What is tiered link building?
Tiered link building is the practice of building links to the pages that already link to your site, so that more ranking value flows down the chain to you. A site might earn a guest post on an industry blog (tier 1), then create 20 thin blog pages that link to that guest post (tier 2), then blast hundreds of forum, bookmark and comment links at those 20 pages (tier 3).
The layers form a pyramid, which is why the tactic is also called a link pyramid. Each tier down is larger and lower in quality than the one above it [5]. The theory is that the lower tiers make the tier 1 page look stronger to Google, and that the tier 1 page then passes that extra strength to the target site.
| Tier | Points at | Typical links |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Your own site | Guest posts, niche edits, articles on real sites |
| Tier 2 | Tier 1 pages | Thin pages made only to link to the tier 1 URL, Web 2.0 blogs |
| Tier 3 | Tier 2 pages | Spun Web 2.0 pages, low-grade directories, bookmarks, forum drops, automated links |
Rhino Rank describes tier 3 as openly spammy: spun pages, mass bookmarks, forum drops and automated tools [6].
Is tiered link building against Google's guidelines?
Yes. Tiered link building is a link scheme under Google's spam policies, which define link spam as creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings [1]. Google's examples of link spam include using automated programs or services to create links, low-quality directory or bookmark site links, forum comments with optimized links, and creating low-value content primarily for manipulating linking signals [1]. Lower tiers are usually built from exactly those parts.
Ahrefs classifies tiered link building as black-hat or gray-hat SEO that goes against Google's guidelines, and notes that risk rises as quality falls down the tiers [5].
Are tier 2 links safe because they don't link to your site?
No. Tier 2 links are not made safe by pointing at someone else's page. This is the most repeated defense of tiered link building, and Google's own wording does not support it. Google defines link spam by purpose, not by destination: links to or from a site created primarily to manipulate rankings [1]. A batch of thin pages built only to strengthen a guest post that links to you exists to manipulate your rankings, wherever the link physically lands.
Tier 2 links also leave a trail. A set of new, low-quality pages that all point at the same handful of articles, all of which link to the same target site, is a pattern rather than a coincidence. Rhino Rank lists exact-match anchors repeated across many pages and irrelevant linking sources among the warning signs [6].
How does Google treat tiered links today?
Google today mostly ignores spammy links rather than counting them, so the likeliest result of tiered link building is wasted money, with a manual action as the downside risk. Since Penguin 4.0 in 2016, Google's link spam algorithm discounts bad links, meaning it ignores them, instead of demoting the whole site [3]. In December 2022, Google said its link spam update used SpamBrain to "neutralize the impact of unnatural links on search results" [4].
That has two consequences for tiered link building:
- The lower tiers probably do nothing. If tier 2 and tier 3 links are neutralized, they pass no value up the chain, which removes the only reason to build them.
- The risk has not gone away. A manual action from a human reviewer is still possible when a pattern of manipulative links is found, and the tier 1 pages carrying your link become part of that pattern [6].
Google does not publish how many links it neutralizes or how it treats a tier 1 page that has a spammy tier 2 layer beneath it. Any claim that tiered links "still work" is anecdote, not evidence.
How has Google's treatment of tiered link building changed?
Google's treatment of tiered link building has tightened in three steps, from a 2012 algorithm aimed at link schemes to a 2022 system that neutralizes unnatural links. No one is credited with inventing tiered link building, and no dated origin has been documented; the tactic grew alongside automated link tools and link networks.
2012: Penguin targets link schemes
On April 24, 2012, Google launched the webspam algorithm later named Penguin [3]. Google's announcement named "link schemes that attempt to propel sites higher in rankings" among its targets, and said the change noticeably affected about 3.1% of English queries [2]. Sites that relied on large volumes of low-quality links, the raw material of lower tiers, were the obvious casualties.
2016: Penguin joins the core algorithm
On September 23, 2016, Google announced that Penguin was part of the core algorithm and updated in real time [3]. Penguin 4.0 stopped demoting whole sites for bad links and started discounting the links themselves [3].
2022: SpamBrain neutralizes unnatural links
In December 2022, Google's link spam update applied SpamBrain, its machine learning spam system, to neutralize the impact of unnatural links [4]. For tiered link building, this means the automated tiers are the kind of links Google says it is built to cancel out.
What is the difference between tiered link building and a private blog network?
Tiered link building stacks links on top of other links, while a private blog network (PBN) is a set of sites one person controls and uses to link to target sites. The two often overlap: PBN sites are a common tier 1 or tier 2 layer [6]. Both are link schemes under Google's spam policies [1]. Search Insider does not support or suggest the use of private blog networks.
Tiered link building also differs from a link wheel, a related older pattern in which a ring of pages link to each other and to the target. A link wheel loops; a tiered structure only flows upward.
How can you tell if you are buying tiered links?
You are buying tiered links if a provider offers to "boost," "power up" or "index" your links by building more links to them. Ask the provider directly, and check these signs:
- The report lists URLs that don't link to you. Lists of Web 2.0 pages, bookmarks or profiles pointing at your guest posts are a tier 2 layer.
- Your tier 1 pages gain links you never sought. Check the backlinks of the pages linking to you in a backlink tool. A wave of new, unrelated, low-quality links pointing at a single article is a sign someone is building tiers.
- Exact-match anchors repeat across many pages. Natural links rarely use the same keyword anchor over and over [6].
- The package is priced per thousand links. Volume pricing usually means automated creation, which Google names as link spam [1].
What should you do instead of tiered link building?
Instead of tiered link building, put the same budget into fewer, better tier 1 links from relevant sites with real editors and real readers [6]. A followed editorial link from a trusted site in your field does not need a pyramid under it.
If a page that links to you deserves more attention, promote it the ordinary way: share it with your audience, mention it in newsletters, and link to it from an "as featured in" page on your own site. Those actions send people, not manufactured signals. If a provider has already built tiers to your links, stop the service, and if you receive a manual action, follow Google's process for removing or disavowing the links before asking for reconsideration.