What are paid links?
Paid links (also called purchased links) are links that you pay a website to get. The payment can be money, free products or services. Examples of paid links are sponsored posts, advetorials, ad links and sponsor links. Just because you pay an SEO agency or your own employees for link building for your website doesn't necessarily mean they are paid links.
Buying links violates Google Webmaster Guidelines for webmastersThis is a practice that Google says can have negative consequences for your visibility. However, the truth is different, partly because Google has a hard time separating paid links from other links, and partly because purchased links often stem from completely playful marketing methods that Google cannot prohibit.
For example, suppose you give a sponsorship to a charity. If the purpose is to get a link, it is a violation of Google's guidelines. If, on the other hand, the organization links to your website of its own free will, then the exact same link has occurred naturally, without any malicious intent - but Google cannot separate the two links from each other.
Recognizing that it is difficult to identify paid links, Google introduced a new link type in 2019, sponsored linkwhich webmasters must use to mark purchased links on their website. Google has thus shifted the responsibility to the media that sells links. The problem for Google is that the media will of course not use the link type because the links lose their value and the media risk losing a number of their advertisers.
There is also a paradox in that Google on the one hand says that buying links can have negative consequences for your visibility, and on the other hand has said that competitors cannot abuse the method to harm your visibility. This means that Google needs to know both that the links are bought and who bought them. Obviously, this is not possible.
How buying links works
Many Danish companies buy links to one extent or another. The reason is simple: Buying links is an easy link building method that ensures a continuous supply of links and a relatively predictable result. Other link building methods are more unpredictable and do not necessarily ensure a continuous supply of links.
Links can be purchased directly from the media (newspapers, bloggers, etc.) or via an intermediary, a so-called link broker. In the former case, you need to find, establish contact and negotiate with the media you want a link from. A link broker already has the right contacts and can advise you on which links you need - in return, you have to pay them for their work.
Prices typically range from a few hundred kroner to several thousand kroner per link depending on the quality of the link. A link from a major Danish media outlet costs more than a link from a small blog, but the former also has a higher SEO value. Several foreign agencies based in India offer to buy links for almost no money - these links are worthless at best.
Sponsored posts and advetorials are the most common form of purchased links. Remember that the links only have value if not they are marked with sponsored or nofollow in the source code. Links should, as far as possible, comply with the criteria for a good link that we have listed earlier in the text about link building.
