Veteran SEO warns bought backlinks will be caught by Google's SpamBrain
gaganghotra_ · x · 2026-09-03
SEO expert Marie Haynes sparked a discussion on X about the risks of buying backlinks: Google's SpamBrain excels at recognizing ranking-manipulation patterns — if a human can spot purchased links in 10 minutes, the algorithm certainly can. Paid links sometimes help initially, but rankings decline over time, while competitor-planted paid links are usually neutralized. The quoted thread notes services like Outrank sell links from price-list catalogs, yet veterans warn that a manual penalty means hundreds of cleanup emails and lost revenue from profitable SERPs.
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