I personally dont see the need for counters on the page, except as a convience, like those that e-mail stats. Server stats on your host are far more accurate and reliable. It's also been said as many counters are javascript, that the JS can be used to say load spyware, ect.
And yes, the quality of links you get to your site can make a diff in the SE's. The bigger the more popular the site, the better it is suppose to be in helping your site.
Foxys place looks good, but the graphics are out of wack and the enter graphic does'nt load for me. The inside looks nice, but not real exciting, the ads for sure are not going to get your much. Plain regular sized banners pull very little clicks. Great start, look nice, just needs some fixing and tweaks...
ronnie