Backlinks for service businesses: which links help, and which break Google's rules

The short answer: earn links a customer would actually click

Links from other websites still matter to Google. Its ranking systems guide says PageRank, the link analysis system it launched with, "continues to be part of our core ranking systems". That's why so many emails offer to sell you backlinks, and why some SEO proposals list them by the dozen.

The catch is that Google treats links created "primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings" as link spam. Paying for links that pass ranking credit, swapping links in bulk, automated link building and guest posts with keyword-rich anchors all fall inside that definition. Google says sites that break its spam policies "may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all".

For a local service business, the useful test is simple. Would a real customer, supplier or neighbour see the link and find it helpful, whether or not Google existed? If yes, it's probably worth having. If the only reason it exists is to move a ranking, don't pay for it.

Why links still matter, and what they can't do

Links do two jobs for Google. Its SEO starter guide says Google "primarily finds pages through links from other pages it already crawled", so links help new pages get discovered. Its ranking systems also use links "as a way to determine what pages are about and which might be most helpful in response to a query."

That doesn't make link count a score you can buy your way up. Google says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google", and its starter guide notes that other sites linking to you "happens naturally over time". For most service businesses, a clear service page, a complete Google Business Profile and genuine local reputation do more than a pile of links from sites your customers have never heard of.

Think of links as a side effect of being known for something. A builder who lists you as their regular electrician, a supplier's installer finder or a local news story about a job you did are all evidence that real people vouch for you. That's the kind of signal links were meant to capture.

What Google counts as link spam

Google's spam policies list the practices it treats as link spam. The list is specific, and most backlink packages sold to small businesses touch at least one item on it. Google does accept that paid links are "a normal part of the economy of the web for advertising and sponsorship purposes", as long as they carry a rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" attribute so they don't pass ranking credit.

Google's examples of link spam include:

• Buying or selling links for ranking purposes, including paying with money, goods or services, or sending a free product in exchange for a post with a link.
• Excessive link exchanges ("Link to me and I'll link to you") or partner pages that exist only for cross-linking.
• Using automated programs or services to create links to your site.
• Requiring a link in a contract or terms of service without letting the other site qualify it.
• Advertorials, guest posts or press releases with paid links that pass ranking credit, or with optimised anchor text.
• Low-quality directory or bookmark site links.
• Links buried in widgets, or widely distributed in the footers or templates of many sites.
• Forum comments with optimised links in the post or signature.

Common link offers, checked against the rules

Here's how the offers service businesses most often receive line up with Google's policy. The question isn't whether a link is paid for, it's whether money or favours are buying ranking credit.

• "Guest posts on high-authority sites" for a fee: this is paying for links in articles. If the links pass ranking credit or use keyword-rich anchors such as "best plumber Geelong", it's link spam. Skip it.
• A directory submission package listing you on hundreds of sites: Google names low-quality directory links as spam, and its hiring guide warns against SEOs offering to submit your site "to thousands of search engines". Skip it.
• A link swap with another trade: one genuine referral link between businesses that really work together is normal. A standing arrangement to swap links with anyone who asks is the excessive exchange Google describes.
• Sponsoring a local club or event: fine as sponsorship. Don't make a followed link a condition of the deal; if the club marks it sponsored, that's how Google wants paid links handled.
• A supplier's installer finder or an industry association's member directory: usually worth having, because customers use them to find accredited businesses. Only list where you genuinely hold the accreditation or membership.
• A "private network" or automated link service: this is automated or manufactured linking. Skip it, however good the before and after screenshots look.

Links worth earning for a local service business

The best links come from relationships you already have. They're slower to collect than a purchased package, but each one can also send you enquiries directly, which a link on a site nobody reads never will. Start with the places your customers already look.

None of these needs a link-building budget. Most need someone to ask, and a page on your site worth linking to. Google's starter guide suggests promoting your business through community engagement, offline materials and word of mouth, and says word of mouth is "One of the most effective and lasting ways" to be found.

Places to start:

• Suppliers and manufacturers whose installer, stockist or dealer pages list you.
• Industry associations, licensing bodies or accreditation schemes you genuinely belong to.
• Builders, real estate agents, strata managers or other businesses that already refer work to you and would happily link to you.
• Local news, community groups and clubs, when you've done something genuinely newsworthy or supported them.
• Useful content on your own site, such as a clear guide to a common local problem, that others want to cite.

Keep readingSet up a Google Business Profile that brings enquiries

A worked example: the backlink email

This is a hypothetical example. An electrician in Geelong receives an email offering "50 high-authority backlinks" for a fixed monthly fee, with a promise of first-page rankings within 90 days. The sender won't name the sites in advance, and the sample report shows links on blogs about crypto, travel and fashion, each with the anchor text "emergency electrician Geelong".

Checked against Google's policies, almost every part of the offer is a warning sign. The links are bought for ranking purposes, the anchors are keyword-rich, the sites have nothing to do with electrical work, and the ranking promise is something Google says no one can make. Google's hiring guide also says to be wary of SEOs "that email you out of the blue".

The electrician declines and spends the same time on three things instead. They ask the two builders who regularly use them to add them to their recommended trades pages, check that their listing on their switchboard supplier's installer finder is current, and write one clear page about what to do when a safety switch keeps tripping. Each of those links or pages can bring an enquiry on its own, whatever it does for rankings.

If an agency or freelancer builds links for you

Link building done on your behalf is still your risk. Google's guide to hiring an SEO is blunt: "you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire". It also warns to avoid SEOs "that talk about link popularity schemes", and to be careful if a company "is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do."

Before you agree to any link work, put these questions in writing and keep the answers with the proposal:

• Which sites will you approach, and how will you get the link?
• Will any link be paid for, in money, products or services? If so, will it be marked sponsored or nofollow?
• Will you send us a list of every link built, with its URL and anchor text, each month?
• What happens if a link breaks Google's spam policies, and who removes it?

Keep readingCheck the deliverables in a marketing agency contract

Check the links you already have

You don't need a paid tool to see the main picture. Google Search Console has a Links report showing which sites link to you and which pages they point at. Google's manual actions help page explains how to export it, either by linking site or in date order, and suggests starting with the sites that link to you most and links created recently.

Look for patterns rather than single odd links. Every site picks up a few strange links over time, and Google says that in most cases it "can assess which links to trust without additional guidance". What deserves a closer look is a cluster of links you didn't earn: dozens of unrelated blogs using the same keyword-rich anchor, or a jump in links around the time someone sold you a package.

While you're in Search Console, open the Manual actions report too. If Google's reviewers have found unnatural links pointing at your site, that's where it tells you.

Keep readingSet up Search Console in your business's name

If you've bought links in the past

Don't panic, and don't start disavowing everything. Google says most sites won't need its disavow tool, and that it "can potentially harm your site's performance" if used incorrectly. It recommends disavowing only when you have a considerable number of spammy, artificial or low-quality links and they have caused, or likely will cause, a manual action.

If you do have a manual action for unnatural links, Google's steps are to ask the linking sites to remove the links or qualify them with nofollow, then disavow the ones you can't get removed, and then request reconsideration. It warns that "Blindly adding all backlinks to the disavow file is not considered a good-faith effort".

If there's no manual action, the practical step is usually just to stop. End the arrangement, ask the provider for a list of what they built, keep that record, and put your effort into the kinds of links and pages above. If your traffic has fallen and you suspect links, check the other likely causes first, because a drop rarely has only one explanation.

Keep readingFind the real cause of a traffic drop