Questions and answers
What is tier 2 backlinks, and does it still apply?
Tier 2 means a link that points at another link, not at your own site. People ask about it whenever an old article submission refuses to die.
Round one: the definitions
What is tier 2 backlinks in one sentence?
A tier 2 backlink points to a page that itself links to your site. Your own site is tier 0, the page linking to it is tier 1, and links pointing to that page are tier 2. It was a standard trick in the article submission era.
Why did anyone build them?
Direct links to a money site looked risky, so people pushed power through a buffer. Article directories made the buffer cheap. Nobody could prove how much passed through, which is one reason the idea outlived the evidence.
Do tier 2 links count at all?
Sometimes, a little, when the tier 1 page has real readers and the links toward it are not junk. Google has said it ignores many spam links, and SpamBrain, announced in December 2022, expanded that. Expect small, uncertain gains.
Where the idea went wrong
A buffer only works if the middle page is worth strengthening. Most tier 1 pages in old campaigns were thin article-directory entries.
Pushing links at thin pages is like watering a plank. The cost is real, the growth is not, and in the worst case you leave a visible trail of mass-built anchors that a manual reviewer or an automated system might read as a scheme, which helps nobody.
There is a quieter cost too. Time spent on a chain is time not spent on the page that earns revenue.
When tier 2 might make sense
| Tier 1 page | Traffic on it | Our view |
|---|---|---|
| An editorial article on a niche site you bought | Hundreds of organic visits a month | Possible, if you build only a few clean links |
| A 2010 directory submission | None | Not worth the money |
| A press mention you did not pay for | Steady | Better to link from your own site to it |
| A guest post on a blog with a real audience | Some | Fine to promote through social and newsletters first |
Round two: the practical questions
Can I buy tier 2 backlinks in the marketplace?
You can buy placements pointing at any URL you control or choose, including a tier 1 article. We do not sell a tiered package or promise a lift. Treat it as an experiment with a small budget, say $20 to $50, and record the result.
Should I disavow old article directory links?
Usually no. Google says most owners do not need the disavow tool, and old directory links are typically ignored rather than harmful. Use it only after a manual action or a clear paid-link pattern you built yourself.
What do I do instead?
Spend on a new placement that points to the page you care about. One relevant article on a live site, for a few dollars, is a cleaner use of money than a chain. The price ranges page shows what that buys.
If you still want to try one
- Open the tier 1 page and confirm it is indexed in Google
- Check its organic traffic in Ahrefs or Semrush
- Limit yourself to two or three clean links
- Write down the date and the cost
- Wait at least eight weeks before judging
- Stop if the tier 1 page loses its traffic