The Smart Approach to Link Building: Renting Backlinks vs Buying

Alex Sandro, Senior product manager at Serpzilla.com

Any professional marketer will already know that within the world of search engine optimization (SEO), link building remains a successful strategy for improving both a website's visibility, and places within search engine results pages (SERPs). However, when it comes to obtaining these hard-fought after backlinks, there are two main approaches: purchasing them outright, or renting them. In this article, we will explore the reasons as to why renting backlinks is the optimal choice.

Understanding Rental Backlinks

Put simply, rental backlinks are links that are placed on referring domains on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis through a subscription-like service. They are usually bought from the same services that provide permanent backlinks, which are essentially their opposite in that they are a one-time purchase for lifetime placement.

In this sense, rental backlinks are a budget-friendly strategy for the effective development of the website’s backlink profile, as well as being able to promote the website through certain keywords. These links can be purchased on an ongoing basis via specialised services such as Serpzilla. These backlinks will stay on selected high-authority websites as long as you pay for them. As soon as a subscription is cancelled, the backlinks are automatically paused or deleted.

A rental backlink is deployed through the use of special coding on the publisher’s website. This can be done both by the publisher themselves, or via their development team. For example, on some services such as Serpzilla, link placement is as easy as accessing their specialised dashboard, selecting the publisher’s website, and choosing to activate a backlink. The backlink will then be placed automatically. Additionally, the price of backlink placement is usually quoted monthly, though other options are also possible.

This rental backlink may be displayed on the website in a number of different ways. This can be either a backlink in the sidebar, or in the footer. However, these are not the only types of backlinks that can be rented - you can also rent contextual (placed within content) or sitewide backlinks that allow for increased visibility.

Renting backlinks allows you to tap into the authority and credibility of other websites by hitching a ride from their domain authority for a defined period, which can be an effective strategy for several reasons. Now, let's analyse the advantages of this approach and understand why it often surpasses the more conventional practice of buying backlinks.

The Advantages of Renting Backlinks: Boosting Your SEO Strategy

Acquiring rental backlinks offer a range of advantages that make them a preferred choice for most SEO practi- tioners. Let's dive into these benefits and understand why renting backlinks can be essential for your website's SEO strategy.

1. Cost-Effectiveness

One of the biggest advantages of rental backlinks is their overall affordability. Starting from just a few cents, you can boost your backlink profile and witness positive impacts on your website's growth metrics. Traditionally, link placements come at a higher price, with the cost of a single guest post equating to the price of acquiring numerous rental backlinks. In fact, you may be able to gain 150+ links from subdirectory pages, or 30+ backlinks from main pages, all for an average of approximately $100. These numbers alone state the cost-effectiveness of rental backlinks, making them an attractive option for those wanting an authoritative and budget-friendly backlink profile.

2. High Volume and Speed

Building a backlink profile through manual placement strategies such as guest-posting can be a time-consuming and labour-intensive process. Outreaching with various publishers, waiting for approvals, and deploying backlinks can take days or even weeks of valuable business time. In contrast, rental backlinks offer the advantage of both high volume and rapid placement. Some link deployment services such as Serpzilla can secure tens and hundreds of efficient rental backlinks in just one hour, thanks to their automated process. While some publishers may moderate backlink acquisition, rental backlinks can be purchased at a higher rate within a short period, offering a significant advantage.

3. Monitoring and Control

Rental backlinks often come with built-in monitoring and personalization abilities. These links can be routinely analysed for placement status, ensuring that your budget is well-utilised. Furthermore, if a rented backlink is not active on the chosen webpage, it is flagged as an ‘error’, and your payment will not be processed, all in real-time. This feature means you can trust that the money you invest in rental backlinks is used as efficiently as possible to enhance your website's SEO.

4. Easy Backlink Management

With easy customization comes flexibility. Unlike manually purchased and placed backlinks, such as those obtained through backlink outreach or guest posts, rental backlinks can be easily removed from a website with just a single click if they no longer align with your SEO strategy. This level of flexibility empowers you to make optimal adjustments to your backlink profile without the need to contact numerous website owners to request backlink removal.

5. Versatile Backlink Attributes

Additionally, rental backlinks offer all the foundational attributes that you may desire in traditionally purchased backlinks. Whether you require NoFollow, DoFollow, or Sponsored links, rental backlinks provide the versatility to build a diverse and effective backlink profile quickly.

The above advantages of rental backlinks make them a strategic choice for optimising your website's SEO performance. By combining cost-efficiency, speed, control, and versatility, renting backlinks can be the key to unlocking your website's true potential in the digital landscape, minus the manpower.

Addressing Potential Drawbacks of Rental Backlinks

While rental backlinks offer numerous advantages, this guide offers some things to be aware of during their usage. Understanding these issues and knowing how to correctly mitigate them can help you make the most of your rental backlink strategy.

