WebProNews

Links have been a factor in ranking well in the SERPs for a long time now, but recently they have become much more important, especially when seeking high rankings on Google. Because of this, incoming links have turned into a hot commodity, especially from high PageRank sites.

For a while now websites have been offering paid run-of-site links, the higher the PR, the higher the cost. But now some webmasters may have found a way to essentially steal or borrow PageRank, giving the illusion that their site is much more powerful in order to drive up advertising costs. If you are thinking of purchasing site wide links, this is something of importance to watch out for.

How do they steal PageRank?
The scammer starts off by registering a new domain and placing a 301 permanent redirect to a site with a high PageRank. After Google does its next link and PageRank update, the inbound links and PageRank are applied to the scammer's site. Once Google has applied the stolen' PageRank and link counts to the fraudulent site, the Webmaster quickly removes the redirect and posts his or her site in its place leaving the impression of link popularity and PR.

Individuals looking to purchase site wide links see the high PR and make the purchase. Once Google does its next update the scammers site PR and Link counts drop back to 0, exposing to the advertiser that they have wasted their money. By this time the Webmaster is likely nowhere to be found.

How can you tell if the site is a fraud?
There are a few ways to check to see if a sites PageRank is stolen.