Summary: what does link building cost?
Link building means getting links from other websites to yours. Google sees such a link as a recommendation, which can help you rank higher in the search results. According to research by Ahrefs, a bought link costs about €70 to €324 on average, depending on the type of link. But Google’s spam policies prohibit buying links to rank higher. It is safer to earn links with good content, mentions and publications. At Game-changers this is part of our SEO approach, from €500 per month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.
- What it is: getting links from other sites to yours, so Google trusts you more.
- What a link costs: on average €70 for a paid guest post up to €324 for a link on an existing page.
- What Google says: buying links to rank higher is spam; paid links must get rel="sponsored" or "nofollow".
- What works: earning links with content, mentions in your industry and external publications.
What is link building?
Link building is everything you do to get other websites to link to yours. Such a link is called a backlink. The more trustworthy and relevant sites refer to you, the more trust Google and AI search engines have in your page. According to Ahrefs, Dutch people search about 1,300 times a month for “linkbuilding” and 1,200 times for “backlinks”. Link building is one of the three pillars of SEO, next to good content and a technically healthy website. Also read what SEO costs.
Why is link building important?
Because most pages without links never get visitors from Google. Ahrefs studied 14 billion pages and found that 96.55% of all pages get no traffic from Google at all. One important reason: those pages have no backlinks. Of the pages without backlinks, only 1 in 6,671 got more than 1,000 visits a month. Pages with more referring domains got more traffic on average.
What does link building cost?
What link building costs depends on how you do it. If you buy individual links, you pay per link. In the Ahrefs research, about half of the sites asked a fee for a guest post, on average about €70. A link on an existing page cost about €324 on average. A survey of 755 link builders came to an average of about €74 per paid link. Ahrefs states the amounts in dollars; we converted using the ECB rate of 6 November 2026: 1 euro is 1.1165 dollars.
Those prices are for bought links, and those are exactly the risky ones. What is more, only 12.6% of the 450 sites contacted were willing to sell a link. If you pay per link, you mostly pay for sites that sell links to everyone. Those are exactly the links Google values least.
Are you allowed to buy backlinks?
No, not to rank higher in Google. Google’s spam policies explicitly call buying or selling links to raise your rankings link spam. A paid link is allowed if it gets the attribute rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". It then simply does not count towards your ranking. Google can rank sites that use link spam lower or remove them from the results. So the safest route is to earn links.
How do you build links safely?
At Game-changers we strengthen your online authority with relevant backlinks, reliable industry mentions and external publications that back up your expertise. We do that in five steps.
1. Analysis
We look at which links you have now and which sites link to the top 10 in your market. That shows where the gap is and which sites are relevant to you.
2. Content
People link to something useful: original research, a worked example, a checklist or a clear explanation. With AI content creation we create those pages faster, but always with real figures and own experience.
3. Mentions
Industry associations, partners, suppliers and local clubs often have a page listing members or partners. A mention there is relevant and fairly earned.
4. Publications
An article or interview on a trade website shows your expertise to the right readers. A link with it is a bonus, but the mention itself also counts for AI search engines.
5. Measure
We track your rankings, your traffic and above all your enquiries. Data and tracking is included as standard, so you can see whether the work also delivers customers.
Our research: what Google shows for “linkbuilding kosten”
On 9 November 2026 we used DataForSEO to look at the search results for “linkbuilding kosten” in Google Netherlands. At the top was an AI answer mentioning €150 to €500 per good link. Of the 9 regular results, 7 sold links or link building packages themselves, and only 3 showed a price in Google. So people searching for the cost mostly see sellers of links and little explanation of what Google allows. That is why we set out that explanation here.
What does it deliver?
Links work best together with good content and a technically healthy site. At Rug expertise centrum we combined those three. Organic traffic grew by 40% and the company was mentioned 3.8 times more often in AI answers.
“Many business owners think link building means buying links from a list of blogs. That is exactly what Google penalises. We start with content people genuinely want to refer to, and then secure mentions with industry associations, partners and suppliers. It is slower, but those links stay and they also help in AI answers.”
