Are you still paying for links? It doesn’t matter where or how many, if you’re paying for even a single link it’s time to get rid of it. Remember earlier this week when we wrote about Google’s plan for the next couple months? Part of that plan was to aggressively pursue link buyers and sellers, and it’s only been a couple of days but they are already staying true to their word. Let us here at Wikimotive tell you why some SEO agencies found themselves out of luck this morning.
This morning, the illustrious Matt Cutts chirped out the following Tweet:
That’s coming straight from the man himself. Google takes action against link sellers probably just about every day, but to take action against several thousand in a swoop is indicative of a larger trend. They’re sick of people buying and selling links, and they finally have the resources (algorithm and manpower and time) to tackle the issue head on. This means that if you weren’t affected yet, it’s just a matter of time before the pay per link network YOU use (hypothetical you, of course) is shut down, and your rankings take a hit.
This is Google, so we can never be completely sure what there next move will be. Still, between the warning at SXSW, the video earlier this week, and now this Tweet, it seems smart money is getting out of the paid link game while they still have the chance.