by Al Bert, 8/17/2007

As link renting becomes more popular, the number of sites willing to sell link space increases. Given that the purpose for most webmasters is to gain links from sites with relatively higher PR, you should consider only sites that rate as authority sites in your category. Over and above that, the usual factors for quality linking should be taken into account. Briefly these are:

1. Visitor Profile - choose only those sites that get the type of surfer you are targeting.
2. Page Relevance - make sure that the title and body content of the page hosting your link is relevant to the linked page on your site.
3. Optimized Anchor Text - it is imperative that the text in your link is optimized for your web page, as well as being curiosity arousing.
4. Text Link Placement - wherever possible determine the placement of your link - you are paying for it. Links within body text (usually in your own distributed content) are the most effective. The rule of thumb is that the higher up the page the link is placed, the better its click-thru-rate (CTR).
5. Quantity of links on page - in a link trade set up, the hosting site usually guarantees the number of outgoing links - 3-5, and never more than 10. The fewer links there are, the better your CTR. Too many (6+) will erode the link PR you acquire as well as create distractions to your link.
6. Design - again you may not have control over the design of the text link ad, but it is worth checking to see whether you have any options. A simple link will generally maximize your CTR. Dynamic urls are not spidered by the SE bots, so any ad tracking scripts will do nothing for your link popularity, only boosting traffic your site.

How to Buy Links

Many sites readily sell link space on their pages. Due to the fear of SE blacklisting, some sites are reluctant to openly advertise the fact that they will sell you link space, and with these, it is often best to approach 3rd party link brokers. This will generally not cost you more as the linking sites' pays the brokers' fees, but it will give you more options to choose from. The leading link brokers are Text Link Brokers and Text Link Ads. The caveats for quality linking still apply, and don't plunge in if you are not sure.

It is usual for linking sites to charge a monthly fee for each link with the possibility of getting site wide links or links on specific pages. However site wide links tend to be more expensive and may not achieve any higher PR than single page links although they may generate more traffic. Typical charges would range from $15/month for PR3's to +$400/month for PR7's with wide variation in between. I do not think there is anything to be gained in linking with pages with less than PR5, principally because the PR they would pass on would be minimal.