When placing links (anchor text) on websites I understand that the higher the PR is of the website, where the link is placed, that Google will add weight to that fact when calculating the algorithm for the 'anchor text' search. Thus, assisting in rating your site higher up the search result list. I understand there are other factors involved but all things being equal, is this correct. If so, is the primary reason to place links all over the place merely to, attempt to, list your site higher up the Google search results for the given 'anchor text'? Is it correct, then it does not matter what traffic the site has (where the backlink is placed) as long as the PR is higher, the better?
PR is an indication as to how many quality sites linked back to you and generally it is a way to weigh how much your site is worth. I believe any link back in general can help increase your SERPs even though it may be nofollow. I think Google is looking for as many backlinks as possible from good authority names and whenever you can add a keyword in an anchor text, the better for you.
The more relevant the page with the links though, the better - even if the pr is lower. If it has some pr and is highly relevant - google will give extra weight to that.
Double Confuse.... Back to the topic... More Backlinks = More Traffic [YES] High PR = More Traffic [Not Really]
So the PR site itself doesn't have to have high volumes of traffic, though that would be nice for potential direct traffic from the PR site, it's only the PR rating of that site that is used by Google, along with relevancy.