The ethics of paying for links isn't what was being discussed...the search for a
Good/Legit SEO company was. If a company prides itself on using methods in direct violation of Google's guidelines, I'd stay away.
Whatever methods you use for your own site is your own prerogative. Once you start accepting payments for performing
SEO on other people's sites, you also start accepting the responsibilities that come with it. One of those responsibilities is to make sure you aren't doing anything that could potentially harm your client's business. The only "justifiable" exception IMO is if you have a very transparent conversation with your client that fully explains the risk of using "Method A-Z" and they instruct you to do it anyway.
In either case, a truly
Good/Legit SEO company wouldn't need to utilize this approach to gain links. They understand the complexities of generating "natural" links and will have their own solutions in place to take care of it. At the same time, paid links can be a great way to generate traffic and/or brand awareness depending on the website it appears on...but the link should include a NoFollow tag to avoid any issues.
Overall, link generation is only one piece of the pie when it comes to getting ranked. If you focus on taking care of the other "stuff", the links will eventually build up on their own. But...there are definitely some techniques to speeding up the process.
I would suggest finding some articles by Eric Ward on link building if you're interested in the topic...I believe his website is:
www.ericward.com/
For those that are interested in working with some top notch companies (
In MY Opinion), here is a
brief list. In order of estimated cost. (High-Low)
www.iProspect.com - Best IMO if you can afford them
www.iCrossing.com - They get results - but don't always justify the cost from what I've heard.
www.SEOMoz.org/services - $10k/month minimum...but Rand Fishkin is worth it.
www.Impaqt.com - Great company with solid experience/reputation...but I've never spoken with someone first-hand that's used them.
www.ElixirInteractive.com - Great company...they've been expanding due to the results they consistently deliver and may cost more to work with now.
www.dMediaLLC.com - Strong company, but are fairly small. Best option IMO for those with budgets less than $36k/year.
Disclaimer for transparency purposes...I have met/associated/worked with individuals that are currently or previously employed at iProspect, iCrossing, Impaqt, Elixir and dMedia...but I am not being paid for these recommendations.
Hope this post helps someone out there...
Cheers!
Midgetlov