Link Building - Is Buying Links Like Paying For Sex?

Yes, buying links is like paying for sex. I can tell you all day long: don't do it. It'll get you in trouble. It makes you look cheap. In most cases, it can be against the rules. Yet, prostitution is one of the oldest professions and still a thriving business to this day. I submit to you that people paying for links is also a thriving business and will continue to thrive.

Why? Partially because it is easy for a business owner already being pulled in 100 different directions, but that has a little money to pay someone else to provide a link to their website. And, of course, it often, but not always works.

Yes, there are lots of websites out there that search engines haven't discovered are selling their links and so a link from them is still considered valid and will improve the overall effectiveness and popularity of the website being linked to. You may win with this strategy for a long time before someone important enough and who cares enough finds out, but it will happen eventually and you'll pay the price then.

Please do not write to me or leave comments about how paying for links (or sex for that matter) is not a bad thing. Some might even try to say that exchanging links is paying for them... "you know, like barter". Yes, I've heard it all before and you're not going to convince me otherwise. At best it is in a gray area. Can it be massively effective? Absolutely! But, so can robbing a bank. I don't recommend that either.

James Orr is a professional real estate investor and marketing expert.

He runs over 300 websites including a marketing blog about holding your marketing ruthlessly accountable to results at http://RuthlessAccountability.com