Link building is a fundamental strategy for improving a website’s authority and SEO rankings. However, our Link Building 2025 Study has detected a rise in bad practices and scams within the industry. According to the data collected:
- More than 90% of links acquired through fraudulent networks have a short lifespan, meaning they disappear or lose value quickly.
- Only 36.1% of analyzed posts generated qualified traffic, indicating that a large number of links do not bring real visits or SEO benefits.
- Over 50 PBN (Private Blog Networks) disguised as legitimate media outlets have been identified, making it harder to distinguish quality links from fraudulent ones.
To avoid falling into traps and protect your business’s online reputation, it’s crucial to recognize common fraudulent practices, learn how to identify suspicious websites, and apply safe strategies.
Bad Practices in Link Building
Fraudulent link building has become more sophisticated. Here are the most common deceptive strategies and why you should avoid them.
Low-Quality Private Blog Networks (PBNs)
PBNs are networks of websites created solely for selling links. They may appear to be legitimate media outlets, but they have the following issues:
- They publish low-quality or auto-generated content without review.
- They manipulate their metrics with artificial techniques to appear more relevant than they actually are.
- Google detects and penalizes these networks, which can harm your site if you have links from them.
SEO Metric Manipulation
Some “agencies” sell links on sites with artificially inflated metrics. They achieve this in several ways:
- Fake Domain Rating (DR) increase: Links are generated from other PBNs or spam sites to boost DR.
- Simulated traffic: Bots are used to inflate web traffic, creating the illusion of high real visits.
- Hidden pages: They show legitimate metrics, but links are placed on hidden pages that receive no real traffic.
Link Farms
Link farms are sites that sell links in bulk without quality control. Their characteristics include:
- Hundreds or thousands of outbound links on each page.
- No relevant or related content to your website’s topic.
- Google easily detects and penalizes them.
More than 70% of these sites are penalized within a year, which can cause your link to disappear or lose all its value.
Excessive Exact-Match Anchor Text
The “anchor text” is the visible text in a hyperlink. If all links to your website use exactly the same keyword, Google considers it manipulation. To avoid issues:
- Vary anchor texts with natural combinations.
- Use a mix of brand names, partial keywords, and generic anchors like “click here.”
Comparison Table: Quality Links vs. Fraudulent Links
| Feature | Quality Links | Fraudulent Links |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Relevant, authoritative media | PBNs, generic blogs |
| Traffic | Organic and qualified | Simulated or low-quality |
| Lifespan | Long-term | Short-term, risk of disappearance |
| Safety | Not penalized by Google | High risk of penalties |
How to Identify Fraudulent Websites
Before purchasing a link, follow these steps to verify a site’s legitimacy.
Key Factors to Detect Scams
- Topical relevance: If the website has no connection to your industry, it’s likely just selling links without offering real value.
- Content quality: Avoid sites with poorly written, auto-generated, or irrelevant content.
- Organic metrics: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to check if the site’s metrics are stable and not artificially inflated.
- Penalty history: A sudden drop in traffic may indicate previous Google penalties. You can check this using various tools.
Example: Real Traffic vs. Manipulated Traffic
| Feature | Real Traffic | Manipulated Traffic |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic source | Organic search, social media | Bots and purchased traffic |
| Geographic distribution | Diverse, aligned with site’s language | High concentration in a single country |
| Time on page | High, with interaction | Very low, no interaction |
If a website claims 200,000 visits/month, but 90% of traffic comes from a single country and it has no well-ranked keywords, its traffic is likely manipulated.
Tips to Protect Your Online Reputation
🔹 Prioritize quality over quantity: Buying 5 high-quality links is better than 50 low-authority links.
🔹 Analyze media relevance: Don’t rely only on authority metrics; check real traffic and engagement.
🔹 Avoid mass link-building strategies: If you’re offered hundreds of links for a low price, be skeptical. Google penalizes noticeably artificial strategies.
🔹 Regularly monitor your links: Use tools like Google Search Console to detect removed or modified links.
Our 2025 Study has shown that scams in this sector are increasing. The key to avoiding fraud is analyzing each site, avoiding fraudulent link networks, and prioritizing quality over quantity. By following these strategies, you can build a solid and safe link profile without risking your online reputation.
Check out the full study here
