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Pro tip: I used to think all backlinks were good backlinks until a client set me straight
Was talking to a local bakery owner last Tuesday about their SEO, and they mentioned buying links from some random site for $50 a pop. I almost told them it was fine, but then I checked the domain and it was a spammy directory with 0 traffic. That conversation made me realize we push quantity too much in this space. Why do we keep pretending cheap links don't hurt more than they help? Anyone else had a wake-up call about link quality from a client?
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cora81318d ago
That client of yours sounds like they saved you a headache. Had a similar thing happen with a plumber I was helping out a few years back. He was all excited about these links he got from some "business listings" that turned out to be auto generated pages with no real visitors. I ran a quick check and the domain had like 20 spammy outbound links to payday loan sites. Made me realize how easy it is to get tricked by the promise of cheap and easy.
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the_robin18d ago
Cheap links are better than NO links for a new site.
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tessalane18d ago
Start with the big picture here. Cheap links have a way of backfiring more than they help. I've seen sites get penalized for a handful of $5 directory links that looked fine on the surface but were run by a known spam network. The math is rough: one bad link can drop your rankings, and cleaning that up later costs way more than the 20 bucks you saved. Plus Google's smart enough now to tell the difference between a slow natural buildup and a pile of junk links you bought. If money's that tight, I'd spend it on good content first and let links come slower.
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