Loaded question - Buying content & links

[mikepetersonwi]

As noted, I have read "don't buy links" numerous times, and I have never done it. However, I would like others to chime in with their thoughts and experiences with content writing services that create unique content and find places to publish it, including links to a client's website. I guess I'm trying to justify this as different from that of buying links from spammy, overseas sites which we all know is not advised.

Thoughts?

 

[Conor Treacy]

To us, yes, it's different.

What you're talking about is almost like a Blogger Outreach program. You're providing content (or guest posts) and they're linking to you. This is different than just going to fiver and buying 5,000 links.

 

[Krystal Prior]

I agree, it sounds like what you are referring to is a blogger outreach service that would write content and place said content on relevant websites which would be different than paying for links. Essentially you are paying for the outreach service to either find relevant outlets to publish your content or use an existing database of websites or writers they already have relationships with to publish your content.

 

[dotgal]

I've used similar outreach services, where they also include copywriting or I provide the copy for them for outreaching. Transparency is important to me so that I can see the site categories and potential websites / web pages they are outreaching to.

 

[Eric Rohrback]

Vetting the link placements is key. Everyone buys links in some form. HARO is a common place to get links from journalists/round ups and there are a bunch of companies out there that run the outreach/back and forth for you. Guest posting is another form where you're negotiating your writing & time in exchange for placement on a site.

As long as you know the sites that are being pitched/getting placed and can look at the sites to decide whether you want to engage with them, then you should be ok. If the site looks spammy, then stay away. If their backlink profile is sketchy, stay away. If the site is somehow on a tear building links but losing keyword positions/organic traffic, then something is likely up.

Just need to be critical and make sure the sites are primarily focused on the same topic/industry and your site.

 

[djbaxter]

Google Warning on Guest Posting For Links

Google's John Mueller said guest posting for links results in unnatural links. Says Google already devalues them.

www.searchenginejournal.com

Google’s John Mueller stated on Twitter that Google not only frowns on guest posting for links but has been devaluing them for the past several years.

He also said that Google has years of data for training algorithms to catch and devalue guest post links so that they don’t help a site rank better.

 

[Eric Rohrback]

True, a lot of guest posting sites are trash because they basically exist in order to provide guest posting opportunities for SEOs. These sites overtly advertise that you can pay them for a post. It's not something that I would be putting a ton of effort into, but depending on the niche you're in one or two guest posts might not be a bad test.

Again, if the site gets no real traffic then it's a huge red flag.