I’m not an expert in SEO, but this new link building service bothers me: Google +1 link building service. Read on to learn why.

Of course, exchanging +1 the way some people to do StumbleUpon exchange and any other back-scratching “I’ll follow you if you follow me” mentality is nothing new in link building and Internet marketing.

But this particular service – for a certain amount of money, a link builder will +1 your link – is not a wise thing to do by website owners. How so? Well, let’s explore deeper…

How Google +1 works

When you +1 a particular webpage, Googlebots will assume that you vote for the page – they will consider this into Google’s complex ranking algorithms.

Google +1 will somehow affect search engine ranking in Google simply because it assumes that if an URL gets plenty of +1′s then it’s important.

Of course, as +1 is only one of the many things considered by Googlebots in ranking a webpage, it’s not as effective as link baiting (yet.)

Why you should stay away from Google +1′s link building services?

Sure, there are some proofs that plenty of +1′s can help your site ranks better on search engine; the question is, what if Google find out that you game the system?

There are many link building practices – regardless whether they are whitehat, blackhat, or greyhat techniques – that Google won’t get you caught if you are lucky in doing link building activities, such as buying and selling links.

However, trying to do such thing with +1 is risky. Why? In my opinion, it’s simply because +1 is Google’s. If you try to game the system, at least don’t do it too directly. Gaming the +1 system is like a child stealing money from his/her parents’ pockets – if you get caught, you’re done.

And what you just did by buying such service is you are spamming – it’s against Google’s quality guidelines.

As Google algorithms will change on regular basis – especially with the Google Panda updates – there will be updates to the +1 system if Google starts seeing a tendency that +1 has becoming the game of Internet marketers and link builders.

Check out this related article from Search Engine Land.

Based on the above, I conclude that buying Google +1 link building services is a waste of time. It will work somehow, but I don’t think it will be for a long time.

So, please consider sharing your thoughts: Do you think buying Google +1′s is a wise link building activity for website owners?

Ivan Widjaya
Buying Google +1′s is risky
Image: SearchEngineLand.com