Value of a .edu or .gov link?

[DemiGR]

I am looking to hire a company to start a backlink campaign for me.  In my search I have stumbled across one which essentially charges a good amount of money to secure backlinks on .edu and .gov sites ($500 per link).  This would be in context links.  This company is an SEOMOZ recommended company so I am thinking the links will be well earned and not simple paid for to the university as to prevent future issues.

My question is, how can I put a value on these links for my website? Like lets says I have a DA of 1 right now, and I get one backlink with DA of 70 PA of 70, how will that effect my DA? How can I quantify how many .edu .gov links I will need before I start to place? I realize I will need some more mixed up there so it does not seem unnatural, but my business has a lot to do with universities and government entities.

I am trying to figure out how I can calculate the value of these links to me

[AndieF]

Hi Demetrios,

It's difficult to say exactly how it'll affect your DA or PA - like PageRank there's a considerable number of factors and contexts that build that ranking.

Domain Authority is in part built up from your MozTrust score. The MozTrust is roughly calculated by measuring how many sites sit between your website and a trusted website. Educational and Government websites tend to be considered trusted websites, so if they link to you directly the MozTrust there is very high indeed.

Be aware though, you shouldn't build your site's success on the back of one or two trusted links. You need diversity and as many trusted relevant sites as possible to "back your credentials up" to Google and other search engines.

I know that's vague, but I hope it helps. Learn about how MozTrust works.

[Dr-Pete]

The value of any one link is tough to measure, and it's often not what we'd hoped for. I think Google tends to look at the entire profile and often depreciates new links, adding in their value over time. The days where a couple of strong .edu or .gov links would make all the difference are in the past, IMO.

I don't know the company or offering, but this focus on .edu and .gov links and $500/link just makes me uneasy. You mention the links are contextual and that education/government are relevant to your business, but my gut reaction is that this may not be money well spent. For the price of a few links, you could build content that might attract hundreds of links.

Valuing any given link is an educated guess at best, but Rand had a decent post about it a while back (post is from 2009, but much of it is still relevant):

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/17-ways-search-engines-judge-the-value-of-a-link