In his blog, Google engineer Matt Cutts tells us what Google thinks of paid links.
Here’s a summary:
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Don’t sell links primarily to drive search engine rankings or game PageRank
This is the most important principle. Google absolutely hates sites that do that. Forget about increasing your PageRank if you sell links. That should never be your motive. Sell links to drive traffic to your clients’ sites from your own, and ask for a link back if you wish.
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List sites that are relevant to your own
If your site reports on tech news, then you should not be selling links to gambling, adult or offshore banking sites. Google can tell that something is fishy.
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Use the rel=”nofollow” attribute
This is highly recommended by Matt as it implies the link will not influence search engine rankings.
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Do not disguise paid links as normal links
Be honest and tell your readers that those links are sponsored. Do not hide it with JavaScript or images. Google’s algorithm is improving all the time and they can detect it (eventually).
I think what Matt says makes sense. We need less spam, and paid links has contributed to that.
In the 1.1 release of WP Text Ads, I will include rel=”nofollow” as an option. Right now, WP Text Ads has the features to ensure that bloggers do not fall foul of Google’s rules.
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About the author
I'm Alex Choo and I live in sunny Singapore. I'm also the developer of WP Text Ads, a WordPress plugin that lets bloggers sell ads directly to advertisers so that they pay 0% in commissions and earn 100% in profits.
Feel free to drop me a note anytime you wish. You should also subscribe to the low volume email announcement list for WP Text Ads below.
Comments 5
Good article Alex. Many bloggers have suffered because of paid links. PR’s have evaporated and many bloggers have been forced to quit. However, if Mat’s 4 guides are followed, things should look up a bit for bloggers. The main problem is that many advertisers do not want their links with the “nofollow” attribute attached. Kind of like being caught between a rock and a hard place!
Posted 26 Mar 2008 at 3:07 pm ¶Good article Alex. Many bloggers have suffered because of paid links. PR’s have evaporated and many bloggers have been forced to quit. However, if Mat’s 4 guides are followed, things should look up a bit for bloggers. The main problem is that many advertisers do not want their links with the “nofollow” attribute attached. Kind of like being caught between a rock and a hard place!
Posted 26 Mar 2008 at 3:08 pm ¶I suppose if paid links are there from an advertising perspective, then search engines shouldn’t come into it. When I have placed adverts on other sites before, it has been to try and tap into the sites demographic and gain sales due to its traffic.
If I wanted to improve search engine positioning then I would never use advertisements, but instead consider a different strategy!
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 11:39 am ¶71xq5bevnrv7d4t2
Posted 13 Nov 2008 at 5:16 am ¶Good article Alex. Many bloggers have suffered because of paid links. PR’s have evaporated and many bloggers have been forced to quit. However, if Mat’s 4 guides are followed, things should look up a bit for bloggers. The main problem is that many advertisers do not want their links with the “nofollow” attribute attached. Kind of like being caught between a rock and a hard place!
Posted 11 Feb 2009 at 8:13 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 5
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