Renting Links: 10 SEO Link Strategy Tips

It may be the one of the least favorable SEO practices, but it's still considered a necessary part of any online marketing campaign, whether naysayers want to admit it or not. (Don't believe me? Take five minutes to look at some of the page-oners of your search term in the search engines. Check out who they are linking to.) For most of us, you simply can't get the high-quality links without laying out some money. Here are some tips to help you make solid choices when obtaining rented links from link brokers.

1. Link to Relevant Sites: Don't try to buy a link on a home and garden site when you are selling motorcycle equipment. It's not natural and it's a red flag for Google.

2. Don't link to sites that have tons of external links. 30 is too much, 20 is okay, but less than 10 is ideal. Internal links do not really count against the site as a link to the search engines (but that's another topic).

3. Check to see if other links have a no-follow tag. It's ok to have some links that are "no-follow" links, but I don't think you want to pay for those.

4. Steer clear of sites with spammy links. If you see links like "Canadian Pharmacy" or anything "Poker" don't rent a link from the site.

5. Check the URL in Google. If it is not listed it's probably penalized. Don't link there. Also do a search for key terms that this URL is targeting and see how they are ranking for those terms. If you see they are ranking poorly then consider that in your decision-making.

6. Check the progress of other links on the site for their targeted key phrase. It may give you some indication of how much value a link has.

7. Some link brokers will offer two links on the same page. This is okay if:
1. there are not many links on the site.
2. you are not pointing to the same web page. if you point to the same page on a single URL, Google tends to ignore the second link (specifically if you use the same anchor text).

8. Less is more when buying rented links. I tend to pay more for links and purchase less, quality over quantity. I leave quantity link acquisition to other avenues at my disposal.

9. Take a long look at links you are buying. Certain linking vendors will introduce you to websites that will have the same links on all pages. For example you may see another company's link on every page they introduce to you. If you link to the same pages this will most likely flag Google that these links are part of a rented link network and your risk for getting caught is increased.

10. Check your links.
1. Make sure your links are where they are supposed to be with the appropriate anchor text.
2. Check your links on a weekly basis because you need to watch out for sites that suddenly get penalized. If your link ends up connected to a bad link, rankings will drop.
3. Also check to see if your link is still posted. Many times I found myself paying for links that had been removed from the site.
4. Finally you want to watch your links and see if these sites have added more external links to their site. Some link brokers like to show several clients a new site with no links ; then suddenly this site has 30+ links. This will devalue your link!

BONUS: For best results ask your link broker if they have big-name sites in their inventory. I've had good success with rankings with well known companies. Yes you pay more, but the results can be worth it.