PR 8 Links from Google.com Only $1,995

Monday, June 11th, 2007;
-- Scott Woodard |

As the debate over paid links continues in reaction to Google’s recent line in the sand it may shock many that Google is currently offering paid links on Google.com for the very reasonable price of just $1,995 - and as an added bonus you’ll also receive a free Google Mini.

Yesterday while digging through a competitor’s backlinks for a client I noticed a domain that seemed remarkably out of place: google.com. In addition to adding themselves to a large number of low quality directories, the competitor had discovered that if you purchase the Google Mini you have the privilege of contributing to their exceedingly large list of “customer success stories“. While many of these success stories are for established and recognizable businesses who sincerely appreciate the advanced search capabilities the Mini provides, others are undoubtedly as pleased with their new link as their new Google Mini.

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96 Responses to “PR 8 Links from Google.com Only $1,995”

  1. Brian Chappell Says:

    HA. Nice find Scott. Why wouldn’t G Nofollow those. Hypocrites!

  2. Simon Heseltine Says:

    What’s the under / over on when they’re no-followed? 10 minutes after Matt reads this? ;)

    BTW Scott, I only see that as a PR7, I checked different datacenters, and they’re all showing the same…

  3. Scott Woodard Says:

    Simon, I’d go with the over on 10 minutes and the under for an hour. ;)

  4. SEO Refugee Blog Says:

    Beautiful! Great find Scott! I see a PR7 as well but the point remains they are breaking more than a few of their own guidelines.

  5. Postoholic Says:

    Scott, I’ve tried a link: search for a few of the companies listed on the customers stories page and don’t see a link from Google (Google directory not counting).

    Nevertheless, an interesting story.

  6. SEO Refugee Blog Says:

    Postoholic, where are you doing the search? If it’s on Google you should know that that’s about the worst information you could get.

    Check out the second result on .

  7. SEO Refugee Blog Says:

    woops… looks like my link to the Yahoo search didn’t work. Here’s the url to copy and paste: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/advsearch?p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bili a.se%2F&bwm=i&bwmo=d&bwmf=s

  8. Postoholic Says:

    SEO Refugee, I’m certainly not an SEO expert :)

    But is it incorrect to assume that if Google link: search does not show a link, then that means that Google does not count it as a backlink, no matter what Yahoo thinks on the subject?

  9. dnn Says:

    That’s good, but i don’t see pr8 link yet.

  10. SEO Refugee Blog Says:

    Yeah, that’s incorrect. Google purposefully only displays a small sampling of the links they count. For example, a Google link: search for my site shows about 244 links. However, if I log in to Webmaster Central, they show me over 11 thousand links.

  11. Reuben Yau Says:

    I hate posts like this.

    You make it sound like these companies are specifically paying for the link, which is not really true now is it. I know of one company that’s missing, so this isn’t even a complete client list.

    Matt’s posts talks about links specifically: “paid links that flow PageRank and attempt to game Google’s rankings”.

    Since there are 100+ links on that page and the link text is the company name, it’s not trying to game the system, it’s just a list of happy customers. Take a look at Matt’s example of the paid links that they’re looking for:

    http://www.mattcutts.com/images/example-paid-links.png

    So while the list is huge and horrible from a UI point of view, it’s not like Google is specifically selling links.

  12. Scott Woodard Says:

    Reuben, I had no intention of making it sound like Google was selling links - they clearly aren’t. This was more of a light-hearted piece of irony that made me smile when I saw it.

  13. SEO Refugee Blog Says:

    Reuben, this reminds me of a tactic ticket scalpers use. They sell a cheap coffee mug for 300 bucks and include 2 free tickets to some sold out game. Now granted, a Google Mini isn’t a cheap coffee mug but you certainly can’t tell me that those Google links are affecting the rankings. The only reason Google gave those people links is because they’ve purchased a product from them so really, yes, it is exactly like Google is selling links.

    If you say that wasn’t the intent then would selling links without mentioning PageRank or SERPs then be OK?

  14. Brian Chappell Says:

    Your obv. missing the whole point Reuben. The fact of the matter is. X company bought something from Google, and is then given a link.

    Google has explained to webmasters to NOFOLLOW any link that isnt an actual VOTE for that site. These sites wouldn’t get a vote if they had not BOUGHT something from Google. Google is being a hypocrite, end of story.

