Don’t Get Cheated by Backlink Hucksters
by David Saunders SEO Professional since 1998
I have a simple message for anyone running a business online: do not let yourself be bamboozled by backlink salesmen with shiny promises and slippery language.
Backlinks can be useful. In fact, they can be very useful. But only when they come from the right sort of place — a trusted, relevant source that makes sense for your business.
Take a local business in Plymouth. A backlink from the Devon Chamber of Commerce? That is the sort of thing that can carry real weight. It tells search engines, and real people, that your business belongs in the local conversation. It has context, credibility, and a proper sense of place.
But a backlink from some far-off outfit with no connection to your business, no local relevance, and no reputation worth mentioning? That is another story entirely. That is the sort of thing that looks clever for about five minutes and then starts behaving like trouble.
I have seen too many business owners sold the dream of “quick SEO wins” by people who talk fast, charge fast, and disappear even faster. They offer backlinks like sweets at a fairground, but what they really hand over can be thin, fake, or downright harmful.
So here is the rule I always come back to: if the link would make sense to a human being, it probably makes sense to a search engine too.
Ask yourself: would a real local customer trust this source? Does it fit the business? Is it relevant to the area, the industry, and the audience? If the answer is no, then do not be dazzled by the sales pitch.
Good SEO is not about tricks. It is about trust, relevance, and steady work done properly. Build useful content. Earn genuine mentions. Get listed with respected local organisations. Put your effort into the kind of links that would still matter if search engines vanished tomorrow.
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