Hey Philip is right in the positioning and anchor text as well. It also applies on your on-site linking and if the external links, external content on the linking page, and the content on your own page matching up. Many sites have multiple anchors that either point the same place or use the same term/s. This will confuse the SE’s and potentially affect your rankings because they can’t figure out where to apply the emphasis and end up splitting any benefits between the two.
Another consideration in acquiring backlinks is to diversify. Do some press releases (with ONE link back to your HOMEPAGE), do alot of social bookmarking, and get on some forums. This will raise your authority. Just be careful not to overdo it.