  15. Reuben Yau Says:

    Scott - thanks for the clarification - I guess my reaction was inclusive of some of the comments.

    SEORBlog
    Please don’t liken this to an illegal workaround like scalping…

    If they are affecting rankings, what term do you think they’re affecting? I’d guess the company name since that’s the link text. You think an organization that’s large enough to want to buy a Google mini isn’t going to be found for its company name if they don’t get a link from Google?

    Brian
    I’m not missing the point, I understand people think Google is hypocritical in the link selling, but the original intention of the vendor is to buy an appliance, not to get a link. The link is just a bonus and as I said, not every customer gets a link.

    A company site linking to its customers is not a bad thing, it’s a totally valid link. The links aren’t meant to be ads and they’re not intended to manipulate the PR algo so there’s no need to nofollow them. These links are in a totally different category to links that are primarily bought as ads.

    Do a search for “our clients” - are all those 254M results manipulating the PR algo and need to be nofollowed?

  16. Ed Kohler Says:

    The link is certainly something of added value beyond the product being purchased.

  17. Google Selling PR8 Links (With Free Gift) - Webmaster Forum Says:

    [...] Google Selling PR8 Links (With Free Gift) Permanent PR8, only $1995, and you get a free Google Mini! Only while stocks last… __________________ http://blog.v7n.com Marketing, SEO & Other Stuff - Daily [...]

  18. SEOish Says:

    Great Catch. Nice article.

  19. WebGeek Says:

    Wow, $1995 for a lifetime PR7 link, without nofollow? Not bad. :) Over 2 years, that would beat a rented link that costs $85/mo. Better than most paid PR7 link prices, wouldn’t you say?

  20. Ranking Konzept - SEO News » Blog Archive » Google produziert Duplicate Content und verkauft Link Says:

    [...] Den Linkkauf über den Umweg des Erwerbs von Google Mini und das daraus resultierende Erscheinen auf der Erfolgsgeschichten Liste hat Scott aufgedeckt. [...]

  21. Dario Says:

    “What if a site wants to buy links purely for visitor click traffic, to build buzz, or to support another site? In that situation, I would use the rel=”nofollow” attribute.” -Matt Cutts 9/1/05

    We could always report it as a paid link :P
    http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/how-to-report-paid-links/

  22. WebGeek Says:

    LOL. Awesome! Let’s report it. 8)

  23. Andy Beal Says:

    I was think about getting a Google Mini for Marketing Pilgrim. ;-)

    Nice scoop Scott!

  24. SEO Refugee Blog Says:

    Reuben, not to beat a dead horse ;) but you say “If they are affecting rankings, what term do you think they’re affecting? I’d guess the company name since that’s the link text. You think an organization that’s large enough to want to buy a Google mini isn’t going to be found for its company name if they don’t get a link from Google?”

    Do you really think a link of this nature would only affect your SERPs for the anchor text? Also, what if I were California Mortgage Loans LLC? That would be some decent anchor text. Sort of like ABC Fine Wine and Spirits…

  25. Brian Chappell Says:

    Indeed. Having a trusted, authority link can have an impact on the authority of the ENTIRE site. Its not merely a matter of helping you rank higher for your site name. It helps your entire site out as well as variations around your site name.

    Prime example. SEO Refugee posts here and obtains a PR7 homepage link to increase his ranking for “SEO BLOG” since his site name is SEO Refugee, he works in the anchor text, SEO Refugee Blog ;)

  26. » SEO Secret: Get a PR8 backlink from Google.com AntOnaf.com Blog | Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | Internet Marketing | Technology » Blog Archive Says:

    [...] This was a nice find by Scott Woodard at Marketing Pilgrim. With all the hype surrounding paid links, Google themselves are part of the paid link world. Over the past few weeks Google has seemed vehement to put an end to paid links, well at least that’s how Google’s underboss, Matt Cutts makes it seem. [...]

  27. Maki Says:

    It would be nice to get a link from the Big Daddy, even though its amongst 565 links.

    Thanks for the tip, Scott.

  28. Marc Says:

    I believe this does count as selling links!

    Google should be worrying about all the adsense powered spam sites in its index.

    And I know many people who would pay 2k just for a link of PR8 from google, so it looks like a scalpers trick to me.

