It's not a huge leap at all, read up on the subject and look at the common sense behind the absolute need to get rid of it, directory owners are the worst offenders for PR chasing that's a pretty clear fact. http://www.searchenginejournal.com/goodbye-google-pagerank/5465/ If Matt say's PR is pretty much a non-event at Google then you should be wise enough to know that if they don't take it seriously then why the hell should anyone else.
and do these posts come from google or have any real evidence google is thinking of removing PR no of course not
He did not say they don't take it seriously. He said the toolbar-PR updates are a non-event. Meaning it's no big deal to them. As in they don't get excited about it. And why would they? Like everybody else here, I've read that post. They are referencing the debate on webmasterworld, that's it. I'm not saying whether or not it should stay or go. You obviously think it should go, but no matter what you or I think, it makes little difference in the end as to what Google will do. And once again, Google has given no indication, anywhere, that they are getting rid of it.
I hope its ok to ask this question here since its related. When you guys sponsor Templates, do you sponsor per month, per year or is it a one off payment for template sponsorship?
let me know who is your SEO teacher or where did you read this because this is absolutely WRONG. A link on the page is a link so it will help you regardless of what you do with SERPS and PR. The only thing placement will matter is traffic. @pipes: mostly it is permanent fee ... i haven't seen a template designer asking for monthly sponsorship fee .. hehe @phoenix: i think funkymario posted a thread official tht PR will stay ....
I have only ever done one arrangement that had monthly payments involves related to a template. All the rest have always been permanent.
this is something new to me, never heard of a recurrent sponsorship deal for templates. Do enlighten on how this works
smub and mystikmedia thanks, i was hoping to hear that. jl255, ive just realised the complication of how that would work, if someone was sponsoring for monthly and the template is widely used and then the person stops sponsoring...
Nope, they're QUOTING what Matt Cutt's said, there's a HUGE difference. Since when have Google needed to tell us mere mortals when they are doing something, especially as they view most directory owners as the ones who've created this questionable link buying phenomenon.
I've sponsored about 15 wp themes for Spongy Web Directory and new links keep rolling in each day. The best way that I find out about these new links is through hits that are recorded on my server's referrer logs. I definitely think they are worth it. You have to have a good eye for which themes will get lots of downloads. I am pretty sure that some of the themes I have paid for sponsorships on were a waste of time. But sometimes you hit a gem and literally tens of blogs with good PR and good hits are using that theme.
sorry for the late responce! yes the footer links carries less importance, and the top or sidebar links have more value for passing PR or boosting serps! Am speaking out of experience, but i would love to see what others have to say on this! Having said that, every backlink matters, and when i say less importance it dosenot mean no-importance. But then a link on the sidebar will have a lot more importance! @snub! the link at the footer dose pass PR! all i said is, a sidebar link has more importance. there is no way to conferm these things, but then when you sponsor you can also sponsor sidebar links! right! For me, sponsoring templates helps you get some relevant links which give traffic and boosts your anchor text! so it isn't all that bad! and again, sidebar links are better dosenot mean footer links are useless!!
Why would a footer link have less importance than a footer link uttoransen? Is there any reason link A is better than link B, do google even know how to differentiate from one another?
If we are speaking about machines and not humans, only thing that matters is html code order. Most of designs will have sidebar just above footer in html, so even if your theory is correct, difference between sidebar and footer links is so small that must be irrelevant. If we speak about traffic link can pass, it really depends on specific case. For example if sponsor link is on sidebar with 20 more links(which is usually the case), footer link will pass more traffic, especially because people want to see who provided a template if they like it.
what!! All i said was! a sidebar link has more importance than a footer link! If this is wrong prove it! @balkanboy - i guess sponsored link, wheather it is in footer or sidebar, traffic will be the same! but i think! i repeat, i only think[don't ask me to prove it]! that the links on top of the sites matters more than the links at the bottom! may be slightly!
I also share your opinion, but even if his theory is right it still doesn't hold water except in very small number of cases.
I don't think having a link in the footer is less important for PR but having one above the fold will do wonders for traffic.