Embedding a back link in an online tool

Should I quit while i'm ahead?

[morehawes]

I have been reading up on this topic in the forum but typical of SEO/SEM everyone has a different opinion. So I thought I would try to get some feedback on my specific concern.

I have created an online tool that requires the user to paste a javascript tag on their page in order to the get tool working. Much like statcounter's approach I have also included a link to my site in this "copy & paste" code so I am also getting a back link. The anchor text gets randomised from a few variations but essentially says "Embedded Widget From Widget".

The tool is gaining popularity and so are these links - though not yet fast enough to concern me about the SEs thinking I am mass buying them. The sites that use the tool vary in quality but are generally not professional/authority sites - a bit more DIY and not always relevant. The actual page where the tool is used (and therefore my link) is generally on-topic so fairly relevant but not always.

I have a couple of quality links but have found this hard going so my incoming links are mostly gathered by the above manner. My question is can this method hurt me? Should I continue collecting links in this way or try to go after the few quality ones?

Many thanks in advance for any input :)

[LostOne]

Sounds like what I've been seeking. If it's used in moderation I don't see any harm. It's all about the mixture of links nowadays or so the theory goes.

[Whitey]

Make sure the tool is relevant to your site and then don't worry.

Also , cherry pick the good sites and leverage the relationship further for stronger benefits. I'm sure there's some good material in posts on link baiting that could strengthen your thoughts.

[anallawalla]

Check out this old thread [webmasterworld.com] about the Australian SEO company that used to supply counters with varying backlink anchor text. One day, Google changed their algo and their original domain never recovered, so they now use a different one.

[morehawes]

Thanks for the feedback, encouraging that it hasn't been all words of warning so far.

Make sure the tool is relevant to your site and then don't worry.

My site is only about the tool, information about it and importantly the code generator so people can get started. Apposed to a tool created for link baiting, similar to how statcounter work - using current users to spread the word. I get affiliate revenue from users of the tool and most of the time they use the tool on a page which is at least a little on-topic.

Thanks for the link anallawalla, a very interesting read. The general impression I got was that althought unlikely that I would suffer a penalty for link collecting in this method the low quality links would be seen as just that by the SEs. Which is encouraging in that respect.