Paying for a Link

[Studio33]

I realize it is bad to pay for a link but is it bad to pay for a link on a page that ranks you 1 to 10 againist your competitor, shows a screen shot of your and lists Pros and Cons of your site?  Is this sort of paid link different somehow?

[DavidKonigsberg]

If its a good site and from a marketing point of view it has value you will be fine with 1 paid link on 1 page on the site - the people who get hit for buying links buy lots

[Sarbs]

Agree with David, if the sites relevent and having your site there will actually add value for the user, a single paid link will not really have any negative impact.

[Carson-Ward]

Is it different in Google's eyes? No. Is a single link going to get you caught and penalized? Probably not. Don't rely on buying links, as it will distract you from doing real marketing, and make sure you don't leave obvious footprints.