I've read in several places that Google disapproves of selling and buying links. But I also keep seeing links for sale, and apparently some people must be buying them. My specific question concerns certain high PR directories that offer paid listings. Does anyone know if Google would penalize my sites if I bought listings in some of those directories? Also, is it possible that Google wouldn't impose a penalty, but would ignore the purchased link in calculating the rankings for my site's pages, so that my money would be wasted if spent for that purpose? Thank you
I think eventually they might give less weight to them..but I don't see penalization. As long as you are listed in a category that matches your site theme you are doing exactly what google saying such as adding to dmoz and yahoo directory (cost $300 USD). I think paid links he means manipulating search rankings by getting 200 links on random pages with other random sites that say for example "links for sale" and pointing to your site...that is what he means by link sales, not directories that relate with a category that relates to theme of your site..my opinion.
They are the Big Brother they can do anything they can think. If you like to buy and if you have a seller and if you both approch google and offer to give their share of moeny it is legal. If not some how they think it is not legal. Oh, you can buy AdWords and the seller can join AdSense. If Google is not making their part, they will get to you.
all you have to do is think about this question a bit deeper...how in the world could they penalize a site whether the link was paid for or not? if a site could get penalized you could go submit your competitors and knock them out of the rankings, even if you had to spend a few hundred dollars or more many companies could and would do it! here is what they can do: 1. devalue any links on a known spam link site 2. penalize the site that is selling the links the problem with #1 is they would basically have to rely on people reporting the sites, and the problem with #2 is how do they distinguish between a legit, quality directory and a crap one? and as said above it now costs $299/year to be listed in the Yahoo directory, why is it okay to pay to be in Yahoo and not any other?
As far as I understand, paid directories are ok as far as some 'review' is made whether to place link or not. You pay $299 for Yahoo to 'review' your site, not include it. Of course, it is only a lip service, but hey.
Broadly speaking, you're fine. But Google is (and will continue) cracking down on paid link sites, and the weight they give links from them.
don't all directories claim to "review" your link/site? if Yahoo is charging just for their review of a site why do they charge you $299 per year, to re-review it? Give me a break. re-read my previous post in this thread.
YeahRobertD explain them all here. there is noway google will penalize the buying or selling sites (yet). It's hard to distinguish which sites to penalize and which dont. as their own rules said that if the methods can hurt the competitor, google will not consider it. so i dont think they will penalize paid link at all.
My site had been a PR3 site. Within the last two mos I submitted to and have been listed in a number of paid directories including yahoo. My site is now PR1. Don't know if it there is a direct connection, but it certainly did not help...
Thanks for all the replies. I started this thread because I'm having trouble getting high PR links to my site using non-paying methods, and so started thinking about trying to buy some. If I do decide to spend some money, should I spend it on pay directories, or is there another option that might be better?? Thank you
go ahead, Yahoo, Starting Point, Goguides, Joe Ant, Uncoverthenet, Aviva, just to name a few, there are many more worth your money that will not only will help with PR but traffic as well.
I think no.. As directories are getting good PR.. Also many SEO experts are adding links on directories.
Yeah, I too have heard that buying high PR backlinks is 'illegal' in Google's eyes. True or false I don't know, but this is the reason why I have never purchased PR backlinks-even the cheaper ones Dick
I don't really thing that G or other search engines can penalized for directory listings especially after the main fact that if we close all directories and we stop link exchanges/buying what's left??? There is a gazillion websites that don't have any links WTF! We're going to be only with blog postings ? That's dumb, very dumb, and even if we do paid blogging will expand even better and will be quite worse than the current situation so I don't really think they will do anything about it. The biggest thing that I suspect they can do is ignore site-wide external links as they are clearly spam in most cases..... Cheers, Venetsian.
Why not just give Google access to my bank account and my Paypal accounts and all of my bank cards. That way they can tell if any of the money that I have, that I want to spend wherever I want to is OK with them. Google does not own the internet (or my bank accounts) and if they take this approach to paid links they will see the webmasters begin to focus on other search engines and probably eventually the word will get out about the power and control that Google has and the end users will also begin to rebel.
bottom line is no website can control who links to them, so G cannot penalize for any incoming links to your site it can only de-value those links at best.