel="nofollow" for paid links.
- Ahrefs Blog - Should You Buy Backlinks? Analysis of risks and alternatives to buying backlinks.
- Search Engine Journal - Buying Backlinks for SEO Overview of why paid links are risky and what to do instead.
- Buy Backlinks for SEO — Is link building still effective? Zayden Crossfield on paid vs earned in 2026.