I represent a network of sports betting content sites. We are considering whether or not to include paid text links as another option to for the brands we work with. The links would be direct to the client (ie: an in-bound link) ...not affiliate links.

Can anyone tell me what your criteria is for deciding the rate you would pay?
>>Is this something you would pay for if it contributed to your site's in-bound link strategy resulting in higher rank results?
>>It is the page rank of the page the link would reside on?
>>Is the the traffic of the overall site?
>>Does the location of the text link matter?
>>Does a limited number of links from competitors matter (ie: if there are only 4 positions available should the rate be higher vs. making 20 positions available?)
>> How do you determine ROI ?
>>Do you prefer to lock in a rate for 1 year or 6 months or monthly?

We want to offer our clients solid value so if this is a good idea or not, I'd appreciate your comments....

Singlemalt