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Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

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Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#11
post #10
post #8

Stop Paying for Terrible Links

I never paid and never will. But there doesn't seem to be any agreement how you should legally build backlinks. How people are doing it? some people reach out to other sites and ask specifically for a backlink.

The agreement I've seen is to not focus on it. People say write good content and let it happen organically.

Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#12
First of all, I refuse the notion of "ethical": IMHO Google is NOT a moral instance and does not get to decide which behavior is ethical and which is not.

However, they get to decide which links they consider "valuable" and which not. Which in turns affects your rankings in Google's SERPs. They claim that they do punish websites that use paid links, but in reality it is safe to assume that they do NOT catch every offender (probably far from it).

I personally do not pay for links, mainly because of the fear of getting caught (and punished) by Google. ViperChill.com is a great resource for less Google-certified SEO techniques.

Additionally, you might find this article interesting that goes into great detail about the value of links in general and the market for paid links: http://blog.linksspy.com/paid-links-price-study/

Disclaimer: I am the author of that article and also the maker of https://www.linksspy.com

Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#13

No, it is not ethical.

Who gets to decide that? Google IMHO does NOT (even with their "don't be evil" slogan). All Google gets to decide is whether they value certain links or hand out a penalty for them. That does not define whether something is ethical or not. It's ethical to pay for advertisements, so why shouldn't it be ethical to pay for links?

Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#14
It is not a question of morality, it's a question of risk tolerance.

Most SEOs will advise you to err on the side of caution, but most SEOs work with large businesses that already have a lot of link equity and brand dollars thus making the point kind of moot.

People say create good content, but good luck creating the best content in the world and thinking that Google will feel obliged to rank you.

The reality is that with any venture you have to take risks, specially in the beginning, and if done smartly, buying links is a pretty balanced risk-reward scenario to kick start your property.

Lastly, in most cases a few well placed links are all you need. Once you start gaining traction you'll automatically get the motivation to create more/better content and do other forms of link building which are safer but much more time consuming.

Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#15
Not that anyone cares, but when you "juice" your search ranking to make your web site appear more relevant (to the user doing the search) than it really is, you are "breaking the internet".

I'm sorry if not enough people are driving by your restaurant but that does not justify putting up a detour sign in order to trick people into taking the road that passes by your business. If you want more business, make a better product. Don't waste everyone's time detouring them in hopes they will stop on their way by.

Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#16
No way dude!

Do the pills that make you lose weight actually work - long term? Sorry itengelhardt, I disagree. IMO, this is just another get-rich-quick scheme, like the pills I mentioned. Allured by the thought of losing weight, or being on the front page of Google is just that, an allure. It's the same mental trap the mythical siren used to drive sailors into rocks. A few of the respondents here cite content as killer, which I agree with, but there's also the element of bad ass customer experience that must be present. Treat your customer unlike the competition and try to author more content that the competition, and you'll rise to the top of your context, but it will take time. Good luck.

Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#17

Not that anyone cares, but when you "juice" your search ranking to make your web site appear more relevant (to the user doing the search) than it really is, you are "breaking the internet". I'm sorry if not enough people are driving by your restaurant but that does not justify putting up a detour sign in order to trick people into taking the road that passes by your business. If you want more business, make a better…

How do you plan to let people know that you have a better product if you don't link to it somehow?

Re: Is paying for backlinks for SEO ethical? Do you do it?

#18

Not that anyone cares, but when you "juice" your search ranking to make your web site appear more relevant (to the user doing the search) than it really is, you are "breaking the internet". I'm sorry if not enough people are driving by your restaurant but that does not justify putting up a detour sign in order to trick people into taking the road that passes by your business. If you want more business, make a better…

How do you plan to let people know that you have a better product if you don't link to it somehow?

Buy advertisements - just like any ethical business would. At the end of the day, if your business can't survive without "cheating", perhaps you should pivot or go into another kind of business.

For example, if Verizon can't make money if they actually honored their "unlimited data plans", they should stop offering unlimited data plans.

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