SEO relies on two core elements: content and backlinks. However, not all content and links offer equal value. The link-building industry, while crucial for search rankings, is riddled with hidden challenges that can harm rather than help businesses.

Many agencies prioritise quantity over quality, offering low-cost, low-value links that fail to boost SEO and can even lead to search engine penalties. Unethical practices such as link farming and private blog networks remain widespread, producing backlinks that search algorithms quickly devalue. Additionally, a lack of strategic focus means many businesses invest in link-building without a solid on-page SEO foundation or clear objectives, leading to wasted resources.

Pricing structures in the industry are often inconsistent, with some agencies charging excessive fees while providing little transparency about their methods. Many providers also fail to offer essential services such as link monitoring and reporting, leaving businesses unaware of lost or ineffective links.

Poor-quality link-building services not only waste money but can damage a site’s search visibility and reputation. Recovering from penalties caused by bad backlinks can be time-consuming and expensive. While AI and automation offer efficiency, they also enable large-scale spammy link generation, making careful selection of service providers even more critical.

What Actually Works in SEO

Backlinks remain a core pillar of SEO, but not all links are created equal. Many businesses fall into the trap of buying links blindly, assuming any backlink will boost rankings. The reality? Most paid links are worthless at best and harmful at worst. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up burning your budget on spammy networks that do nothing for your search performance—or worse, get your site penalised. So, what makes a good link? Let’s break it down.

Will Google Index the Page and Link?

The first and most critical factor: If Google doesn’t index the page, the link is useless. It doesn’t matter if a broker promises you a high-authority backlink—if the page itself isn’t indexed, Google doesn’t see it, and neither should you.

How to check if a page is indexed:

• Google Search: Copy the page URL and search site:yourpageurl.com on Google. If it doesn’t show up, it’s not indexed.
• Google Search Console: If you own the linking domain, check its coverage report to confirm indexation.
• Manual Review: If a website looks like it’s full of spammy, AI-generated junk, Google has likely devalued large portions of it, making your link pointless.

If a broker or agency cannot guarantee indexation, walk away.

Never Trust Link Brokers: Vet Every Link Yourself

Buying links from brokers—even so-called “trusted” ones—is a shortcut to disaster. These people do not care about your rankings; they only care about selling links. Many of the links they sell:

• Come from low-quality PBNs that Google already devalues.
• Are placed on random sites that have no topical relevance to your business.
• Disappear after a few months when site owners remove them or sell more links.
• Exist in shady networks that Google eventually catches, tanking your rankings.

Even well-known link-building agencies land brands in bad networks—not because they’re incompetent, but because the link-selling ecosystem is fundamentally broken. Do the vetting yourself. Look at the site, the article, and the overall quality before spending a cent.

What to check before buying a link:

• Is the site real? If the website has no organic traffic, no real audience, and only publishes paid content, it’s a glorified link farm.
• Does the article make sense? If the content is AI-generated nonsense stuffed with backlinks, Google will ignore the page.
• Does the site have actual rankings? Check in Ahrefs or SEMrush, but don’t rely only on these tools (more on that later).

No matter what a broker tells you, assume they are lying and verify everything yourself.

Get Links Where They Actually Matter

If you’re trying to rank in South Africa, why are you buying links in Poland, the Czech Republic, or India? Many businesses fall into the trap of chasing high “Domain Authority” links from random sites across the world, but these links do nothing for local rankings.

How to Get Relevant Links:

• Prioritise local domains: If you want to rank in South Africa, get links from .co.za websites. If you’re targeting the UK, look for .co.uk domains.
• Industry relevance matters: A link from a reputable industry blog is far more valuable than a generic article on an unrelated website.
• Quality over quantity: One strong link from a respected local publication is worth more than 50 links from spammy foreign blogs.

Focus on links that align with your objectives, not just any site that will sell you space.

SEO Tools Are Useful, But…

Many businesses rely too heavily on SEO tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush to evaluate links. These tools are useful but not the ultimate truth—because Google deliberately feeds them misinformation.

Why SEO tools are unreliable:

• Backlink profiles are incomplete: The backlinks Ahrefs shows are not the same ones Google actually values.
• Google hides data: Many high-value links don’t show up in SEO tools, and many devalued links still appear as “high authority.”
• Domain Authority (DA) is meaningless: Google does not use DA or DR as ranking factors—these are third-party estimations with no real impact on rankings.

How to Make Better Link Decisions:

• Use SEO tools as a guide, not a rulebook.
• Manually check the website and its content quality.
• Prioritise relevance, real traffic, and indexation over DA or DR scores.

At the end of the day, your best tool is human judgment—evaluate each site, article, and link on its actual merit, not what a tool tells you.