Checking a backlink before you pay for it
A link is worth only as much as the page around it. Before you agree to any placement, spend ten minutes on these checks. They filter out most bad offers.
- Is the page indexed? Search for the exact URL. A page that search engines ignore passes nothing on.
- Does the site have real visitors? Organic traffic estimates in any SEO tool should show a steady trend, not a sudden spike or a cliff.
- Is the topic related? A cooking blog linking to a crypto exchange looks bought, to readers and to algorithms alike.
- How many outbound links does the page carry? Dozens of unrelated links in a footer or sidebar dilute value and point to a link farm.
- Where will your link sit? A mention inside the main text is worth more than a list at the bottom of the page.
- What does the history show? Old snapshots in the Wayback Machine reveal domains that changed topic several times.
If an offer fails two or more checks, skip it. One relevant link from a living site does more than ten from pages nobody reads.