Paid links
Black hat. Against Google’s spam policies. Risks a manual action or a ranking drop. White, grey and black hat SEO compared
What are paid links?
Paid links are links that a site gets in exchange for money, goods, services or free products, and that pass ranking credit because they are not marked with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Buying or selling such links is link spam under Google’s spam policies, for both buyer and seller.
Paid links come in many forms: a fee per link on a blog, a “guest post” with a price list, a link inserted into an old article (niche edits), free products sent to a reviewer in exchange for a followed link, or a sponsorship that requires a link.
Paying for exposure is fine. Advertising, sponsorships and affiliate links are all allowed as long as the links are qualified with rel="sponsored" (preferred) or rel="nofollow". Then they send traffic without passing ranking credit.
Why paid links matter for SEO
Buying links is the most common black hat tactic, and much of it is sold as normal SEO by agencies offering “high-DR guest posts”. Google’s systems are built to detect link selling at scale, and links they catch stop counting.
The white hat alternative is to earn links with digital PR, research, tools and link building outreach, and to label any paid placement honestly.
Risks of paid links
- An “Unnatural links to your site” manual action for the buyer, and “Unnatural links from your site” for the seller.
- Links nullified by Google’s systems, with the money spent lost.
- Algorithmic demotion if paid links make up a large part of your profile.
- Ongoing cost: link sellers often remove links when payments stop, or sell to spam sites on the same page.
How to spot paid links
- In your own profile, look for links from sites that sell guest posts, carry “sponsored” articles on every topic, or link to casinos, CBD and loans on the same pages.
- Check invoices and agency reports for per-link pricing or “guaranteed DR”.
- On your site, check outbound links in sponsored posts, reviews and partner pages for missing rel="sponsored".
- Remove or qualify the links, disavow those you cannot remove if there is a manual action, and stop buying.
Paid links example
<a href="https://example.com/" rel="sponsored">Example running shoes</a>Paid links FAQ
Is it illegal to buy backlinks?
Generally not, but it breaks Google’s spam policies. Advertising rules in some countries also require paid content to be disclosed.
Can Google tell if a link is paid?
Not always, but Google says its systems detect sites that buy and sell links, and patterns like price lists and off-topic sponsored posts are easy to spot.
Are affiliate links paid links?
Google asks for affiliate links to be marked rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Most affiliate programmes already use redirect URLs that do not pass ranking credit.
Related SEO terms
Link schemesBlack hat
A link scheme is any attempt to create links mainly to manipulate rankings, such as buying, swapping or automating links, which is Google’s link spam.
rel="sponsored" is a link attribute that marks a link as paid, sponsored or an affiliate link, so it does not pass ranking credit.
A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow", asking search engines not to pass ranking credit. Since 2019 Google treats it as a hint, not a rule.
Niche edits (link insertions)Grey hat
A niche edit adds a link to an existing article on another site. Asking for a useful update is fine; paying for the insertion makes it a paid link.
Guest postingGrey hat
Guest posting is writing an article for another site, often with a link back. It is fine for exposure; done at scale for links, it is a link scheme.
Digital PRWhite hat
Digital PR is earning coverage and links from news sites, blogs and online publications by giving journalists stories, data or expert comment.
Link buildingWhite hat
Link building is the work of getting other websites to link to yours, to earn referral traffic and the trust that helps pages rank.