Why Buying Backlinks Is Risky – 5 Smart SEO Tips That Work
- Sophia Brading
- Jun 26
- 4 min read
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 — and while it can lead to short-term results, Please be warned i’s also one of the riskiest moves a business can make for their website.
Let’s unpack why.
What Are Bought Backlinks?
Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your own. When they’re earned naturally — through great content, media coverage, or strategic partnerships — they signal trust and authority to search engines.
But 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.
Algorithms can detect:
Sudden spikes in backlinks
Low-quality or irrelevant referring sites
Repetitive anchor text or unnatural patterns
These are common signs of manipulation — and 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 built on shortcuts rather than substance, you’re just one algorithm update away from disappearing from the 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 don’t just harm your SEO — they can also raise eyebrows with potential clients who click through and wonder what kind of company you are.
And if Google thinks your site is part of a link scheme, your authority score takes a hit — which affects everything from local SEO and even to your paid ad performance.
Make sure that if you’ve employed someone to carry out SEO, they don’t 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 here:
So What Does Work?
5 Simple (and Safe) Ways to Improve Your SEO
1. Claim and Optimise 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.
Make sure your business name, address, opening hours, and services are accurate. Add quality photos, write a keyword-rich business description, and encourage happy customers to leave reviews. 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 far more likely to bring the right traffic to your site.
3. Create Genuinely Helpful Content
Helpful content not only builds trust with potential customers — it also gives Google more reasons to rank your site.
Focus on questions your audience is actually 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 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, professional bodies
Make sure 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, so 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 changing 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 — and exactly how to optimise your content so it's not just found by search engines, but chosen by AI.
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