Renting Links

Is this a problem with Google?

[joe commerce]

A poster in another thread claims Google does not think well of sites that have rented links no matter how relevant. Is this true? How would they know anyway?

Thanks

[justdave]

I've heard that as well, but I don't believe it. It seems to me that any method a webmaster uses to help increase their exposure is a no-no in the Google book, according to some people. Obviously, everyone wants to get to the top of Google and other search engines. Some people use honest methods and some don't. The bottom line to me is, if a site is using honest methods to increase their presence they need to be left alone. If I am an author and I rent a link on a bookstore's homepage, should that really count against me? I think not. This link would have additional value other than the link popularity benefit.

That's my two cents!

[joe commerce]

Perhaps soon you'll get banned for having any links :)

Joe Commerce

[Hypertext]

Matt Cutts specifically stated that those who rented links from a tech-sites network did not get link reputation passed on. He stated this during the whole controversy with travel links being rented from a popular tech network. The take-away was that for certain high-PR sites, Google will look at the sites specifically and block link reputation from being passed from certain sections of certain pages it deemed untrustworthy.

[joe commerce]

Not referring to Matt's post. Just a general remark from a newcomer.

[jecasc]

It is not so much if you paid for the link but how it is integrated into the website. IF the link shows up in the "our advertisors" section of the website it will be easy to recognize.

If it looks "natural" then Google will have no way of recognizing.

[afterburner]

this is all hog wash, go to google or yahoo and do any search, the top sites have the most links.

[stinkfoot]

Anything that involves money to effect google yet that money does not go to google goole will not like.

How would you feel if you were a greedy monster trying to take over the world and some other little ant was nibbleing at you sugar pile?

[ownerrim]

"this is all hog wash, go to google or yahoo and do any search, the top sites have the most links."

Absolutely true. Neither google nor yahoo nor msn have the ability to tell natural links from purchased in 99.99 percent of all cases. They do not have the ability to discern this in an automated fashion, nor the manpower to check more than 1/100th of one percent of all sites.

A link is a link is a link is a link is a link----and the sites that have the most tend to win.

It's utterly amazing how many people buy into this BS about google knowing anything whatsoever. Pick a top money niche, identify the top sites, check their backlinks in yahoo and you'll see that, with a few exceptions, those at the top have tons of links. And on top of that, most of those links are CRAP links from flimflam directories, dmoz clones, and adsense scraper sites.

In essence, google doesn't care where your links come from.

[LostOne]

Now they're called rented links? Being sarcastic here.

What happened to bought links or paid links?