text links on a footer (Full Version)

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Thomas Brunt -> text links on a footer (4/8/2005 13:05:02)

I recently saw a site similar to OutFront that was selling text links on the footer of every page in it for $5 per month. The links were on the very bottom of all pages enclosed within a 1 cell table.

There were about 30 links on there. I don't believe there was a limit placed on how many links the site would be willing to allow.

The site's copy for selling the links suggested that the value of the links had to do with page rank rather than human clickthru's. The site's home page has a PR Of 5.

First of all. Are those links really worth something at the bottom of pages that all seem to be very loaded with content and code?

Second, what if the site had a PR of 8?

t



dpf -> RE: text links on a footer (4/8/2005 13:23:53)

quote:

First of all. Are those links really worth something at the bottom of pages that all seem to be very loaded with content and code?
I cant wait for mojo's response but isnt this equivalent to white text on white background and the sort of spamming that can get their page booted by google- then you pay for a 1 cell link from a 0/10 pr page..lol



Mojo -> RE: text links on a footer (4/8/2005 13:29:47)

quote:

First of all. Are those links really worth something at the bottom of pages that all seem to be very loaded with content and code?


Absolutely, but the value is in decline. With LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) and LSA (Latent Semantic Analysis) becoming more a part of Google and maybe other engines these types of links are becoming less useful. Still, a PR8 site will have little problems selling links - if the price is right.

quote:

Second, what if the site had a PR of 8?

A PR8 site can make a lot of money selling text links - There is a risk associated with selling PR.

A better solution for the future and less risky is pre-sell or content hosting.
For example: a template site would write a few pages of content with links pointing to their site. You would host those pages on your site for a fee (you would also link to those pages). This is the latest methods for site promotion. You can charge more and the benefits for the web sites can be tremendous.

This method works best and is much harder for algo's to detect if the content is in the same industry. A forum like OF could cover many industries just due to it's nature. Office equipment, computers, all tech services, electronic parts... on and on...

The problems happen when you get caught.

Wordpress (the blog company and a PR8 ) was recently busted for hosting over 100,000 pages on their site. They were caught because they were stupid enough to attempt to hide home page links using negative divs (blogger attempting to be a slick SEOer). Someone noticed it > the news hit the blogosphere > Google temporarily gave them a PR0 > Google permanently removed all the content pages (100K+) from their index > and Wordpress took a beating in public relations. Not to mention that you just know all the search engines are going to be watching them from now on.

EDIT: I should mention that some do-gooders view Google as an altruistic group of druids that only want to make the world better.

If these people even suspect that a site is trying to game the SE's they will file a spam report as fast as their limp little wrists will allow. IMO - the owner of a PR8 site would be better off not discussing this topic in the open. Delete?



Thomas Brunt -> RE: text links on a footer (4/8/2005 14:02:45)

Mojo,

This is very interesting stuff as are most all of your posts. I don't want to delete the topic just yet.

I don't think I would want the OutFront name associated with a practice that is specifically in place for the purpose of cheating Google regardless of whether or not the concept would make money. That's not a moral judgement. It's a brand decision.

I just find it somewhat amazing that unlimited text links at the bottom of pages is something that has any value. I can't imagine it will remain that way for long.

t





Mojo -> RE: text links on a footer (4/8/2005 14:53:15)

quote:

I just find it somewhat amazing that unlimited text links at the bottom of pages is something that has any value. I can't imagine it will remain that way for long.


The value is in the PR and the back link count that is passed to the receiving site. In some industries, there is almost no way to compete unless you generate thousands of links each month. Right now there are a lot of businesses doing very well in the link brokerage business. Google even allows them to sell Adwords.

I also don't think it will remain this way for long. It seems that ROS (run of site) links carry less and less importance and I imagine that lots of outgoing links on non-authority type of sites will eventually be less effective. Still, there will always be methods of gaming the system - pre-sell will likely be the next big thing for a few years.



dpf -> RE: text links on a footer (4/8/2005 15:46:31)

quote:

I should mention that some do-gooders view Google as an altruistic group of druids that only want to make the world better.
i think of that from time to time... lets see, there are so damn many sites out there, I think I will start a search engine to rank pages and deliver the "best" matches for searchers. hmmm I have done it but now, web masters are using my criteria to change their sites to attempt to affect my judgement as to how good they are. cant allow that can I?



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