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The Ugly Truth About Buying Backlinks (and Why It’s a Disaster for SEO)

Adriana avatar
Written by Adriana
Updated this week

Buying backlinks might seem like a shortcut, but it’s actually one of the fastest ways to kill your rankings and your traffic.

Is it okay to buy backlinks? Nope. 😜


Is it okay to buy “premium” backlinks? Still nope. 🤪

Rule of thumb: Never buy backlinks.

Backlinks should be earned — one by one — the legit way.

Yes, it’s slow. Yes, it’s hard. That’s exactly why it works.

Google doesn’t hand out top rankings to just anyone.

Earning backlinks the “old school” way is still the most effective and safest way to climb to the #1 spot. If it’s making you sweat a little, you’re probably doing it right.

Why Buying Backlinks is a Terrible Idea

Buying backlinks is called Black Hat SEO — and Google hates it.
If they catch you, expect:

  • Permanent damage to your rankings

  • The possibility of being blacklisted

  • A drop in traffic that’s almost impossible to recover from

Buying backlinks might give you a quick bump, but it won’t last. And when you crash, it’s game over.

The people selling backlinks don’t care about your site. They won’t be around to help when Google slaps you with a penalty.

What to Do Instead

Focus on earning “do follow” backlinks — these are the ones that count for SEO.

  • Do follow = passes SEO value and helps you rank.

  • No follow = doesn’t pass SEO value, but can still drive traffic and help indirectly.

📖 Learn more:

  • Do Follow vs. No Follow Links Explained

  • Beginner’s Guide to Backlinks (includes a video!)

Bottom line: If you want to be on top of Google, earn your backlinks. If you want to be labeled spam and disappear from search forever… buy them.

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