indyank - 1:13 pm on May 7, 2012 (gmt 0)

the more i think about it, the more i'm put off doing wordpress plugins.

Google does give out free platofrms for people to use but it does get back a lot from them, without many knowing about how they benefit. There is no free lunch. So I do understand how you feel now.

I do remember days when Google and M.Cutts were fine with these links but their rules change with time. Some people use these to build their personal brand rather than building linkbacks and that approach is more effective and useful these days. I am sure Google is absolutely fine with it now but rules might change after a couple of years from now.

The plugin or theme backlink is something that wouldn't hurt as long as it isn't a targeted anchor text but just a site name. But these links might not be helping you as they used to earlier.