    I bet they mention that link when they are trying to make a sale for google mini!

  29. Backlink pagerank (PR) 6 da Google.it al prezzo di € 1.995 « Blog Seo Carpediem Says:

    [...] Se ne parla ancora oggi a distanza di 3 mesi, riguardo i link a pagamento e della nuova politica in merito di Google, ma oggi sono rimasto veramente stupefatto nel leggere la notizia su marketing pilgrim: compri un Google mini al prezzo di €1.995 e in cambio Google ti mette un bel backlink, per sempre senza nessun nofollow, in questa pagina di google.it con PR (pagerank) 6. [...]

  30. PayPerPost Secures $7 Million In Funding - The Article Writer - Press Releases | Web Content Writing | Targeted Articles | SEO Consulting Says:

    [...] Unrepentant PayPerPost Gets Funding Reviewing ReviewMe PR8 Links From Google.com Only $1995 Andy Beard’s Comments About the Additional PPP Funding PayPerPost Direct [...]

  31. Link PR 8 da Google a meno di 2,000 dollari Says:

    [...] Da Marketingpilgrim: [...]

  32. Google Wants You to Snitch on Your Competition in 3 Easy Steps - WordPress SEO and Blog Marketing Says:

    [...] By the way, if you want a free and clear link on a PR7 page from the Google.com domain, it’ll only cost you $1,995. Well, I guess for that price, of course Google won’t nofollow those links or redirect them through an “intermediate page”. Using that system, maybe you should start a contributors page for those people who purchase “your cool product”, then you can justify not having the nofollow attribute or page redirect. [...]

  33. Friday Favorites - 06/15/07 | WebGeek Says:

    [...] Google is selling PR8 links for $1995! Without nofollow! Matt Cutts will love this. :) Especially since they want you to report paid links. [...]

  34. This Week In SEO - 6/15/07 - TheVanBlog Says:

    [...] PR 8 Links from Google.com Only $1,995 [...]

  35. PR8 Directory list - WebProWorld Says:

    [...] Originally Posted by sureshiqseo Hi, Can any one suggest pr8 directory list. PR 8 Links from Google.com Only $1,995 | Marketing Pilgrim __________________ SEO Workers - Search Engine Optimization Company | SEO Workers Forums | Algojunkie SEO Resources [...]

  36. Kausik Dutta Says:

    It’s indeed a great find. But do you know if some body signup for their service are they going to show that site surely ? I think they are not showing all sites straight forward. Only the industry leading sites might be on that list. But I must say finding that url is a big credit for you.

  37. GotChance - A Geek’s Blog » Blog Archive » PR7 Backlink from Google.com Says:

    [...] I found this nice post on “How to get a PR7 Backlink from Google for just $1995. It is nothing difficult. All you have to do is Buy a Google Mini and once you have done it, you can leave your testimonial under Customer’s Success Stories. That page has a Google Pagerank of 7 and allows a link directly to your website. As far as what i can see from the source code is that they do not have a “No Follow”. (I removed NoFollow on my comments recently). So its definitely worth a lot of SEO for just $1995. [...]

  38. Does eBay work for selling Jewelry? Says:

    [...] While researching this post, I found out some funny things. You would expect grown up corporations to be scared of being labeled spammers in fear of losing their brand value. But you’d be wrong. Google has a quirk in their algorithm that lets authority sites get a lot of listings for their subdomains. A site with “authority” should be more trusted and trustworthy, no? I guess not. A search on “eBay for Jewelry” turns up a page full of eBay subdomains, each one has two entries, making the situation worse. It takes until the 15th item to find a non-eBay site. [...]

  39. Jimmy Says:

    it is really cool! Google is Selling links, Any one can suggest me from where we can contact for the links. i need some High Pr links Pr7 Pr 8 Do contact me for this certvista (@) gmail.com

  40. john33 Says:

    i’m shocked too :) hehehe…

  41. William Says:

    How can google sell links!? That is weird! Did they only make this PageRank system to make money?
    - William

  42. had Says:

    “Only $1,995″

    :) yes, it’s only :)

  43. The Article Writer » Unwinding Links: SEO Strategy In Reverse? Says:

    [...] gets into the link selling game by offering links for sale through its site; Scott Woodward of Marketing Pilgrim brought this bit of news to everyone’s attention just this past [...]

