Buying Backlinks: What Reddit Really Thinks

Reddit’s verdict on buying backlinks is split, but not evenly. Threads on r/SEO are close to unanimous that cheap bulk links, the kind sold on Fiverr for a few dollars, are spam that tends to hurt more than help. The real disagreement is at the expensive end: plenty of experienced users quietly admit they pay for high-quality, niche-relevant placements, while others argue any paid link is a long-term liability. Underneath all of it sits Google’s rule that a paid link passing ranking credit is against its guidelines.

The cheap end: almost everyone says don’t

The clearest consensus shows up in a Fiverr backlinks thread. Users describe the bulk gigs as spam that pumps vanity numbers, and warn that the five-star reviews only confirm the links were delivered, not that they helped. One agency owner in the thread recounts a client whose site was buried by toxic links from this kind of service. The advice repeats across threads: avoid the $10 “hundreds of backlinks” offers entirely.

The expensive end, and the rule that covers both

Higher up the price range the picture gets murkier. In a thread on whether $200 to $300 per link is worth it, the recurring point is that one authoritative, relevant link beats a thousand spammy ones, and that genuinely useful links are expensive by nature, with some users saying they pay well above that range. Others counter that bought rankings are artificial and eventually attract a penalty. A should we buy or avoid thread splits the same way, with several people drawing a line between buying a link outright and paying someone to earn links through outreach.

Whatever side of that debate you land on, the guideline is not ambiguous. Google’s spam policies name “exchanging money for links” as link spam unless the link is qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" so it does not pass PageRank. Our breakdown of whether paid links break Google’s guidelines covers where the line actually sits.

The more useful question than “should I buy” is “what is already pointing at my site.” Paid placements can lose their sponsored tag or go dead without warning, and if someone points spam at you, you want to see it. Finding and reviewing the toxic backlinks already in your profile is the part that actually protects you, whether or not you ever buy a link.