What is Purchased Links?


What You Need to Know about Purchased Links

Google’s Link Scheme Penalties

Purchased links violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can trigger manual actions or algorithmic penalties that significantly reduce organic visibility and rankings.

Detection Through Link Analysis

Search engines identify purchased links through patterns like sudden link velocity spikes, irrelevant anchor text distribution, and links from known link-selling networks.

Recovery Requires Disavowing

Sites penalized for purchased links must remove or disavow harmful backlinks through Google Search Console, then submit a reconsideration request demonstrating corrective action.

Natural Link Building Alternatives

Instead of buying links, focus on earning backlinks through high-quality content, digital PR, guest contributions, and building genuine industry relationships that attract organic links.

Risk Outweighs Short-Term Gains

While purchased links may temporarily improve rankings, the long-term risks include permanent penalties, lost organic traffic, and damaged domain authority that’s difficult to recover.

Ecommerce Sites Face Higher Scrutiny

Ecommerce sites in competitive markets often face aggressive link-selling outreach, but participating in paid link schemes jeopardizes sustainable organic growth and revenue.


Frequently Asked Questions about Purchased Links

1. How does Google detect purchased links?

Google identifies purchased links through algorithmic pattern detection, manual review teams, and analyzing factors like anchor text patterns, link velocity, and whether linking sites are known link sellers.

2. What happens if my site receives a manual action for purchased links?

Manual actions for link schemes can remove your site from search results entirely until you remove or disavow problematic links and submit a successful reconsideration request.

3. Are sponsored or paid partnerships considered purchased links?

Sponsored content and paid partnerships are acceptable when properly disclosed with rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow” attributes, preventing them from passing PageRank and violating guidelines.

4. Can I recover from a purchased links penalty?

Recovery is possible by removing paid links, disavowing remaining harmful backlinks, cleaning up your link profile, and demonstrating to Google you’ve adopted ethical link-building practices.


Explore More EcommerCe SEO Topics

Related Terms

Webspam

Deceptive SEO practices designed to manipulate search rankings, including link schemes, cloaking, and scraped content that violate search engine guidelines.

Webspam

Link Text

Link text is the visible, clickable words in a hyperlink that signal linked page content to users and search engines.

Link Text

Unnatural Link

Unnatural links violate Google’s guidelines by manipulating search rankings rather than being earned editorially.

Unnatural Link

Link Popularity

Link popularity measures the quantity and quality of backlinks pointing to a site, indicating authority and trustworthiness.

Link Popularity


Let’s Talk About Ecommerce SEO

If you’re ready to experience the power of strategic ecommerce seo and a flood of targeted organic traffic, take the next step to see if we’re a good fit.