I know with Panda 3.3 update this past week, there has been some change to the way Google interprets back links. So, I'll be curious what the opinions of other people would be. Personally, I wouldn't put a link in the footer of client sites........just my opinion.....

Wow! Thank you for all the insight!   I am going to look at HostGator as I've heard several good things about them.   With regard to udpates, the Wordpress platform has been udpated at every opportunity and, in addition, I've updated with "patches" through GoDaddy as well.   Unfortunately, this is the third site that has been hacked.  I'm overseeing 150+ sites so I need to consider another option as I've also had bad experiences with GoDaddy in other areas.    Thanks again for everyone's input!  Very much needed and appreciated!

I've had a horrible experience with the security on wordpress hosting with GoDaddy.  Someone recommended Blue Host as my next option.   Does anyone have any experience with BlueHost and what other hosting companies would you recommend for wordpress hosting?