Does putting a link to my site in the source code count? I've noticed that websites like statcounter.com have a very high Google page rank. The reason is that their visible code to implement on the page includes a gif file that is linked to them. However they also have invisible options, the link to their site is only in the HTML. Does Google see the link in the HTML and counts it for page rank or does it have to be visible? http://www.treasureware.com
Well google doesn't really "See" your site right? So as long as googlebot can read the HTML then it will count the link. However, a link saying http://www.yoursite.com is not as good as a link saying "Your KeyWord Here". Anchor text is one of the most important things to consider when generating backlinks.
No they won't. This is a random comment about cloaking which has NO factual basis what so ever. There are many ways to cloak which are nearly undetectable from the SERPS. Many sites cloak including Amazon and Ebay.. might want to look into it more before it will say "The Search Engine Will Penalize You For IT". Also he was asking about BACKLINKS you can't really cloak backlinks, he was simply asking if the BACKINKS to statconuter.com are counted when web owners decided to use the invisible html option.