Image/Badge Links and their Google SEO benifits

[Dave_Hybrid]

I have just released a plugin for a CMS and in and effort to keep it looking clean I used a image href'd link instead of a text link for credit.

I could swap to a text link but still wouldn't want to use any keyword anchor text as IMO it looks spammy.

Anchor text aside will any PR juice and stuff like trust and authority still be passed to my linked domain? Is it just on a smaller scale compared to a text link?

The plugin is a clone of a wordpress version which generated 5mil+ links. Should I swap the link method to really benefit?

Thanks.

[tedster]

If the image uses an alt attribute, that can pass some influence - but yes, it's less than straight anchor text. Too much keyword influence in backlinks has been known to cause trouble, so I'd say you're correct. It's safer to stick with the brand or domain for an alt attribute or anchor text if you're going to get a lot of links.

[Dave_Hybrid]

Agreed on the alt theory, and juice (PR, trust etc.) will pass through an image link just fine?