1. Payment Volume

In the initial stages, rental backlinks can be seen as an excellent way to kickstart your SEO efforts, especially if you have a limited budget and want high-quality backlinks. However, as your website's reach and the number of referring domains inevitably rise, the volume of rental subscriptions can increase significantly. This can lead to a less favourable cost-to-efficiency ratio. At this point, it may be best to consider transitioning to regular, high-authority, paid backlinks. With an already established ranking and strong SEO factors, paid backlinks can gradually replace rentals, providing long-term stability without the burden of rental fees.

2. Website Quality

The quality of referring domains can vary, and not all websites hosting rental backlinks may meet your standards. Conducting a thorough analysis of potential referring domains is crucial. Choose reliable websites that align with your SEO goals to avoid compromising your results and your investment. We recommend Serpzilla, as they have developed a domain ranking system within their platform that allows you to connect to clients with the best backlink sources, ensuring higher quality and effectiveness throughout your entire backlink journey.

3. Backlinks Overflow

Overloading your website with a large number of rental backlinks at once can be risky and may get you caught out by search engines such as Google, possibly resulting in penalties. To avoid this pitfall, it's vital to consistently maintain a well-balanced backlink profile and distribute your backlink acquisitions in a timely manner. Perform an analysis of your competitors and develop a diverse backlink strategy to ensure that your profile remains organic and SEO friendly.

4. Potential Negative Impact on Ranking

Consistency and careful planning are crucial when using rental backlinks. Frequent changes, such as regularly buying and discontinuing backlinks, can have negative effects on your website's ranking. For instance, purchasing a high number of links, allowing them to be indexed, and then abruptly stopping payment without replacement may lead to penalties from search engines. To prevent this, proper budget planning and a properly planned backlink acquisition process are vital. Maintain a stable link-building strategy to ensure the longevity of success in your SEO efforts.

How to Effectively Utilise Rental Backlinks

To correctly utilise rental backlinks in your SEO strategy, you must adopt a thoughtful approach that optimises the benefits while avoiding common pitfalls. Here are a few guidelines for boosting the effectiveness of rental back- links:

1. Balance Your Backlink Portfolio

Generally, experts recommend a balanced approach to backlinks within your profile. This typically involves allo- cating:

• Approximately 50-60% of your backlink volume for rental backlinks, forming the majority of your profile (easily deployable, low-cost)
• 20-30% for outreach backlinks, such as guest posts and articles (these generally require more physical effort).
• The remaining portion for Web 2.0 backlinks, including comments, forum posts, and social media links (can be delegated to a social media manager).

Striking this balance can help diversify your backlink profile, making it more robust and well-rounded, as well as being organic enough to satisfy search engine rankings.

2. Anchor Text Placement and Relevance

Ensure that any anchor text in your rental backlinks is surrounded by relevant, high-value content on both sides. For example, if you are using link building for ecommerce, then topics related to online commerce, e-commerce and online shops would be suitable. This practice enhances the overall relevance of the backlink. Even if your backlinks are placed on pages that may seem somewhat unrelated, embedding them in contextually relevant content can yield positive results that aligns to SEO standards. The surrounding text should complement and support the anchor text's relevance to ensure maximum results.

3. Consider the Nesting Level

When renting backlinks, you have the ability to choose not only from the main pages but also from various nesting levels. Placing backlinks on the main pages can provide faster results due to the substantial link authority they possess. However, you can also opt for traffic-rich pages, attracting direct traffic to your website, which can potentially convert into customers. Assess your specific goals and select the nesting level that aligns with the needs of your niche.

4. Explore Contextual Backlinks

You can also consider incorporating contextual backlinks into your rental strategy. These links can reap the benefits of proper outreach by targeting relevant pages through keyword searches and placing backlinks within fully contextually relevant text on the publisher's page. This approach offers an automated outreach effect, simplifying the process of finding and acquiring valuable, high authority backlinks.

5. Prioritise Indexed Backlinks

Opt for a platform or service that allows you to utilise and pay for indexed backlinks. This approach prevents unnecessary spending on backlinks that might not be indexed properly, saving you time and resources. Unlike other methods like guest posts or outreach, rental backlinks can offer more reliability in this aspect, ensuring that you're paying only for the links that contribute to your overall SEO strategy.

Conclusion: Elevating Your SEO with Rental Backlinks

In the world of SEO, rental backlinks present a newer, valuable strategy. By striking the right balance between rental, outreach, and Web 2.0 backlinks, you can create a resounding backlink profile.

In an industry dominated by backlinks and SEO metrics, the power of rental backlinks is undeniable. By implementing these strategies, you can propel your website to greater visibility, authority, and online identity. We believe that adopting rental backlinks to your SEO strategy is the key to staying competitive within your chosen niche.