Why we do not sell links

Google's link spam policy is public. It states that any links intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered link spam. This includes buying or selling links that pass PageRank. The policy names exchanging money for links directly.

The important detail is where the penalty applies. When a link scheme is detected, Google may take manual action against the site receiving the links. This can mean a ranking drop or removal from search results. The site selling the link typically faces no penalty from Google. The financial risk is entirely on the buyer.

This creates a market failure. A vendor can promise a link on a high Domain Rating site for a fixed price, deliver it, and take no risk if the buyer's site is later penalised. The buyer carries all the risk for a service that, by Google's definition, is spam.

When businesses search for 'buy backlinks', they typically find two types of service. The first is the guest post marketplace. These platforms connect site owners with publishers who will accept a paid article with a link. The price is often tied to the publisher's Domain Rating. For example, Respona sells placements at published rates from $100 for a DR 20+ publisher to $500 for a DR 60+ publisher. The client chooses the anchor text and target URL.

The second type is the guaranteed link service. These vendors promise a specific number of links per month, often from journalist request platforms. Backlinker.ai, for instance, offers a Standard plan for $300 per month guaranteeing three or more DR30+ links. Their service works through platforms like Featured.com, which has its own Pro plan for $79 per month.

Both models involve paying for a specific placement with a specific link. This is the exchange of money for a link that passes ranking signals. It fits the definition in Google's policy.

People buy links for a rational reason. The calculation seems straightforward. A link from a DR 50 site might cost $400. If that link drives qualified traffic or improves rankings for a valuable term, the return could easily justify the cost. It is a direct transaction with a promised outcome.

Earning a similar link takes more work. You have to find a relevant opportunity, craft a pitch, provide value, and hope for a reply. The process is uncertain and has no guarantee. For a business focused on predictable customer acquisition cost, the paid link looks like a sensible shortcut.

This calculation ignores the risk of penalty. It treats Google's enforcement as a lottery ticket with long odds. For many buyers, that risk feels abstract, especially when they see competitors who appear to buy links without consequence. The vendor's sales page will not mention the policy, or will frame it as a low risk.

The alternative is to earn links. This means providing something a site owner genuinely wants to link to, or being a source they want to cite. The work is in finding those opportunities and making the ask. The outcome is a link given because it serves the linking site's audience, not because it was paid for.

Start with your competitors. Find pages that link to them but not to you. This is a backlink gap analysis. The logic is simple. If a page found your competitor relevant enough to link to, it might find you relevant too. Your pitch is not 'I will pay you'. It is 'you linked to X for topic Y, and my page on Y covers these additional points'.

Look for direct requests. Reporters and writers publish requests for sources on platforms like Help a B2B Writer. Answering these can result in a link from a major publication. The key is to monitor these requests for ones you can honestly and expertly answer. Do not use a generic quote.

Find resource pages and listicles. Search for phrases like 'best [your tool category]' or '[your industry] resources'. Pages that list tools or resources are often open to suggestions if you have a genuinely good product. The pitch should focus on why your product helps their readers, not on the link.

Consider other channels. Podcasts book guests. Conferences need speakers. Industry awards take entries. A mention in these places often comes with a link. These are not traditional backlinks, but they are citations from relevant, authoritative sites.

Imagine a company that makes project management software for architects. They want links from construction industry sites. First, they identify their top three competitors. They use a tool to find pages linking to those competitors. They might get a list of 200 pages.

They judge each page. Is it a relevant industry blog or directory. Does it already list ten tools, making a new addition unlikely. Is it a news article from six months ago that will not be updated. They might filter the list down to 40 plausible targets.

For each target, they draft a short email. To a resource page, they might write: 'I saw your list of construction management tools. Our software, built specifically for architectural workflows, includes Gantt charts with BIM integration and client approval tracking. It might be a fit for your list.' They send these emails themselves.

A realistic response rate for a cold, relevant pitch is between 5 percent and 15 percent. From 40 emails, they might get 2 to 6 positive replies. Some of those will result in links. This is slower than buying 6 links for 2400 dollars, but the links carry no penalty risk and likely come from more engaged, relevant publishers.

When nobody replies, you refine. The problem is usually the target list or the pitch. The targets may not be active, or the pitch may be too generic. Go back and find more specific opportunities, or rewrite the pitch to focus on a unique benefit for that site's audience.

Mentionry is built to support the process of earning links, not buying them. It finds the specific places a business can get a backlink and drafts the email to send. It excludes paid placements by design.

You give it your domain. It finds pages that link to your competitors and not to you. It also finds resource pages, listicles, journalist requests, podcasts booking guests, and conferences taking speakers. Every opportunity comes with a drafted email or form submission. Those drafts can be written into your own Gmail. It sends it from your own connected mailbox.

The product is the filtering. In a measured run for one domain, it found 110 openings. A person judged them and kept 14. The drafting model is allowed to refuse. Given a reply asking for payment for a link, it will draft a decline. The goal is to give you a short list of honest opportunities, not a long list of anything for sale.

This approach exists because paying per placement with the anchor text under your control is a link scheme. The penalty lands on your site, not on the vendor's. Mentionry does not sell links because selling them would put its customers at risk.