Outsource link building or do it yourself?
Doing it yourself is possible, but it takes a lot of time: finding sites, creating content, emailing and following up. Outsourcing pays off if you do not have that time or if you want links that really fit an SEO plan. Read more about outsourcing marketing and choosing the best marketing agency. Also make sure the page the link points to converts visitors, with our landing page checklist.
What does link building cost at Game-changers?
At Game-changers link building is part of SEO and AEO (also called AI SEO). That service starts from €500 per month excl. VAT, for which we work at least 4 hours per month for you. Data and tracking is included as standard. Combine SEO with Google advertising, for example, and it becomes cheaper; also read what Google Ads costs. There is no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.
Frequently asked questions about link building
What is link building?
Link building means getting links from other websites to your website. Google sees such a link as a recommendation. That can help you rank higher in the search results and get mentioned more often in AI answers.
What are backlinks?
A backlink is a link on another website that points to your website. The more trustworthy and relevant that other site is, the more the link is worth. One good link from your industry is worth more than many links from unknown sites.
Why is link building important?
Because pages without links almost never get visitors from Google. Ahrefs found that only 1 in 6,671 pages without backlinks gets more than 1,000 visits a month. Links show Google that others trust you.
What does link building cost?
That depends on the approach. A bought link costs €70 to €324 on average, but according to Google that is link spam. At Game-changers link building is part of the SEO approach from €500 per month excl. VAT.
What does a backlink cost?
According to Ahrefs research, a paid guest post costs €70 on average and a link on an existing page €324 on average. A survey of 755 link builders came to an average of €74 per link. An earned link costs no money per link, but it does take time and good content.
Are you allowed to buy backlinks?
Not to rank higher in Google. Google’s spam policies call buying links for a better ranking link spam. A paid link is only allowed with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", and then it does not count towards your ranking.
Does link building still work?
Yes. According to Ahrefs, pages with more referring domains get more traffic from Google on average. What no longer works is mass-bought links and link exchanges. Google recognises those better and better.
How many backlinks do I need?
There is no fixed number. Look at the pages currently in the top 10 for your keyword and how many referring domains they have. Quality and relevance count more than quantity.
How do you get backlinks?
By creating content others want to refer to, such as original research or a handy checklist. Ask partners, suppliers and industry associations for a mention. Also write articles for trade websites.
What is internal link building?
Internal link building is linking between your own pages. It helps Google understand which pages belong together and which are most important. It is free and fully in your own hands.
Why outsource link building?
Because finding the right sites, creating content and following up takes a lot of time. An agency knows which links fit your SEO plan and which are risky. That way you spend your time on your own business.
What is a link building package?
A link building package is a fixed number of links for a fixed price. Often these are bought links, which Google treats as link spam. So always ask which sites they are and whether the links are marked as sponsored.
How do you check your backlinks?
In Google Search Console you can see under Links which sites link to you, for free. Tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush also show competitors’ links. Check about once a month for new or lost links.
What is a good backlink?
A good backlink comes from a trustworthy site about the same topic as yours. The link sits in the text, on a page that gets visitors itself. It is earned, not bought.
Is link building good or bad?
Link building is good when you earn links with valuable content and real mentions. It is bad when you buy or exchange links to mislead Google. The latter can cost you your rankings.
What does link building cost at Game-changers?
Link building is part of our SEO service, from €500 per month excl. VAT with at least 4 hours of work per month. Data and tracking is included as standard and combining services is cheaper. There is no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.
Sources
Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google Web Search
viewed 9 November 2026
1 December 2023, updated August 2026
Ahrefs, Should You Buy Backlinks?
28 February 2024
European Central Bank, euro-dollar rate
6 November 2026
DataForSEO SERP API, own measurement Google Netherlands
9 November 2026
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Dutch search volume
9 November 2026
Over de auteur
About the author
Annefleur van Osta
Online marketing strateeg bij Game-changers. Schreef dit artikel en houdt de prijzen en bronnen actueel.
Online marketing strategist at Game-changers. Wrote this article and keeps the prices and sources up to date.
