Buying backlinks: why it isn’t worth it

What Google says

Links placed in return for payment in order to influence rankings count as a breach of the spam policies. According to Google, paid links should be marked with the attribute rel="sponsored" (or nofollow) and must not influence rankings. In addition, paid advertising may be subject to labelling requirements; for legal questions, seek legal advice.

The risk

Google is getting better at recognising unnatural link patterns. Consequences can include demotion of individual pages or manual actions. The potential damage outweighs any short-term gain.

Reputable alternatives

• Good content: Guides, checklists and data that others are glad to link to.
• Partners and network: Links from customers, suppliers and associations.
• Directories: Industry and regional directories with correct details.
• Press and specialist articles: Pieces in media that suit your industry.

Conclusion

Link building is relationship and content work. It takes time, but it lasts. More under Link building.