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We are looking into buying links from sites that are within our niche.

My question is what would count the most as a quality link?

A. Relevancy
B. Page Rank
C. Alexa Ranking

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by hiacclaimdir2

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Quick, practical update for the original question from : the old three-way choice (relevancy, PageRank, Alexa) is incomplete today. Public Toolbar PageRank is no longer a usable public metric and Alexa.com was retired in 2022 (Alexa Internet). Buying links also carries policy risk — paid links that pass ranking signals can trigger manual action — see Google’s guidance on link schemes.

A straightforward vetting checklist to apply before any purchase:

  • Editorial placement and context matter most: in-body links inside relevant articles beat sidebar/footer links.
  • Prefer unique referring domains over raw link counts; one strong, relevant domain > many low-quality sites.
  • Inspect the seller’s backlink profile with a third-party tool (DA/DR/Trust Flow) and look for spammy outgoing links or link-network patterns.
  • Control anchor text diversity; avoid forced exact-match anchors across many placements.
  • Insist that paid links be clearly identified or attributed (use rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" instead of passing link value).
  • Ask for a defined placement window or permanent placement and for transparency about traffic/referral reporting.

Measure and protect the investment: tag purchased links with UTM parameters and monitor referrals, bounce, time on site and conversions in Analytics. Example UTM pattern:

https://example.com/landing-page?utm_source=site-name&utm_medium=sponsored&utm_campaign=topic

(see ).

This builds on points raised in the thread: ’s emphasis on true authority can be quantified (organic visibility and referral behavior), ’s traffic-focus is valid — track actual referrals — and ’s PR-versus-traffic distinction is reflected in modern metrics. For a strategic primer on safe link tactics and value assessment, see Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to Link Building.

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Member Avatar for Member #114696

You may get better answers at
Search Engine Optimization forum
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/forum45.html

alexa is good on traffic, but really easy to manipulate by just one person. pagerank is trying to rate "importance" by counting links, not traffic. Taken together, they sort of give you an idea.

Member Avatar for DMR

You may get better answers at
Search Engine Optimization forum

And so, to that far off land we now travel...

Member Avatar for Dani

Alexa measures trends, not actual data, since it its sample size is limited to Internet Explorer users who are using the Alexa toolbar.

Member Avatar for Spiderweb

We are looking into buying links from sites that are within our niche.

My question is what would count the most as a quality link?

A. Relevancy
B. Page Rank
C. Alexa Ranking

Best links are bringing real vistors to your site. Otherwise, waste time and your money!

Member Avatar for Dani

A relevant, authority site. An authority site is one that you would honestly recommend to others. It's a name brand in your industry. It's very well designed and has a very good navigation. Page rank, Alexa ranking, all of that can be spoofed. When it comes down to it, the best of the best will survive the test of time without having to resort to black hat SEO.

Member Avatar for hiacclaimdir2

I agree with CSCgal, time is really the key. You can use alexa and google PR as a barometer to see if your SEO efforts are affecting the trends but, in link development you really want to select sites that compliment theniche you are playing in. If you develop links to increase traffic you want ones that will augment you keyword(s) density and help you to maximize you position in the organic searchs relevant to your site.

Then it is purely content, content, and content

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