Anyone looking for fast, easy backlinks has considered offering up those few bucks to the mighty Paul and Angela. But do Paul and Angela lists sites actually work? Sure, they’re not going to drive much referral traffic your way but on a Google level, is it worth getting in bed with Paul and Angela? Now that the hype has died down, now that there are plenty of “case studies” to look at, what results are in?
In case you are not in the Paul and Angela inner circle, Angela V Edwards and Paul Johnson are SEO innovators who joined forces to combine their lists of quality sites (mostly high PR, aged authority sites and forums) that would allow you to post links back to your own site. The list was sold to monthly subscribers for some time but as this became problematic, they’ve created “package” sales.
The Paul and Angela Pros
- They work – proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, no gimmicks, no hard sell, plain and simple, Paul and Angela’s technique works. Well, there’re certainly a lot of links to have and for not much outlay – link packs are relatively cheap and the old subscription was just $5.00 a month!
- You can have them quickly – Paul and Angela choose aged authority sites for quick indexing.
- It’s really easy – in fact these days, Paul and Angela will do it all for you and then send you the report – with prices starting at under $60.00.
- Their system has been revised to minimize the number of forum owners automatically deleting dummy accounts.
- With a little extra effort (add a photo, make a couple of posts to the forums in the first few weeks) you can avoid losing up to 50% of your backlinks in the early days.
- You may receive a quick (if not sustained) jump in your SERP position so, for sales or timely promotions, it can be a great option.
There are plenty of lesser known imitators providing a similar service these days. The success of the service largely depends on how few customers use it (the more customers, the more chance your profile will be deleted) so a small competitor can provide you with plenty of pros with far fewer cons.
The Paul and Angela Cons
- “All five of my sites have been de-indexed by Google – HELP” This is an actual forum thread, in a real life discussion forum on this method and it’s not the only one. The very thought of it makes my stomach turn and it might be “con” enough for you to run away screaming from Paul and Angela! When it comes down to it, Paul and Angela sell spam. It is spam all dressed up in a nice white hat, but underneath, it’s still spam and it’s still creating patterns that can be detected by the Google spam squad. If you’re here for a good time not a long time, then party hard with Paul and Angela until the endless summer ends abruptly – but if you’re looking for a steady, secure, white hat future for your business, Paul and Angela may not make suitable bed fellows.
- The great debate about whether the URL must contain the same keywords as the backlink rages on (i.e. the site is from your niche). In my experience, it doesn’t make a scrap of difference but there is a sizable contingent who believes that the only valuable link comes from a related site, Paul and Angela’s method does not cater to this.
- Careful forum owners can smell your spam and delete you before you can even finish the sign up process.
- They won’t help you to organically grow your site so if, as the links fade and many stop being indexed, you will need to buy more to keep your SERP position. If you focused on quality content, over the long term, your links would grow organically and for free.
- Everybody’s doing it….the best reason to stop! Once the whole world catches on, it’s time to find the next thing that works because by that time, Google has caught on too – the longer the technique is used, the better your chances of getting Google-slapped out of existence.
Should You Snuggle Up with Paul and Angela?
Well, that’s a question only you and your business can answer. Depending on your goals and your immediate needs, Paul and Angela might be right or wrong for you. They’ve been around long enough now to know the pros and cons; it’s up to you to decide if they’re pros – or if it’s all a con!