Michael Martinez: It depends on whether they are indexed, allowed to pass value by the algorithms, and allowed to pass value by the Websites ("dofollow"). In most cases it`s more productive to get new links from new content on sites that are actively crawled.
Scott Clark: Yes true. Also if relevant. I made a few assumptions in my comment that basic link evaluation was being done along the way.
Michael Martinez: Scott Clark I agree about relevance with link reclamation. The search engines pay more attention when they see destinations change.
Tarek Dinaji: Michael Martinez I understand the relevance, DIY link should point to to another DIY site/content. however what you mean by pay more attention when destination change?
I have purchased transferred and put 301 across all links and the link juice along with the traffic was forwarded just fine, I even saw increase in traffic.
Tarek Dinaji: in the above scenario, nothing was done blindly though, only relevant link was forwarded to the relevant content, if needed I created new content.
Michael Martinez: Tarek Dinaji You have no way of knowing which links pass value. Sometimes when you do something it does follow that you see improvements but there are always other things at work - things that may have already set into motion the changes you see. As for "relevant links", that`s mostly a myth. But the search engines have stated they specifically pay attention when old content changes its links and when old domains are revived and start linking out again. It`s unlikely they would catch every change, or care about every change. They don`t explain what they look for so spammers don`t get away with too much.
Lauren Terfehr: Yep. Worth it! Also make sure you’re cleaning up redirect chains while your at it. Less steps = passing more link equity.
Reclaiming old backlinks, is that something helps with SEO now a days? 
