Definition
Link rental is a greyhat practice where an advertiser pays a recurring monthly fee to maintain an active link on a third-party website. Unlike traditional link buying, which involves a one-time payment for a permanent link, link rental operates on a subscription model: the link stays live as long as payments continue and is removed once the advertiser stops paying. This model is popular because it allows publishers to generate recurring revenue and advertisers to control their budget by only paying for links that perform. However, Google considers this practice an even more blatant link scheme than one-time link purchases, as the pattern of links appearing and disappearing is a detectable manipulation signal. Moreover, relying on rented links creates a strategic vulnerability: stopping payments can lead to a sudden drop in rankings. Alternatives include investing in permanent links through sponsored articles or link earning through creating high-value content.
Key Points
- The rental model creates dependency: stopping payments results in losing both links and rankings
- Link appearance/disappearance patterns are a strong manipulation signal for Google
- The cumulative cost of rental often exceeds permanent links over the long term
- Investing in permanent links through editorial content is strategically more solid
Practical Examples
Sidebar link rental
An e-commerce site pays 50 euros per month to maintain a link in the sidebar of a high-traffic cooking blog. The link is automatically removed after 3 months of non-payment, resulting in a noticeable loss of rankings.
Rented link portfolio
An agency manages a portfolio of 200 rented links for a client, paying between 10 and 100 euros per month per link. The 5,000-euro monthly budget is difficult to sustain, and the client becomes dependent on these links to maintain their positions.
Detection through temporal analysis
Google analyzes temporal link patterns: backlinks that appear and disappear synchronously across multiple sites strongly suggest a rented link network, triggering an algorithmic or manual investigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, because it adds an extra detectable signal for Google: the temporal pattern of links appearing and disappearing synchronously. It also creates a permanent financial dependency and a strategic fragility that one-time purchases of permanent links do not.
Rates vary enormously depending on the host site's authority, niche, and placement. Typically, from 10 to 500 euros per month per link. On high-authority sites (DA 50+), monthly rates can exceed 200 euros, representing a significant investment over 12 months compared to a permanent link.
Go Further with LemmiLink
Discover how LemmiLink can help you put these SEO concepts into practice.
Last updated: 2026-02-07