Is buying links from backlink sellers a risk for getting penalized by Google, how can I find safe links?

If we get penalized for backlinks it won't hit us directly, but my site's rating will drop. A friend bought the cheapest service 100 links, then got an 'unnatural link pattern' warning. Google crushed their rankings for the keywords.

But nowadays sites rank with bulk links too, right? So Google's system isn't fully functional. If backlink seller companies have many clients, there's probably not much risk.

A natural link is one given by editorial decision. For example, if you write a post 'best consultants' and I read it, say 'this is nice, source', and link to your site in my post. That's natural.

A spam link is one given for money, where the linking site is completely irrelevant. Like a link from a porn forum to tech consulting. Or sites created solely for 'link buying'.

avoid those cheap links. spending months is way better than getting a couple of good ones. our company got links from 10 real consultant blogs 3 months ago (they were impressed, commented on the site etc) and our organic traffic went up after that.

expensive firms — big consultancies — either get links from their own networks or make personal investments... they went through this phase too at first.

don't buy cheap links. invite consultants to the site, do guest posts, issue press releases. these are natural and effective.

there's a nice trick; fixing broken links. for example a famous person in the industry wrote 'you can find our consultants on this site' but the link is dead. go read that post find the author and say 'we cover the same topic we're still active', ask them to update it to the new link. it's not like getting a link from scratch it's restoring an existing one.

Same here. When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.

Merge instead of deleting; deleted content doesnt come back. Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

This approach has a cost which isn't discussed. If you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong.

Just leaving this note it might be useful.

There's one point I'm curious about. Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand. Correct me if I'm wrong.

There's also a measurement aspect to this. If rankings stay the same but clicks drop, the issue isn't your page, but the search result appearance.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

The cheap-looking path usually ends up costing more later. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

I'm curious too. The answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

Here's how it went for us. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

That's all sorry if I went on too long.

Three different views emerged, they all complement each other... The real issue isnt the number but what its based on.

Im also curious if anyone does it differently.

My perspective changed after experiencing that. A competitor's ranking might come from years of accumulation, not just their content.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

I'll argue the opposite don't get mad. btw just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

Don't miss this: A competitor's ranking might come from years of accumulation not just their content.

If rankings stay the same but clicks drop, the issue isn't your page but the search result appearance. If you have questions write them; I'll answer as best I can.