Question on .edu backlinks.

.gov and .edu websites are considered good for good backlinks

So assuming that people are not all idiots, and realise by now that linking to bad sites will give you a bad reputation, that's a big difference to the statement "if they have a lot of OBL that BAD".

In fact for the most part the opposite is true. The entire Google system, from the day it was thought up, is completely built upon a citation system. Hence the value of a link. You are citing someones work by linking to them. Just like you would see in a book. Go to the bibliography and you'll see a bunch of references and citations of the supporting texts and information.

Google then realised the errors in that method and began introducing steps to combat self promoting citations, or what we like to call spam.

Google as a business is only interested in providing THE MOST relevant document available, on any topic, upon request. They are also interested in providing extension to that document, other citations, cross references, or other supporting information. Just like a bibliography (outbound links).

So if you've read all of this so far you'll quickly realise that if you consistently link out to other authority sites/pages that provide more/other/extended/related information on the topic that your own web page is about then effectively you are building a better user experience for the searcher.

This is exactly the reason the wikipedia has such authority. Every post, every page, every topic, has sources of reference to other pages, which also have sources of reference and this goes on looping over and over. On top of that you have millions of other pages on specific topics that cite the wiki page on that same topic, which again continues down a rabbits hole, offering more and more supporting information and citation.

You see how it works? Linking out is one of the best things you can do. Just do it within reason or you'll be bleeding PR like shark attack victim.

I see all the time people confusing the idea that Google cares about you, your site, or your content. They don't. All they care about is the best user experience for their own customers. By linking out you are giving more of what Google wants to deliver to its customers. They will thank you for that by offering your page as the best source of information on a particular topic.

Linking out to authority sites that provide supporting information on your topic will, over time, increase PR not drop it.

Sorry, but it is very true. Any .edu/.gov page where anybody can leave a link without knowing somebody will get spammed and devalued eventually. There are simply too many people searching for places to do this and selling them to others. There is also plenty of evidence that suggests that links from student or faculty pages on these domains have no more value than similar links elsewhere. Strangely enough, most people who say different are usually selling lists of these links.

I think the whole .edu and .gov backlink hype is just a lot of BS. I am not going to spend any more time or effort on it. Just go for high PR sites and forget the rest. It is all a bunch of old wives tales in my opinion.