Why You Should Avoid Buying Backlinks for Your Business

If you’ve ever checked a competitor’s rankings and wondered, “How did they leapfrog me so fast?”, there’s a good chance they’ve been buying backlinks.

It’s one of the oldest SEO tricks in the book. While it can lead to short-term results, please be warned that it’s also one of the riskiest moves a business can make for their website.

Let’s unpack why this is the case.

What Are Bought Backlinks?

Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your own. When they are earned naturally — through great content, media coverage, or strategic partnerships — they signal trust and authority to search engines.

However, when backlinks are bought from cheap networks, spammy directories, or irrelevant blogs, the signal gets distorted. You haven’t earned credibility — you’ve faked it.

And that comes with consequences.

1. Google Can Spot the Difference

Search engines are smarter than ever.

Their algorithms can detect patterns, such as:

• Sudden spikes in backlinks

• Low-quality or irrelevant referring sites

• Repetitive anchor text or unnatural patterns

  
  

These are common indicators of manipulation. When spotted, the result is often a sharp drop in rankings or even a manual penalty.

In other words: what goes up artificially tends to come down — fast.

2. You’re Building on Shaky Ground

Sure, paid backlinks might give you a temporary rankings boost. But if your SEO strategy is based on shortcuts rather than substance, you’re just one algorithm update away from disappearing from search results altogether.

Fixing the damage from bad link-building often takes more time and budget than doing it right in the first place.

3. It Damages Your Reputation — With Search Engines and Real People

Would you want your brand associated with spammy websites, fake blogs, or irrelevant forums?

Low-quality backlinks harm your SEO and raise eyebrows with potential clients who click through and wonder what kind of company you are. If Google thinks your site is part of a link scheme, your authority score takes a hit. This affects everything from local SEO to your paid ad performance.

Ensure that if you’ve employed someone for SEO, they do not rely on purchased backlinks. Google can issue a manual action for a “pattern of unnatural, artificial, deceptive, or manipulative links,” which can severely damage your rankings and even trigger de-indexing.

You can find out how to check and fix issues with this link: Manual Actions list.

So What Does Work?

5 Simple (and Safe) Ways to Improve Your SEO

1. Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to show up in local search results — especially on Google Maps.

Ensure your business name, address, opening hours, and services are accurate. Add quality photos and write a keyword-rich business description. Encourage happy customers to leave reviews and reply to those reviews to show you’re engaged and trustworthy.

Example: “Family-run Italian restaurant in Ryde offering wood-fired pizzas, sea views, and live music every weekend.”

2. Use Real Keywords Your Customers Are Actually Typing

Think like your customer. What would they search for if they were looking for you? These are the keywords you want to naturally weave into your page titles, headings, and website copy.

Instead of vague phrases, try:

• “Balayage highlights in Cowes” (not “bespoke hair experiences”)

• “Dog-friendly cottages on the Isle of Wight” (not “local holiday rentals”)

• “Small business website design UK” (not “personalised solutions”)

  
  

These specific, intent-driven phrases are much more likely to bring the right traffic to your site.

3. Create Genuinely Helpful Content

Helpful content builds trust with potential customers. It also gives Google more reasons to rank your site higher. Focus on questions your audience is asking, and turn your expertise into blog posts, how-to guides, or FAQs that solve real problems.

Examples:

• “5 Things to Know Before Installing Solar Panels on a Rental Property”

• “How to Choose the Right Dog Walker for Your Senior Pet”

• “What’s the Difference Between Wix and Wix Studio?”

  
  

Even one strong article per month can improve your rankings and attract more qualified visitors.

4. Get Listed in Reputable Local Directories

Google uses directory listings to confirm that your business is real, local, and active. These listings also create valuable backlinks to your site, but only if the information is consistent.

Where to start:

• National: Yell, Yelp, Checkatrade, Trustpilot

• Local: Visit Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Chamber, Wightbay

• Industry-specific: Hospitality, trades, and professional bodies

  
  

Ensure that your name, address, and phone number match exactly across every platform.

5. Speed Up Your Website

A slow website turns customers away and lowers your Google ranking. Speed is a ranking factor, especially on mobile. Keep your site lean and user-friendly.

Quick wins:

• Compress your images

• Remove unnecessary plugins or widgets

• Use a mobile-responsive design

• Check performance regularly using PageSpeed Insights

  
  

Fast sites don’t just perform better — they convert more.

Coming Next: SEO in the Age of AI – How to Stay Visible in an AI-Driven Search World

With tools like ChatGPT, Google’s new AI Overviews, and voice search evolving how people find answers, your SEO strategy needs to adapt.

In our next post, we’ll break down what AI means for your visibility online. We’ll share how to optimize your content so it's not just found by search engines but also chosen by AI.