Definition
A link scheme refers to any link strategy designed primarily to manipulate PageRank or a site's positioning in Google search results. Google explicitly defines in its guidelines what constitutes a link scheme: buying or selling links that pass PageRank, excessive link exchanges, large-scale guest posting campaigns with over-optimized anchors, using automated programs to create links, or requiring links in a service's terms of use. Link schemes encompass both incoming and outgoing links. Google considers any link whose primary purpose is to manipulate rankings as a link scheme. Penalties can range from devaluation of the links involved to a manual action affecting the entire site. SpamBrain, Google's anti-spam algorithm, is specially trained to detect these schemes.
Key Points
- Google explicitly defines link schemes in its Search Essentials (formerly Webmaster Guidelines)
- SpamBrain is the main algorithm responsible for detecting manipulative link schemes
- Penalties can be algorithmic (automatic) or manual (human review)
- The distinction between link scheme and ethical link building rests on the primary intent of the link
Practical Examples
Massive link buying
An e-commerce site buys 500 sponsored articles in 3 months with exact-match optimized anchors on commercial keywords. Google detects the unnatural pattern via SpamBrain and applies a manual action for artificial links.
Large-scale guest posting
An agency publishes 200 identical guest articles on low-quality blogs with the same link and anchor every time. Google identifies the repetitive pattern and devalues all acquired links.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ask yourself: would this link exist if search engines didn't exist? If the answer is no, it is probably a link scheme. Warning signs include over-optimized anchors, topically unrelated links, abnormally high volumes, and links from low-quality sites.
Ethical link building aims to earn natural links through content quality, editorial relationships, and genuine added value. A link scheme seeks to manipulate rankings through artificial, purchased, or massively exchanged links. The boundary lies in the intent and method used.
Go Further with LemmiLink
Discover how LemmiLink can help you put these SEO concepts into practice.
Last updated: 2026-02-07