Here are two posts regarding the subject of blog advertising that I found interesting:

• David Airey who believes his blog is being penalized by Google in their search results as the result of a few paid links. The item of contention seems to be the lack of “nofollow” on said paid links, implying that his site was giving an SEO benefit to them for cash. This is a no-no as far as Google is concerned. His site may have been reported to Google after he posted about buying and selling links in a forum. Whether or not you agree with Google’s policy, it is interesting to see how quickly this Google penalty was enacted, the effect on his listing in Google search results, and the resulting negative effect on traffic.
• Mr. Simplehelp posts about his recent experience turning down someone who offered him $550 for a “lifetime” contract link. He asked a few other bloggers what they would do in this situation and the general consensus was the “lifetime” part was not to Simplehelp’s benefit, and the effect on SEO – especially the potential links to “spammy sites” was not worth the $550.

Both these points demonstrate the caution I believe bloggers should have when it comes to monetization and ads. There may be an initial impulse to go crazy with monetization and take whatever comes your way. But I think it’s good to balance the SEO implications of any ads you run, and even the effect on your readers. You may line your pockets but is it worth it if your position in Google lowers or if readers run away because you have turned your site into a billboard?

On Webomatica I’ve had occasional offers to buy links but I still persist with my policy of no paid links. So far, I only have Google AdSense, Amazon, and iTunes affiliates. I may set up a system for advertising in the future but it will be on my terms and rotate monthly. I have considered TextLink Ads but due to my general trend of procrastination I haven’t gotten around to it.

At the end of the day, no legitimate site needs to pay me for a link from this blog. All you have to do is comment, and get by my increasingly draconian blog spam filters. I also check out every site to see if the content is something I could stand linking to. But if you get by that, and have something constructive to say about what I’ve written, you’re golden.

That might be a fair amount of work but the link won’t cost you a dime.

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Categories: Blogs, Technology :: David Airey ::

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