Is buying links / Selling links a problem?

[Nickysemilo]

Hi Natasha.. You need to understand that there is a distinct difference in what Google wants and what Google does. The 'adsense' ads are simply "nofollow" based on how they are published. Google was watchful of that and does not penalize sites that using similar techniques for advertising. They allow similar ads / links without any question or penalty... this is where people try to manipulate page rank by selling in-content links.

So it's not ads that Google is against, it's "paid links" particularly if such links are for PR rather then traffic.

What about Google ads? they are by definition called "paid links" but they just name it advertising...

[Nickysemilo]

You could read Matt Cutts blog that says Google is capable to even differentiate each and every pages and all links simply through their algo..!

I agree

But anyhow, what about sections labeled such as 'link exchange' or 'your link here' without any really mentioning about paying service? Does that get penalized?

[siteadmin]

Adsense are in javascript and search engines dont follow javascript. Check google's very own blog they have nofollow on all their external links.

[Natasha]

Well, i think you need to some smart work... As far as I know there is actually no problem with buying/selling links and you should take care that you are buying too many links!

you could easily get PR3 or PR4 by interlinking your own websites and buying around 10 or 15 links from PR3 websites

But if you buy 200 or 250 links in one month ,you would certainly get noticed by Google and the site would have chances to get penalized!

[siteadmin]

I wouldn't follow natasha if i want to have best reputation with Google. I know many webmasters livelyhood depends on Google. If you are buying links or selling links do it at your own risk. Google will do everything to protect their algorithm from potential spammers and manipulators.

[Steve]

Great article siteadmin, but I think google isn't raelly against buying links, Google is trying to put fear in people because if you notice they are now offering text links too, so if everyone is afraid to do it, advertisers have to go directly to the BIG G for the text links

Hello Steve,

Google's core algorithm is built around pagerank which totally depends on links to rank a website. I am on google's side on this one if people start manipulating results by paid links how can the smaller sites survive. Even if they have quality information still since search engines depend too much on links the resulting sites will not rank. SO its important Google has a strong stance on links,

Did you read the new google guideline on paid links http://www.google.com/support/webmaste ... 66736 here it states

"

Google and most other search engines use links to determine reputation. A site's ranking in Google search results is partly based on analysis of those sites that link to it. Link-based analysis is an extremely useful way of measuring a site's value, and has greatly improved the quality of web search. Both the quantity and, more importantly, the quality of links count towards this rating.

However, some SEOs and webmasters engage in the practice of buying and selling links that pass PageRank, disregarding the quality of the links, the sources, and the long-term impact it will have on their sites. Buying or selling links that pass PageRank is in violation of Google's webmaster guidelines and can negatively impact a site's ranking in search results.

Not all paid links violate our guidelines. Buying and selling links is a normal part of the economy of the web when done for advertising purposes, and not for manipulation of search results. Links purchased for advertising should be designated as such. This can be done in several ways, such as:

Adding a rel="nofollow" attribute to the <a> tag
Redirecting the links to an intermediate page that is blocked from search engines with a robots.txt file
Google works hard to ensure that it fully discounts links intended to manipulate search engine results, such excessive link exchanges and purchased links that pass PageRank. If you see a site that is buying or selling links that pass PageRank, let us know.We'll use your information to improve our algorithmic detection of such links.

[siteadmin]

Hello Steve,

I wouldn't agree falsely accusing Google. Can you show me some samples where Google is selling text links. Adwords or adsense dont pass link popularity or pagerank. Where else does Google sell links?

[Steve]

Alright.. if Google is against link buying/selling, what would you say about TLA - it is still consistently popular and Google has not yet destroyed TLA Why so?

[siteadmin]

Google cannot target individual link brokers if they do it new ones will come online everyday. Best is to make sure Google fights link spam through their algorithm,

[Natasha]

Guys i came across excellent tips... Do consider before buying or selling links

some tips and things to keep in mind:

* Don’t title paid links with “sponsored” or “paid”. Instead, list the links as “featured” or “related sites”.
* Don’t post or constantly write about selling links or how much you make from them. Instead, leave it fairly open by saying “if you would like a text advertisement on our website, please email advertising(a)website.com”.
* Diversify in other monetization strategies that are not related to PageRank, such as display advertising, adsense, etc. You might find that the ad spot selling links could be better monetized with other techniques.
* Don’t be too concerned about PageRank. It isn’t everything (really doesn’t impact search rankings).
* Don’t panic - losing PageRank isn’t the end of the world.

If you’re a link buyer, here is what you need to know. Yes, Google is cracking down, but it is still a lot of smoke. I’m familiar with companies that rent over $10,000 in links per month and they don’t appear to be affected - yet. If you’re renting links yourself, below are a few tips and things to keep in mind. Or, you could just use Freezing Hot’s link building services, so you don’t have to worry.

* Don’t buy too quickly. Instead, slowly build up the number of paid links, which mimics natural link building.
* Relevancy is the key. Don’t buy a link on a site that’s not relevant (this is huge and often overlooked!).
* Don’t place links on sites that are less than perfect. Link farms, directories, and sites obviously designed to sell links can (and probably will) actually hurt your site in the long run.
* Constantly monitor, everything. Monitor your site, their site, and the SEO industry.
* Consider number of out bound links, content, placement of links, traffic, and other factors besides PageRank - use links for traffic while you’re at it.

Happy Linking

[siteadmin]

That's all shady tactics I am sure Google has a way around it,

[johnbotash]

Google has never penalized sites selling links. If you do in most cases, all that Google may prevent links from a site or pages on a sites PageRank. It is now changed, if you sell links, Google may actually penalize your site, the PageRank score that shows for her.

[shirleyjones]

Hello friend
I am shirley.Really SEO is a best search engine.These article is informative
for us and all people.

[alex55]

I am very pleased with the thought and don’t feel like adding anything in it. It a perfect answer.

[Adalgisa]

Buying or selling links is not recommended by Google and it falls under black hat method so it would be better if you avoid it.