braap - 11:36 pm on Feb 17, 2007 (gmt 0)

Since the blogs are relevant to the site that is purchasing the links, the links are relevant, subject-wise.

If the blog is on topic and relevant and sends traffic that could possibly convert, Google is in no position to punish either the blog or the advertiser.

Should Google not approve, then how about the blog posting a disclaimer that the links are paid advertisements. Again, Google is in no position to regulate, or penalize either website. Is it really up to Google to say how a website needs to conduct its monetization efforts?

There would be no reason to put a no follow on either. If both sites are on topic why wouldn't Google want to follow the link? Isn't this what crawling the web is all about?

One last note, Google can't possibly determine the intent behind buying links. In many cases link buying, sponsored links, etc. have nothing to do with trying to manipulate rankings, rather an attempt to brand or drive traffic to a site where the visitor can either learn something or buy something.