Paid links

Text link advertising

[gtate]

I'm interested in what the experts view is on text link advertising to get links from highly ranked pages (PR 6, 7 or 8). I've heard that this is not working so well post jagger. Any thoughts as to whether this is true, and whether there are any limits as to how much one should spend? (I'm thinking £250 to £500 per month.)

[ortelius]

I think this is a good topic. I have similar questions myself. I know it is important to use a reputable broker, and that they are few and far between. If you use a good broker, you can check out beforehand what the links will look like, what site they come from, where they will be placed, etc.

To me, the big question is about whether Google can "track" these paid text link ads and devalue them as far as link pop credit is concerned. It seems clear that G. would like to do that. (And why shouldn't they - paid linking has no merit as far as serps are concerned). Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that question. A link broker will tell you they cannot. I imagine others will tell you they can. I don't know if anyone has tested it thorougly. I'd like to hear.

Ortelius

[arikgub]

Yes, Google can track and devalue these links.
Here is what Matt Cutts has to say about this.

[mattcutts.com...]

However, I guess that if you buy a link by approaching a webmaster with a personal e-mail instead of using text brokers services, it will be much harder for Google to figure out what's going on. Make the links look "natural".

[martinibuster]

Yes, Google can track and devalue these links.

Not really. That's just Matt going to Yahoo and doing a backlink search.

[ortelius]

Would it be fair to say that if a broker is doing their job properly, Google would still be having difficulty in tracking what is a paid link?