We are Ranked at PR 4 and Don't Accept Links Ranked Lower than Ours

What do you say to that?

[humaneditor]

"WE ARE RANKED AT PR4 AND DON'T ACCEPT LINKS RANKED LOWER THAN OURS AS IT DRAGS OUR RANKING DOWN. THANK YOU"

I saw this msg. in BOLD Red while campaigning for a client's site.

Is this a myth or fact? Any eye-opener if this is myth?

Thanks.

[Smart_Seo]

Hi,
I am also new on board but hav detailed study link exchange system.
I think its completely a myth.
Link exchange program is not only to hav traffic but it is counted as backlinks & it means how popular ur link is so that others are using it.
Google always want to show quality results.For PR it hav complete listing of backlinks.

Okey give me ur ideas & comments.

[diamondgrl]

It's a myth. Anything link that's not in a "bad neighborhood" will help. Obviously PR4 and above are more helpful than PR3 and lower.

And if it was true, what idiot with a higher PR would ever link to them? They would just be dragged down. So if it was true, they would only get links from PR 4 and stay PR 4 forever because as soon as they became PR 5, they instantly be dragged down by all those PR 4 sites linking to them. It's just idiotic.

[Crush]

The truth is that all pages that have been cached add benefit to your site with anchor text.

The bad side of linking out too much to lower PR sites in that it will over time lower your PR on your links pages and some people may be less reluctant to link to you because they think they are not getting an equitable swap.

[kevinpate]

One could always write back with a simple:

"We understand your position about not linking to lower PR sites.We have a very similar philosophy for each of the twelve PR7 sites and for the nine PR8 sites we operate. We never agree to link those sites to a site that is lower than PR6. Good luck in your quest."

snotty, yes. A tad mean even, but maybe it would brighten up a dim bulb in the noggin for someone.

[martinibuster]

I just posted this in supporters, and it explains the origins of PR4+ fixations, the myths, and what factors you should really consider when conducting a link campaign.

Feel free to contribute to the discussion:

What We Talk About When We Talk About PageRank
Discussing the Value (or Not) of PageRank
[webmasterworld.com...]

For those of you without access to supporters, here are some key questions to consider:

• If the Gtb display is indeed flawed, does it make sense to depend on it for making business decisions (from acquiring links to purchasing websites), and does this call for other metrics?

• Can the quantity of total inbounds from unique websites, regardless of PR, play a significant role in acquiring better ranking?

• Can the number of anchors, regardless of PR of the originating page, play a more significant role than PR for acquiring better ranking?