If you’re thinking about buying or getting backlinks for your website, you’re now really starting to invest in SEO. For most businesses, this is where the bulk of the SEO budget goes. That’s because in the world of search engines, backlinks are as good as gold.
Backlinks have been the leading ranking factor in SEO. Sure, quality content marketing can get you ranking. But when the playing field is even, and you’re in a competitive market, competitors are sure to spend on a solid backlink profile.
Why Are Backlinks Expensive?
Good backlinks can cost anywhere between $100 to $500. In industries like SaaS or niche markets like dentistry (or any medical field), the price can go even higher.
So, why are backlinks so expensive?
Supply vs. Demand
Every business wants links from sites with high authority, traffic, and topical relevance. But there’s a limited supply of legitimate, high-quality placements (especially in niches like finance, health, law, or local services). This imbalance pushes prices up.
Quality Control
A link on a random blog has little value; what moves the needle is a contextual link on a site with authority and good traffic. Securing these requires outreach, negotiation, and often editorial approval. This means that even though you can afford the backlink, it doesn’t mean you can just get one from a high-authority site without proper vetting from the web admins.
Labor & Outreach Costs
If you want to build backlinks at scale, you’ll need a tool for prospecting backlinks and enrichment like Ahrefs or Apollo. Next, you’d need a tool like Instantly for automating the cold outreach process. On top of that, you’ll need alternate domains to scale sending volume and safeguard your primary domain.
You also have to consider the cost of creating guest post content, the link placement cost itself, and the overhead costs of the labor involved in the entire process (especially if you want to hire an in-house link building team).
Simply put, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to building quality links.
Content Creation
Guest posts, niche edits, and sponsored placements usually require unique, high-quality articles written specifically for the target site. This means paying for content writing, editing, and sometimes even design elements for things like case studies or infographics.
Authority Premium
Not all backlinks carry the same weight. When a site has a Domain Rating (DR) of 60+ in Ahrefs or attracts a steady flow of organic traffic, the value of a link from that site jumps significantly.
These domains have already built years of trust with Google, so a few backlinks from high authority sites can push your rankings more than a dozen links from smaller sites. That authority comes with a premium price tag.
Publishers and webmasters know their platforms’ influence and charge accordingly. A link on a national news outlet, a well-known blog, or an industry-leading niche site often costs hundreds. In competitive industries, they can cost thousands of dollars.
What Should You Consider When Buying Backlinks
Some businesses spend 6-7 figures annually on backlinks alone. But even with the budget, you shouldn’t just buy any backlinks. You still have to consider the following:
High DR Isn’t Enough; Look for Real Organic Traffic
There are plenty of sites with 30, even 50+ domain authority. But a quick glance at their metrics might show they get any real organic traffic. That’s a sign that a site was built to sell links and not serve real users.
Remember that you’re getting backlinks not just for Google to rank you higher. Getting traffic directed to your site is just as crucial because real users = real potential leads.
Contextual Relevance Beats Generic Backlinks
Generic backlinks typically come from PBN (private blog network) sites. While these links can be cheaper and give short-term ranking improvements, they fall into blackhat SEO territory and come with their own set of risks.
If you dig deeper into these sites, you’ll find that they cover multiple topics, often unrelated to one another. Think about it from Google’s perspective, would you trust a site that covers travel, tech, and health? That lack of focus is a big red flag.
Google’s algorithms favour contextual relevance. Backlinks from sites that publish content directly related to your niche carry far more authority. For example, a dental blog linking to a dental clinic. Context signals trust, which makes a backlink valuable long-term.
For Small Businesses, Relevance Can Outshine Paid Backlinks
Backlink strategy for SaaS SEO looks very different than for local or national brands. Small businesses benefit most from links with contextual and geographical relevance. For example, local news outlets, community organizations, or other nearby businesses.
The backlinks still carry weight even if these sites have a modest Domain Rating (DR). They signal local trust to Google, and because the traffic comes from people in the same community, they’re more likely to turn into real customers.
Link Inserts on High-UR Pages Outperform Fresh Pages
When people talk about backlinks, most think of publishing brand-new guest posts on high-authority domains. While this can work, it often takes months for a fresh page to rank and pass on meaningful SEO value.
In some cases, the smarter approach is to do niche edits (link insertions) on a page with high traction and URL Rating (UR). It’s a metric that Ahrefs uses to measure the authority of a specific page. A page with high UR has proven link equity that flows directly to any links added.
Red Flags to Avoid When Buying Backlinks
Backlinks can get expensive, fast. So before spending your budget on a backlink, look into the following red flags that you should avoid:
Sites With Overloaded Outbound Links
If every article has dozens of external links pointing to unrelated businesses, it’s a sign the site is primarily a link farm. Google can detect these unnatural patterns, and the SEO value of those links is minimal.
Exact-Match Anchor Overuse
Vendors who promise exact-match keyword anchors (“best dentist in Bellevue”) across multiple placements are a risk. Over-optimized anchors look manipulative and can trigger penalties or lower rankings.
Low-Quality or AI-Spun Content
Some sellers place your link inside poorly written, irrelevant, or AI-spun content just to “fulfill” the order. Remember, Google still favors quality, helpful content. So, even if the domain metrics look good, Google devalues backlinks on low-quality pages.
Sites Built Only to Sell Links
If the homepage is plastered with “Write for Us,” “Sponsored Post,” or “Contribute Here” banners, the domain’s primary purpose is selling links. These footprints are easy for Google to flag and devalue.
No Real Brand Presence
Real websites have author bios, an “About Us” page, active social media profiles, and genuine contact information. You’ll often see consistent publishing activity, a team behind the content, and other signs of legitimacy (social media pages, LinkedIn, and legitimate digital footprints).
If a site shows no evidence of being a real business or media brand, it’s likely built solely to sell backlinks. Google is getting better at identifying these patterns, which means links from them hold little long-term value and can even become toxic over time.
Where Can You Buy Quality Backlinks?
You can buy high quality backlinks directly from the web admins you’re trying to get them from. There’s just a bit of email marketing involved in the process. As mentioned earlier, you can use tools like Semrush and Ahrefs to create a list of prospects you can reach out to.
But if you don’t have the capacity, manpower, or budget to build a link-building team and cold email outreach infrastructure, your best bet would be to buy backlinks from link vendors. They handle everything from prospecting to outreach, niche edits, and any content production needed.
Before buying links, ensure that they can provide:
- High DR45+ backlinks from website contextually relevant to yours
- Proof of organic traffic from the website, not just a high DR/DA score
- Backlinks from websites contextually relevant to your niche
- Transparent domain list shared before payment
- Backlinks placed in well-written, indexed articles (not spun content)
- Indexing guarantee for the pages where your links go live
Can You Get Backlinks Without Buying Them?
Yes! You can get backlinks for free from partnerships or by virtue of having quality content that isn’t found in any other website. For example, if you did a case study about something in a specific niche, another site might use your study in an article and link back to yours.
Local businesses can get backlinks for free as well if they partner or collaborate with local businesses in their industry, local news sites, or events. But it takes patience, consistency, and a smart content strategy.
Final Thoughts
Backlink building isn’t something you can shortcut with money alone. It takes time, effort, and the right strategy to do it well.
At its core, link building is more about relationships and relevance than it is about transactions. If you want to scale, you need a team that can deliver comprehensive off-page SEO services, including strategic prospecting, outreach infrastructure, and high-quality content placements that drive long-term authority.
That’s exactly what Spacebar Collective delivers. We handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on growth. Get in touch with us today and let’s build authority that lasts!
