If I am getting back links to my sub pages does that help my link popularity on the site as a whole or only to that sub page url that may have all or a part of the keywords on that page? If my sub page is optimized for "really bad girls" and my main page is optimized for "bad girls" is there any benefit to either when one is linked to with the others keyword? Does optimizing for long tail keywords on a product page say - short, sexy mini skirts, help the section page which is for mini skirts, or no effect at all. I think my site has improved when my sub pages get ranked then the section pages seem to do better? Or should I stop smoking the crack??????
Deep links definitely help both the page itself and other pages it links to. Some people get all their links to their homepage and link juice has to filter down to internal pages. If you make a point of getting deep links too, those inner pages will have more link juice to send to pages it links to. If that inner page is directly related to the pages it links to, then it is even better. Then you have a strong related page linking to the other one. Deep links help your entire website rank better.
I have noticed that getting links back to a sub page was a slow burn getting it up in the serps. When I got back links to internal sub pages of that sub page, it jumped. thanks!
Good to learn on giving importance on internal pages. I have read a few post from Darren and John about this too. Linking your old post to a new post might help us in SERP. I'm not sure whether it really works cause I never try it.
It definitely helps both. You can also use nofollow within your site to sort of delegate PR to different pages. Also, stop smoking crack. That stuff is bad for you.
You are using the right method to get backlinks for your internal pages. Links to individual pages signify 'goodness' of content on that page.