The folks over at WebmasterWorld have noticed that the Better Business Bureau has nofollowed links to their verified and trusted businesses.
I confirmed this by spot checking my BBB listing and the link to my company web site is indeed nofollowed. I guess I won't be renewing - okay, I am just kidding. Truth is, I always thought it was nofollowed, surprised it took them so long.
Roger Monti said at the thread that the link is now probably worth more because less SEOs will pay for it just for the link itself. I guess it is true, less will renew. He wrote:
I have never bothered with BBB for a link, it has always been for other purposes. However if this is true then a link from BBB is worth even more now simply because SEO's are considering no longer paying for it.
Of course, a nofollowed link is not seen by Google, so there is no link benefit at all from them. Roger means that less people will abuse it, so the links in BBB.org will likely generate more traffic because there are less of them in the future.
Also, many local SEOs claim BBB does help with local rankings.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.