so i just started messing around with buying links to speed things up. for cheap tier 1 links i pay like 50-80 bucks for a decent blog post on a niche site with some DA 20-30. the results? bumped my rankings for some low comp keywords pretty quick, like in 2-3 weeks. if u wanna go higher quality for stronger tiers, prices jump to 200-300 for DA 40-60, but u gotta be careful cause bad links can hurt more than help. from what i see, a combo of cheap tier 1s + a handful of legit guest posts seems to give the best bang for your buck. just be aware, buying links is still risky, so always vet the sellers, check their past work, and keep your footprint small. imo, ymmv but if u do it right, it's a quick way to push the needle in competitive niches.