Linking to Search Engines

Is it helpful, hurtful, or indifferent to your ranking?

[HyperGeek]

I have various links on my client's front page to the directories and search result screens that they are listed in.

Does this hurt or help us in the long run?

We have a few sides to this debate:

a) It helps because the engines love recip linkage - also some say that recip links with keywords (like directory names) within the link can help your ranking.

b) It hurts because the more you link out, the more dilluted your site's PageRank can get - also, others say that keyword scanning within links is a thing of the past because of "http://keyword-domain.com/keyword-keyword-keyword.html" abuse.

c) Others say that it just doesn't matter because it's ultimately the girth of your site and it's keyword relevency that will obtain high positions.

What do you think?

[jimbo_mac]

HyperGeek,

I would go for c, I dont think it matters.

jimbo_mac

[EliteWeb]

Some discussion on linking back to search engines found here:
Linking to Search Engines [webmasterworld.com]
Linking back to search engines [webmasterworld.com]

I don't link back to Search Engines, I sometimes mention them with hyperlinks but I dont make it a practice.