Google's Matt Cutts talks about buying links - DNForum - Domain Sales, Domain Forum, Domain Appraisals, Domain Registrars

**ForumsHelp** · 09-22-2005, 03:11 PM

Hello,
I found this article on Axandra website, hope it will help

Top Google software engineer Matt Cutts recently wrote about paid links in his blog. Being one of the main software engineers on Google, Matt Cutts knows best about Google indexing and quality control issues. Matt Cutts suggested that it was better not to use paid links.

What are paid links?

A paid link is a link from one web site to another for which a webmaster has paid. Paid links have nothing to do with the sponsored search results on Google, Overture and other pay per click (PPC) search engines. If a webmaster pays another web site to place a permanent text link to his site, this is considered a paid link.

What does Google think about paid links?

Google engineer Matt Cutts confirmed that links are important to Google in his blog post: "Google (and pretty much every other major search engine) uses hyperlinks to help determine reputation. Links are usually editorial votes given by choice, and link-based analysis has greatly improved the quality of web search."

However, he also stated that "Google does consider buying text links for PageRank purposes to be outside our quality guidelines" and that he "wouldn't be surprised if search engines began to take stronger action against link buying in the near future".

He also revealed further information about what can happen to web sites that sell links: "Reputable sites that sell links won't have their search engine rankings or PageRank penalized–a search for [daily cal] would still return dailycal.org. However, link-selling sites can lose their ability to give reputation".

What does this mean to your web site?

If possible, you should avoid purchasing links from other sites. As Matt Cutts puts it: "The best links are not paid". Search engines want to find web sites to which other web sites link naturally.

Natural links are links from other web sites that makes sense from a web surfer's point of view. If a link to another web site leads to further information about a topic and if the link is useful for the web surfer then it is a good link.

For that reason, it is important that your web site gets these natural links.

How can you get natural links for your site?

The best way to get natural links is to build a web site with great content. The better the content of your web site, the more web sites will link to your site without asking.

**gatorgrad** · 09-22-2005, 04:29 PM

sounds interesting, but my thought is, how does google know you paid for that link or not?

seems like it would hard to tell paid and non-paid links apart.

**Poker** · 09-22-2005, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gatorgrad

sounds interesting, but my thought is, how does google know you paid for that link or not?

seems like it would hard to tell paid and non-paid links apart.

They will simply continue to crete more sophisticated algorithms. It is a constant cat and mouse game but a wise mouse is always a few steps ahead

**cwsteam.com** · 09-22-2005, 04:54 PM

as E-Promote said "cat and mouse game" is the key.

**ForumsHelp** · 09-22-2005, 10:21 PM

What seems to be here is that Google programmers are pushing Google to higher AI level, but still fruastrating because it might harm websites that exchanged links for free or other websites that placed links because of a certain interest that they have.
It's very hard to judge and this will always keep the new sites at the bottom because they have less content as no site can come up in a day and a night with huge content like that of the sites that have been for years in the business.

**DavidAusman** · 09-22-2005, 11:34 PM

There is no way for anyone to determine which one is paid link. It is just a policies. Like google guideline said, dont participate in link exchange. But what i see today, in webmaster related keywords, the one who appeat tops is the one who did link exchange. It is only a policies from google. I dont beleive there is anyone who can determine which one is paid link.

**Poker** · 09-23-2005, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aboutwhat.org

I dont beleive there is anyone who can determine which one is paid link.

try me, this is just one of the top of my head (and I'm not as smart as most google engineers):

Links listed under the label "Sponsored links"

As I said, stay ahead or you'll be left behind (in the serps!)

**DaddyHalbucks** · 09-23-2005, 02:30 AM

I imagine it's technically near impossible to determine which links are paid or not.

Google is probably just trying to keep up quality --and promote what it considers to be good practices.

DogFaceBoy · 09-23-2005, 02:56 AM

Bah, Google and their stupid Policies. Nothing is wrong with buying a link for PageRank. Samething as people people google to show their ads on others sites with adsense.

**DomainNameBroker.com** · 09-23-2005, 03:17 AM

Bluff.

**DavidAusman** · 09-23-2005, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E-Promote

try me, this is just one of the top of my head (and I'm not as smart as most google engineers):

Links listed under the label "Sponsored links"

As I said, stay ahead or you'll be left behind (in the serps!)

Paid link dont always appear under sponsored link. It can be a submission into a web directory.

If I pay you a $20 to place my link in your footer and Google is able to determine it, then larry page and sergey brin should be magicians instead of computer genius

**ForumsHelp** · 09-23-2005, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaddyHalbucks

I imagine it's technically near impossible to determine which links are paid or not.

Google is probably just trying to keep up quality --and promote what it considers to be good practices.

What I see these days when I search for something in Google is that Google results are getting worse. Sometimes I search and I find results full of ads and no content and this mostly happens today or I find affiliated sites with repeated content.
I wonder why Google put this stuff in top rankings. Seems that Google admires who cheats it's system.

On the other side I see that Yahoo and MSN have stepped forward, especially MSN, there results are more accurate and fastly updated.

Regards

**DavidAusman** · 09-23-2005, 01:21 PM

Nomatter how bad your content is, as long as you can successfully build your link campaign, you can still appear right on top at google. They takes PR and link popularity too seriously. The only problem a lot of good website dont get ranking is because they are too afraid to violate google advise. But if you takes a closer look at their serp, the fact is that ppl who did link campaign ranks well.