- It is amazing what people will do just to sell their services
- If Nia Soares contacts you claiming that MyPR is a ‘Known Link Farm’ consider this rebuttal
- Despite five attempts to contact this person – I have been ghosted
On Monday 18 August 2025 I received a number of messages sent via the Contact Forms of more than a couple of web sites other than MyPR that I do admin for.
The messages were all the same:
I noticed you recently picked up a backlink from mypr. Just wanted to flag it because that site is a known link farm & can trigger penalties, kill your rankings, and cause a slow but steady traffic drop.
If an agency placed it, you might want to ask them to disavow it. Want me to point out where that link was placed?
Best,
Nia Soares
Tech SEO Analyst
I replied to one of the messages at 2:00 pm on Monday 18 August 2025 thus:
I am listening – tell me more?
I dropped a chat message on theblueprints.con at 12:00 pm on Tuesday 19 August thus:
I received a message from a Nia Soares and want to check that it is legit.
At 12:30 pm on Tuesday 19 August I sent this message via the contact form on theblueprints.co web site:
Good afternoon – I am in possession of an e-mail from a Nia Soares purporting to be from your company accusing MyPR.co.za of being a LINK FARM.
On this page on your site: https://theblueprints.co/link-building-scams-guide-what-to-look-out-for/ you define a LINK FARM.
You will agree that if you look at any page on MyPR.co.za that not one of the 4 red flags mentioned applies to MyPR.
Obviously I am a little bewildered and would like an explanation of Nia’s tactics.
In addition I would like:
A list of EVERY SINGLE person and/or web site contacted by Nia purporting that MyPR is a LINK FARM
An apology posted on your web site with a link to a live URL
An undertaking that you will cease and desist with these spurious claims
A comment: If Nia was a caring human being then she would have contacted MyPR directly with her concerns rather than using scare tactics to drum up business from people who do not know better. That way would probably have led to a decent and friendly working relationship between us.
PLEASE NOTE: Any reply will be added to a press release that I have ready to go. The deadline for the article is Wednesday 20 August 2025 at 13h00 GMT.
At 12:40 PM on Tuesday 19 August 2025 I also emailed the above message to the sales@theblueprints.con email account.
Even although theblueprints.co say they have offices in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Essex, UK and Hong Kong which would imply that any reply is not really time sensitive, I subsequently gave Nia Soares until close of business on 21 August to reply.
AND, dear reader, your assumption is correct – up to date of publication I have not received the courtesy of a reply.
If you have limited time to read the rest of this rebuttal then please consider the following:
If Nia was a caring human being then she would have contacted MyPR directly offering advice and a solution. INSTEAD Nia embarked on a campaign to contact as many web sites as she could mentioned on MyPR or linked to from MyPR with a thinly veiled sales pitch for her link building and SEO services.
As it is it appears that Nia is using dubious scare tactics to sell her link building business.
I would suggest that Nia reads her own web site which gives the following advice on How to Spot a Link Farm:
Unlike PBNs that try to look legitimate, link farms make almost no effort. They’re just massive link directories with hundreds of outbound links per page.
The main red flags I look for are:
- Pages with 100+ outbound links and almost no relevant content
- Awkwardly written, “spun” content that barely makes sense
- Complete lack of topical organization (gambling links next to toy reviews)
- Zero organic traffic despite claiming high authority
When someone offers you 100 links for $50, you’re most likely dealing with a link farm. Real link building is relationship-based and can’t be scaled to a few dollars per link.
To give you an idea, here’s what quality link building services typically cost:
- Link Type Legitimate Cost Scam Price
- Guest Post $150 to $500 $10 to $50
- Niche Edit $100 to $400 $20 to $40
Anyone with half an eye and a blind bat for a guide animal will be able to see that MyPR does not fall into the above definition as the number of outbound links are small, press releases are written by professionals, topics are organised in a proper hierarchy, organic traffic is very high and made public from time to time on the MyPR site.
Now MyPR has been in existence for more than 15 years and has never received a Search Engine penalty along with being the furthest I can ever imagine as being a link farm. The 2012 Penguin update did not affect MyPR at all and our editorial policy has not changed since we were established. Google has been cracking down on this manipulative practice since its Penguin algorithm update in 2012. It did this by scanning websites for backlinks and identifying poor-quality sites based on those links.
For Your Information Link farms have certain common characteristics:
- These include having too many outbound links, mainly to low-quality websites. This can hurt a site’s backlink profile and its rankings on search engines such as Google.
- Another red flag is poorly written content with too many keywords and irrelevant information. Also, spammy domain names that offer little value and relevance can indicate a link farm.
- Watch out for patterns like shared backlinks, anonymous authors, and template designs used on multiple sites. These show a lack of organic, ethical link building efforts, often linked to black hat SEO tactics.
- It’s crucial to recognize these signs to avoid penalties from search engine algorithms. This ensures long-term success in SEO efforts. Site owners and SEO professionals should focus on quality content and authentic link building strategies to dodge the negative effects of link farming on search engine rankings and site traffic.
- Buying or selling links for ranking purposes, including exchanging money or services for links, is a direct violation of Google’s spam policies
Looking at MyPR and the above:
- All sites linked to are legitimate and not of low quality.
- MyPR articles are 95% written by Public Relations Professionals
- Guest PR authors may be viewed as anonymous authors BUT they do not have any links going out from their press releases. In order to add images, video, social media and links you HAVE to be a FEATURED PRESS RELEASE subscriber.
- Every single press release on MyPR is manually edited and approved/denied based on an editorial policy. Links are all relevant as they link to sites allowing journalists (and the curious) to find out more about the subject.
- MyPR does NOT sell links – we sell distribution and space on the site.
Google has become increasingly sophisticated at identifying link farms and other manipulative link schemes through both algorithms and manual reviews and apply penalties. Penalties can significantly lower a website’s ranking in search results, leading to a decrease in traffic and potential revenue. MyPR does not exist to solely create links but rather to help PR Professionals get their press releases out into the wild. Links are a side bonus for those utilising the FEATURED PRESS RELEASE option on MyPR.
Of course I cannot discount the notion that the ‘PERCEIVED ASSAULT’ on MyPR may be related to the unfair competitive advantage that MyPR has over any link building businesses pricing – for example theblueprints.co charge $5 999 for 10 links.
And, lets pour some more fuel on the fire:
- A Google search for MyPR.co.za – https://www.google.com/search?q=mypr.co.za – sees MyPR at the top of the results – if we had been penalised then surely Google wouldn’t trust MyPR so much that MyPR is number one for their own name?
- A Google search for Nia’s e-mail domain name – theblueprints.net – shows theblueprints.con in SECOND place.
- A Google search for Nia’s main domain – theblueprints.co – shows FIRST place BUT Google is still suggesting that I may have been looking for the-blueprints.com instead.
DISCLAIMER – Search results will vary based on where you are and which Search Engine you use.
See screenshots below:
Submit your Press Release for free to MyPR here: MyPR Free Press Release Submission.