martinibuster - 2:38 pm on Nov 30, 2012 (gmt 0)

I think the way Google sees this is that most natural links are from the main content area.

No. You're thinking inside the SEO box. The root of the problem is the SEO belief that Google values in-content link better because the link has a context, the words surrounding the link. Yes, there are patents that say Google may take a look at the words surrounding a link and it is even mentioned in the original Google paper. But that doesn't mean that link placed elsewhere must be worth less. That's SEO-think. That kind of thinking subverts your project because it puts you into an SEO box that forces you into the kind of garbage projects I described above.