Self service linking has attained ridiculous proportions on the web as naive, ignorant and lazy webmasters look for the easiest ways to obtain as many backlinks as they possibly can with as little effort as possible. This also fuels the myth that overall link popularity is one of the most important factors for ranking a web page in the search engines.
Visit the average webmaster forum and it’s easy to find several comments and advice advocating the use of self service linking as the preferred method for ranking one’s website. I can only image the quality of the sites being promoted using these methods. I wouldn’t point these types of links at throw away domains, much less anything being developed for the long term.
What do I consider to be a self service link? Any link that results from a direct action of your own accord or one that is attained through automated means. This is one of the favored tactics of inexperienced webmasters or those claiming to be SEO experts or offering so called SEO / link building services. In other words, a link that has no editorial merit.
Are outbound links a signal of quality? Is this one of the over