Blog Co-Op - Purchasing Links in Relevant Blogs

[eastcoastchairandbarstool]

Hello,  Our SEO company has recommended participating in a blog co-op, where we can purchase a link on a relevant blog, either submitting our own content or letting them find relevant anchor text in an article on their site and adding a link back to us.  Links are running $40 - 100 based on Page Rank of the blog.  I realize that it is BETTER not to buy a link, but is this going to hurt us if the blog content is relevant to our industry?

[FedeEinhorn]

ALL paid links are going to hurt you eventually. You can probably get an immediate boost, but then, the penalty you could receive, will take far more to fix.

Regardless of the "related content" those are paid links in a link scheme network apparently.

If your SEO company is recommending you purchase links, then my suggestion is CHANGE YOUR SEO COMPANY!

[eastcoastchairandbarstool]

Thanks Federico. That was my gut answer, too, but it's hard to know exactly what to trust, when you're paying for "expert advice" and this is what they suggest! Thanks much!

[FedeEinhorn]

You're welcome Emily.

Moz has a list of recommended companies here: http://moz.com/article/recommended