Many webmasters buy links to try and increase their search engine ranking or Google PR. Just posted in Matt Cutts blog he explains that Google is now going to start cracking down on paid links. He detailed the steps on how to report paid links:
– Sign in to Google’s webmaster console and use the authenticated spam report form, then include the word “paidlink” (all one word) in the text area of the spam report. If you use the authenticated form, you’ll need to sign in with a Google Account, but your report will carry more weight.
– Use the unauthenticated spam report form and make sure to include the word “paidlink” (all one word) in the text area of the spam report.From http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/how-to-report-paid-links/
This certainly will cause a large stir on the web. How will they be able to tell if the link is paid or not? The answer is I really don’t know. I do know that using JavaScript or the nofollow attribute are safe ways to sell links for visitors/traffic, as opposed to trying to influence search engine rankings. Supposedly links sold for traffic purposes are alright. It is just the links that are purchased to try and change search engine ranking that are not allowed.
The moral of this story is don’t buy links and don’t sell links or Google will catch you. It may not be today or tomorrow, but it will be someday. Instead of buying links you can gain search engine ranking the correct way. Examples: write articles, submit your stories to news sites, etc.