Tiered link building is a manipulative tactic in which a site gets first-tier links, often from guest posts or private blog networks, and then points second- and third-tier links at those pages, usually from spammy, automated or mass-produced sources. The aim is to boost the first-tier pages so they pass more value on, while keeping the spam one step removed from the money site. Google's spam policies treat links made to manipulate rankings as link spam regardless of how many layers sit between them, and SpamBrain is built to detect patterns like these.
Need help with SEO?
Comppound runs SEO and AI search for SaaS companies. We plan what to publish, produce it with AI, and every page passes automated checks, and a person reviews samples and anything high-risk.
- Published to your site and tracked in Search Console
- One person answers for your account
- Plans from $400 a month, terms from 3 months
Why vendors still sell it
It can produce short-term movement, and the distance between the target site and the worst links makes it feel safe. In practice the whole structure is a footprint: the same networks, anchors and timing appear across tiers. When Google neutralises or penalises the links, the effort is wasted, and a manual action for unnatural links can land on the target site.
How to spot it in a proposal
- Promises of tier 2 or tier 3 links, or a link pyramid or wheel
- Large volumes of links for a low fixed price
- Links from web 2.0 blogs, profiles or comments created for the purpose
- No list of the actual sites in advance
Example
A cheap package with layers
A fictional HR startup, Rosterbay, receives a link package offering ten guest posts boosted by thousands of tier 2 links. Asking for the list of sites shows the guest posts are on a network of blogs that publish anything for a fee. The team declines and spends the budget on original data that earns links on its own.
Common mistakes
Thinking the distance protects you
You are responsible for links built on your behalf, and the tiers are usually easy to connect.
Boosting good links with spam
Pointing spam at a genuine editorial link that mentions you puts that link at risk too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Building links to manipulate rankings breaks Google's link spam policy, and tiered schemes are a clear example.
If you have a manual action or know you bought them, try to remove them and disavow what you cannot. Otherwise Google mostly ignores spammy links on its own.
Keep reading
- Link Scheme: A link scheme is any attempt to manipulate rankings with links, such as buying, trading or automating them. Google's spam policies prohibit it.
- Private Blog Network: A private blog network is a group of sites controlled by one party and used to link to a target site to inflate its rankings. It is link spam.
- SpamBrain: SpamBrain is Google's AI-based spam prevention system. It detects spam sites and link spam and is updated through announced spam updates.
- Unnatural Links Manual Action: An unnatural links manual action is a penalty a Google reviewer applies when a site's links break link spam policy. It shows in Search Console.
- Negative SEO: Negative SEO is an attempt to harm a competitor's rankings, most often by pointing spam links at their site. Google says it usually ignores these.
- Anchor Text Distribution: Anchor text distribution is the mix of words other sites use when linking to you. A natural mix is mostly brand names and URLs, not repeated exact-match keywords.
- Authority Score: Authority Score is a Semrush metric from 1 to 100 that grades a site or page using link, traffic and spam signals. Google does not use it.
- Backlink: A backlink is a link from another website to a page on yours. Search engines use backlinks to find pages and as one signal of which pages are worth ranking.
