This is an updated post. This post was originally posted Nov. 5, 2009. A lot has changed. One thing that has changed is Googles Algorithm to include penalizing band linking practices.  The only type of backlinks you should pay for are when you are outsourcing and having someone else help you with your online SEO work.

Here’s a description of what backlinks are:

For some people the first question is, What are backlinks? Backlinks are links that point to your website or blog. A backlink is different from a link exchange. Backlinks are links that point in one direction without a reciprocal links.

It’s important to understand how Google wants webmasters to proceed with SEO. This video will help you see why buying backlinks and putting your link on link farms is a bad ideas.