  44. Christian Says:

    That’s okay, I’ll just put it on my credit card.

  45. paper shredder Says:

    This is really amazing, if google is selling links PR8 ones, Well i guess this all to gain the ranking in search engines thats all.

  46. Daniel Says:

    Nothing surprises me anymore.

  47. us-experts Says:

    i read this article
    its very expert

  48. Buy A Link On Google.com - Only 1995.00 — LinkWorth - Be Found Online Says:

    [...] UPDATE I couldn’t remember where I originally read this, but as I’m making the topic public again, others are riding my wave and pointed out where it was brought up originally. [...]

  49. More Hipocrisy By Google - Nofollow? — LinkWorth - Be Found Online Says:

    [...] real owner, until today when Rustybrick sphunn what I had just sphunn and provided a link to the original story. I appreciate someone finally telling me who I could credit because I don’t like duplicating [...]

  50. Google продает ссылки со своего домена с PR7 | SEO-PPC-FAQ Says:

    [...] Еще: PR 8 Links from Google.com Only $1,995 [...]

  51. 90 дни с яицазимитпо лъгуг Says:

    [...] връзка от тази страница при това без nofollow. За да публикуват връзката, Google изискват да напишете само някаква история на [...]

  52. Matt Ellsworth Says:

    I think this just shows that you can sell links on your page - so long as you charge $1995 for a product and give them a link on the site as well.

  53. korku Says:

    thanks.Superrr

  54. Divx Says:

    Yeah, that’s incorrect. Google purposefully only displays a small sampling of the links they count. For example, a Google link: search for my site shows about 244 links. However, if I log in to Webmaster Central, they show me over 11 thousand links. great idea…

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  58. araba Says:

    thanks bebeim supeer… devam devam
    nedemek lan bu

  59. Berk Says:

    teşekkürler canımm

  60. kanser Says:

    eyw

  61. Dikili Says:

    o kadar para verilmez googla link için…

  62. videosz Says:

    Videosz tenk yu canım

  63. Klip Says:

    Thanks …

  64. Rose Says:

    I’d like to buy a link there ;)

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  66. diet diabet cancer Says:

    I’d like to buy a link theremaybe

  67. vize işlemleri Says:

    thanks

  68. forum Says:

    forum, forum sitesi, paylaşım, paylaş, eğlen

  69. sports singles Says:

    I don’t understand why it’s ok for google to sell links but everyone else cannot do it?

  70. tavla indir Says:

    thank youu

  71. www.bilgizim.com Says:

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  72. Geoff Says:

    All Google has to do is `nofollow` those links. They don`t, so what does that tell you?

  73. SEO London Says:

    An eye opener, just stumbled upon this post and digging further.

    On the surface of it the same story getting repeated.

    “And the story is I’m on the top and I wouldn’t let you go above me.”

    So in the end it is going be a duet, Google Vs. Microsoft.

    I’m watching how world is being shaped….

  74. Oyunsaoyun Says:

    en yeni oyunları oynayabileceğiniz tek site.

  75. Dmitri Says:

    Geoff, nowadays links from references with ` nofollow ` has not to sense for google

  76. Cep Telefonu Says:

    cep telefonu cep telefonları.. thanks ..

  77. John Illnes Says:

    this seems interesting..

    I think the most interesting part, google makes this job unknown so we dont know exactly what is happening.. if google is counting or not.. is nofollow links work for something or not.. so there is always a hope :)

  78. canerkus Says:

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  79. CHARON Says:

    Good website!

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  83. Maple Says:

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  84. Sağlıkpenceresi Says:

    Thank you.

  85. Sağlıksal Says:

    Best regards. Thanks

  86. StacyJai Says:

    this is very dis-heartening to hear. if they are policing the industry how can they themselves sell links?

    i have been hearing soo many great things about google, between all the free software they give away and their “green” datacenters….

    they better clarify these matters soon, because it can not be good press!

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  87. çiçekçiler Says:

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  88. tasarım Says:

    I’d like to buy a link there

  89. Sedat Says:

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  91. çiçekçi Says:

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  92. Bilgiliz Says:

    Teşekkürler paylaşım için.

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  93. skseo Says:

    Already working or just fixed?

  94. çiçekçi Says:

    böyle bi yardımlaşma olduğu için sizlere minnettarız

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