Link building in India
India is the cheapest link market in the data. Established English-language sites with an Indian audience quote a median of $100 for a sponsored article, and Hindi sites $70. Much of the supply is sold through reseller networks, so the main cost is checking what you are actually buying.
In short
- ESBO's September 2026 analysis of 16,625 publishers put the median sponsored article at $100 for English-language sites with an Indian audience and $70 for Hindi, against a global median of $570.
- The same study put the median for English-language publishers serving South and Southeast Asia and Africa at $150, across 1,697 publishers.
- An Indian SEO consultant quoted in Ahrefs' 2023 guide to international link building said reselling links is popular in India, through networks of sellers with access to different websites.
- The same source said private blog networks are still popular in India and that outreach with "paid post" in the subject line can reach a conversion rate above 20%.
- India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 received assent on 22 August 2025 and prohibits online money games and advertising that promotes them.
India is the cheapest link market in the data we have. ESBO’s September 2026 analysis of direct quotes from 16,625 publishers put the median sponsored article at $100 for English-language sites with an Indian audience, and $70 for Hindi-language sites. The global median in the same study was $570.
Price is the easy part. The market is unusual in how links are sold, with resellers standing between buyer and publisher, and in how much of the cheap supply ends up in link profiles that have nothing to do with India. For the comparison across all countries, see international link building.
What links cost
| Market | Median sponsored article | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | $70 | ESBO, September 2026 |
| English, Indian audience | $100 | ESBO, September 2026 |
| English, South and Southeast Asia and Africa combined | $150 (1,697 publishers) | ESBO, September 2026 |
| English, all audiences | $380 | ESBO, September 2026 |
| English, US audience | $452 | ESBO, September 2026 |
| All publishers | $570 | ESBO, September 2026 |
These are not prices for weak sites. ESBO only counted publishers with a Domain Rating above 30 and at least 2,000 organic visits a month. An established Indian site, by those measures, quotes less than a quarter of what a comparable US site does.
The spread inside English is the point to remember. “English-language” on a marketplace filter covers sites at $100 and sites at $1,330, depending on where the readers are.
How links are sold: reseller networks
The best public description of the Indian market is in Ahrefs’ 2023 guide to international link building, which quoted an SEO consultant based in India. It is one practitioner’s account and it is more than three years old. He described four habits:
| Habit | What the guide reported |
|---|---|
| Reselling | Reselling links is popular. Networks of link sellers have access to different websites |
| Private networks | Private blog networks are still popular |
| Paid outreach | An outreach campaign with “paid post” in the subject line can easily reach a conversion rate above 20% |
| Large media | Big publishers sell media packages on strict terms: links tagged sponsored or nofollow, payment up front, and a turnaround of a month or more |
Reselling changes what you are buying. A reseller does not own the site. He sells access to it and adds a margin to the publisher’s price. Three problems follow, and they are working conclusions from how reselling operates, not measured findings:
- You cannot be sure who was paid. The site’s owner may not know the article exists.
- The same sites are sold to everyone. A site that appears on many sellers’ lists publishes paid posts on every topic, which is one of the marks of a link farm.
- Markups stack. If an agency buys from a reseller who buys from another, you pay several margins on a $100 placement.
The second habit matters too. A private blog network can look like a list of independent sites. If a seller offers dozens of sites at one flat price with instant publication, check who owns them.
The contrast in the table is worth noting. Cheap, followed, fast placements come from small sites and networks. The large Indian media brands sell labelled or nofollow placements, ask for payment in advance and take weeks. That matches ESBO’s global finding that 57% of publishers at DR 80 and above require a sponsored label, against 15% at DR 30 to 39.
Cheap Indian links in foreign profiles
A $100 English-language placement is tempting for a site in the UK, the US or anywhere else that publishes in English. It is also an easy way to waste money.
A link tells a search engine something about relevance and about who refers to a page. A site read in India says nothing about a British or American audience. ESBO’s study itself warns against placements under $100 as a risky purchase. And BuzzStream’s 2026 analysis of roughly 257,000 sites that sell guest posts worldwide rated 96.2% as low quality, with 39.6% having no organic traffic at all.
So the test is simple. If your customers are in India, Indian links are local links and the low price is an advantage. If they are not, check the audience country of every English-language site before you pay. The steps are in how to vet a publisher, and the wider question of cheap inventory is covered in how to buy backlinks safely.
Gambling and real-money gaming
India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act received presidential assent on 22 August 2025. Section 5 prohibits offering online money games. In the text of the Act published by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, read on 4 October 2026, section 6 says no person shall make, cause to be made, aid, abet, induce or otherwise be involved in making any advertisement, in any media, that directly or indirectly promotes an online money game. Section 9(2) sets the penalty for making such an advertisement, or causing it to be made, at up to two years in prison, a fine of up to 50 lakh rupees, or both.
A paid article promoting a real-money game may count as an advertisement under that section, and section 6 is worded widely enough that publishers who carry one may be within its reach. This is general information and not legal advice.
There is also a criminal side that has nothing to do with buying links. Medianama reported in June 2026 that more than 100 Indian government and public-sector websites had been hijacked to carry gambling pages, citing the cybersecurity firm FalconFeeds. That is unauthorised access to someone else’s site. It is a crime, and we describe it only so you can recognise it: if a seller offers links on government or university domains, walk away. Our lesson on white, grey and black hat methods explains where hacked links sit and why they are off limits.
How to buy in India without wasting money
A working method:
- Deal with the publisher. Find the site’s own advertising contact and confirm the price and terms there. If a seller cannot put you in touch with the editor, assume a reseller.
- Check ownership patterns. Look for shared hosting, shared templates and the same author names across a seller’s list.
- Check traffic country and topic. A site about everything, with readers nowhere in particular, is not worth $100.
- Ask about the label and attribute. Large media brands will tell you. The lesson on link attributes explains what each option does.
- Compare the price with a marketplace. Link marketplaces show a listed price for many of the same sites, which gives you a second figure to set against a reseller’s quote. The marketplace comparison lists the platforms.
Where to go next
For the sector rules that apply to betting and gaming brands, see the iGaming hub. Any term used here is defined in the glossary.
Common questions
How much does a backlink cost in India?
ESBO's September 2026 data shows a median of $100 for a sponsored article on an established English-language site with an Indian audience, and $70 for Hindi. That is the lowest of any market the study reported.
Are cheap Indian links worth buying for a site outside India?
Usually not. A link from a site whose readers are in India shows no relevance to a UK or US audience, and ESBO's own study warns that placements under $100 carry risk.
Why do so many link sellers come from India?
Ahrefs' 2023 guide quoted an Indian consultant who said reselling is popular there, with networks of sellers who each have access to many websites.
How do I know if I am dealing with a reseller?
Signs include a price list covering hundreds of unrelated sites, a contact address that does not match the site's domain, and the same sites offered by several sellers. Ask the site's own editor to confirm the deal.
Can gambling brands build links in India?
India's online gaming law of August 2025 prohibits online money games and advertising that promotes them. A paid placement promoting such a game may count as advertising, so take legal advice before doing anything in this sector.
