Are you leaving backlinks everywhere hoping that Google will reward you?
Be careful, because placing links in the wrong place can ruin your SEO instead of helping you.
In this guide I’ll explain where you should never leave links, why that can be dangerous, and which strategies actually work in 2025. .
🔍 First things first: why are links important for SEO?
Links (or backlinks) remain one of the key factors Google uses to determine:
- How relevant your content is
- What authority your site has
- How you connect with the rest of the web ecosystem
👉 But not all links help. Some can even seriously harm you.
🚫 What is the least recommendable place to put links for SEO?
❌ Random blog comments
Yes, that is the worst possible place to leave a link for SEO purposes.
Why?
- 90% are nofollow (they don’t pass authority)
- They’re full of spam, and Google knows it
- In most cases they’re irrelevant
- Your website can be associated with bad practices
- You can even be manually penalized if you abuse it
Putting your link in a comment like:
“Excellent article, I just talked about this on my blog: www.mydomain.com”
…is like putting your business card on a car windshield: nobody asked for it, and it’s annoying.
Other places where you should NOT put links (<a href=”https://www.empresadeserviciosweb.com/post/que-es-seo-y-por-que-es-importante-para-los-sites-web/” title=”What is SEO and why is it important for Websites” class=”internal-link“>and why)
| Place | Why to avoid it |
|---|---|
| Forums without context | Poorly moderated, irrelevant links, lots of spam |
| Mass email signatures | They add no value, Google detects it as automated |
| Old or generic directories | No traffic, no authority, many penalized |
| YouTube comments | Noindex, irrelevant, seen as manipulation |
| Profiles without content | Only made to drop a link → negative signals |
⚠️ What can happen if you insist on putting links in these places?
- Google can ignore your links (the mildest outcome)
- You can receive a manual action if they detect manipulation
- Your site can lose authority or disappear from the top 10 without warning
- You damage your reputation with other professionals in the industry
✅ Where you SHOULD put links (and do it right)
✔️ Quality guest posts
Real articles on relevant sites in your industry, with useful content. E.g.: publishing on HubSpot, Rock Content, etc.
✔️ Natural editorial mentions
When others cite you because you add value.
👉 This is achieved by creating content that others want to link to.
✔️ Strategic collaborations
Podcasts, interviews, webinars: when you’re invited as an expert and your link goes in the right context.
✔️ Specialized (and up-to-date) directories
E.g.: if you’re a lawyer, being in your country’s official lawyers’ directory. That adds up.
🧠 Bonus: how do you know if a link is worth it?
Ask yourself:
- Does this site have real traffic?
- Is the content relevant to my topic?
- Does my link add value or does it look forced in?
- Does it feel natural in the context?
If you answer yes to everything, it’s a good link.
If you’re unsure… better not to place it.
🧪 Real example: what happened from putting links in the wrong place
A tech blog started leaving links in comments on other sites and Black Hat-style forums.
Result:
- It went up fast for 2 weeks
- Then it dropped from 10,000 visits to 1,200 in a month
- It had to disavow hundreds of backlinks in Search Console to stabilize again
📌 Cheap comes out expensive in SEO.
