Re-Thinking Paid Links
I’ve been fiddling with Text Link Ads on my personal blogs for quite a while now. I’ve been handling technical aspects of Splashpress since I joined the network, and for a time I was responsible for actually applying for site approval and installing TLA code on some of our blogs. It’s great that most of our sites already have text link buyers, though some sites are just recently entered into the system, and don’t have ads yet.
Thing is, while my personal blogs have been on the system for about a year or more now, it’s only now that advertisers have bought links on these sites. I’m not really depending on TLA to earn big money (same with Google AdSense). The blog network pays enough for a full-time income (from where I come from). But the extra funds I find useful to pay the blogging-related bills like hosting, domain charges, revenue share with the team blog writers, and the like.
However I’m quite concerned with the fact that Google is now penalizing sites that sell text links. Maybe they’re not directly downgrading the search ranking of these sites, but some argue that Google is downgrading the link juice from these sites. That means that even if your blog or site is already a trusted site with high authority, your links to external sites (particularly those identified as paid links) are likely to not be given much weight by Google’s algorithm in computing for the linked site’s authority or credibility.
This might turn off advertisers. And for a blogger, this might mean that sites I link to (whether paid or not paid) get less benefits from the linkage. So in the end, if this really pushes through, then that means the power of the link would be diluted all across the Web.
Somehow that makes me want to rethink the concept of selling text links on my site.
Hate to say “told you so…”-:
http://www.jackofallblogs.com/2006/09/17/paid-text-links-ads-are-doomed/
So how about those condoms, then?
Mosey said this on May 6, 2007 1:07 pm
Are those available at corner pharmacies?
jangelo said this on May 6, 2007 9:14 pm
Stumbled on your blog…read this post and thought I would give you an update on the comments where you’re “penalized” for buying text links. First, don’t believe everything you read at Mr. Cutt’s site. Think of Cutts like the Iraqi Minister of Defense for Google…nothing but propoganda.
Next, I read an article where someone listed what another Google employee said about the whole reporting links. http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/05/adam-lasnik-interview-on-paid-links-duplicate-content.html
It shows there is “NO” penalization for anyone.
On monetizing your blog, thought I would give you some feedback of good places you can make some cash, seems you’re limiting yourself:
http://www.payperpost.com (paid blog posts)
http://www.linkworth.com (many ways to earn)
http://www.reviewme.com (paid blog posts)
There are others, but these are my favorites.
Love the blog look..
joseph said this on May 7, 2007 11:12 pm