Do low-quality links to inner pages actually work?

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ILoveAutomations

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I keep seeing a lot of sites building pretty low-quality links directly to inner pages.
SEMrush even shows some of these pages moving up, which makes me wonder if it’s actually working.

I’ve noticed this especially with sites hosted on Netlify / Cloudflare, where people point links straight to internal URLs instead of the homepage.

Does this strategy really help rankings? If yes, in what cases and is it sustainable long term?
 
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It can give an initial boost, especially on internal pages with easy keywords, but it's not a strategy for building a serious project. It's more of a temporary trick used in churn and burn situations or on sites that can't be allowed to lose.
 
It can work as a short term strategy. No guarantee it will survive any new google update. Mostly for low-competition keywords where internal pages have solid on-page relevance and the links provide just enough authority and crawl signals to move the needle.
 
ILoveAutomations said:
I keep seeing a lot of sites building pretty low-quality links directly to inner pages.
SEMrush even shows some of these pages moving up, which makes me wonder if it’s actually working.

I’ve noticed this especially with sites hosted on Netlify / Cloudflare, where people point links straight to internal URLs instead of the homepage.

Does this strategy really help rankings? If yes, in what cases and is it sustainable long term?
Click to expand...
I would be more interested in monetization type being used on these sites . What methods they have applied ?
 
Those keywords that im targeting have massive traffic with low to medium competition. so they monetize with ads and promoting their products.
 
Not really most of those pages ranks due to domain authority or interlinking. No need to waste time on low quality links.
 
They can prop up inner page rankings short-term, but it's a ticking penalty time bomb for your whole site.
 
ILoveAutomations said:
I keep seeing a lot of sites building pretty low-quality links directly to inner pages.
SEMrush even shows some of these pages moving up, which makes me wonder if it’s actually working.

I’ve noticed this especially with sites hosted on Netlify / Cloudflare, where people point links straight to internal URLs instead of the homepage.

Does this strategy really help rankings? If yes, in what cases and is it sustainable long term?
Click to expand...
It can show short-term movement in some cases, but it’s inconsistent. Often those gains don’t hold long term, as link value tends to get re-evaluated over time.
 
It's a low risk - low reward strategy. There is very little chance that Google ever punishes these sites - only exception being excessive spamming instead of contextual backlinks. It can also sustain for long if the blogs are niche relevant and contain unique content. If it's just low quality spun or AI generated content with link spamming, then it's nothing but a house of cards built for amusement.
 
They can move needles short-term, but Google mostly treats low-quality inner links as noise unless real authority backs them up.
 
Low quality links to inner pages can move rankings short-term in weak SERPs but it’s not sustainable Google eventually devalues them and the pages drop.
 
Low-quality links to inner pages can impact rankings, especially on fast and clean infrastructures like Netlify or Cloudflare.
However, this works mainly as a short to mid-term tactic in low-competition environments. Without stronger authority signals, the gains are rarely durable. Sustainable SEO still requires trust, relevance, and editorial reinforcement.
 
It can't have much impact. If your site authority is good then it have minimum effect.
 
I’ve noticed that too, and it can work short term if the page already matches search intent well. But in most cases it’s not very stable without strong internal linking and overall site trust, those pages tend to drop once Google recalculates quality signals.
 
Yes, it can work sometimes, especially if the page has good content and the links are added slowly. Google can rank inner pages, which is why you see movement.

But low-quality links alone aren’t safe long term. They may work short term, then drop later.

Best approach is to mix quality links, good content, and natural growth for stable results.
 
ILoveAutomations said:
I keep seeing a lot of sites building pretty low-quality links directly to inner pages.
SEMrush even shows some of these pages moving up, which makes me wonder if it’s actually working.

I’ve noticed this especially with sites hosted on Netlify / Cloudflare, where people point links straight to internal URLs instead of the homepage.

Does this strategy really help rankings? If yes, in what cases and is it sustainable long term?
Click to expand...
It may work in the short term, but once Google detects that your website has too many spam links, a penalty will definitely be applied and you already know what the outcome will be.
 
I've seen this quite often, especially in low-competition niches. Using dirty links to directly link to inner pages sometimes helps to rank sites, but it's usually only a short-term effect. In the long run, those pages tend to drop in ranking if the site doesn't have enough authority and strong internal links
 
Low-quality links to inner pages can cause short-term movement, especially on newer or less competitive pages. Tools may show growth, but that doesn’t always mean it’s stable.

In many cases, Google re-evaluates those links over time and the boost fades. It’s more common with sites on Netlify/Cloudflare because they index fast, not because the links are “working better.”

For long term results, relevance matters more than volume. A few contextual links to inner pages + strong internal linking is much safer than blasting low-quality links directly.
 
Low-quality links to inner pages can help push long-tail keywords. However, once a manual review or a core update hits, those pages usually tank first. Not great for long-term projects.
 
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