Offer to "Sponsor" our organisation

Possibly dodgy?

[Stefan]

This is my first post in this forum. My main site is a .org for a non-profit group that attempts to cover its funding through research grants, map sales, and wilderness guiding. To date, the only ads on our site are ours (for GPS maps, etc). The site does quite well for a number of kw's, thanks to almost 400 text-heavy pages, careful use of titles and file-names, and some decent backlinks.

So, today I get an email from an outfit offering to "sponsor" our organisation by "purchasing a text link". I check the site (PR4), but can't really determine what they're selling (format is www.co*ntry-guide.info with a few dozen subpages offering a general guide and a few ads). I find on the "site info" page a blurb on "Inter*ctive Intern*t W*bsites, Inc. (I*WINC)" (asterisks replacing a few letters). I check them and find that there is a network of a few dozen Carib-island-guide.info sites, all the same as the one that contacted me.

It looks dodgy to me, but I don't know exactly why. I'm well aware that linking to the wrong neighbourhood can do you damage, so I'm wary. But all these guys are asking for is a "text link", and they have a PR4.

You whom have more knowledge of these things than I - does something jump right out when you read the above that I should know about?

[rfung]

possibly a web marketer just buying a link to his site to boost PR.

[eljefe3]

He's just trying to buy a link that is under the radar.

[Stefan]

Thanks for that folks. I might go ahead with it - I could certainly use the money ;-)

[Stefan]

Well, it looks like I'll soon be putting my first paid-for links on the site. They're offering me 50 USD/mo, and it will sure help, so I'm probably going ahead with it (I've stipulated certain conditions so it doesn't adversely affect my own serps).

It was nice that they contacted me, rather than visa versa. I now have vague hopes of seeing a few more emails like that appearing in the Inbox. I can find a little more room on some of the pages, if necessary... ;-)