Link Scheme

A link scheme is any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site in an attempt to artificially inflate Google rankings. This includes buying or selling links that pass PageRank, excessive link exchanges (“link to me and I’ll link to you”), and using automated programs to create links. Participating in a link scheme is a direct violation of Google’s spam policies. Sites caught engaging in these schemes face devastating manual actions. Rankings earned through genuine authority and high-quality content are the only ones that survive algorithm updates and stand the test of time.

Link Scheme Simplified

A link scheme is any trick or shady tactic used to get backlinks and cheat Google’s system. Buying links, trading links in massive networks, and using software to build fake links are all link schemes that will eventually get your website penalized.