In Defense of Paid Links, why Rand is Wrong

Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz fame recently released their corporate position on the issue of paid links. I rarely disagree with Rand on the common practices of search engine optimizers, but I must respectfully disagree with this position because it misrepresents the risk-reward ratio for the overwhelming majority of online business owners. I will try my best to both respond to his points and outline my own position regarding paid links. First, let’s be clear about a few things. Paid Links != Rented Links. There are a wide array of paid linking methods that are not rented, each with its own risk-reward ratio to consider. Cheap, automated paid directory linking may offer very low reward and high risk. Renting links may be somewhere in between. Paid Links != Text...