Paid links! New info and I almost blew it!

[paulgl]

Some of you who have known me for a while know
I make money selling links on my sites. An ad
broker contacted me yesterday to buy a link.
No problem, send me the details and cash.

Lo and behold, I get a nasty email back saying
sorry, you have a link on your side bar that goes
to an "Advertise on this site" complete with rates.
They said that was a big no-no and were now not
interested in buying. Keep in mind I have that link
on most of my sites.

Well, it made me think that it would certainly be
a tipoff of a site selling paid links.

Needless to say, I took the friggin link and page down
ASAP, sent an email back saying I had.

Good news is that they bought the ad.

So, looks like one more caveat about buying links.

You want them on pages that give you a contextual
link, high up, and not global. Only one page. AND...
not a site that readily advertises they have paid links!!!!!

Whew!

Paul

[Jeannie Crabtree]

So if you don't have an advertise on this site message, how are they supposed to know they can advertise on your site? Or was the complaint that you had the rates posted?

I am building a few directory sites, and everyone I have seen has a link that you can advertise on the site. A few you have to phone for the rates though.

Please explain more. Thanks.

[paulgl]

Via contact page or whois. Ad brokers have
other ways as well. Like other ad brokers.

They seemed to have an issue with posted
rates. I assume this makes the advertise
page look worse than just a contact page.

Thing is, nobody ever read the advertise page much,
I presume, because they always asked for a much
cheaper rate!

I never leave money on the table. Every link adds
to the bottom line, and I actually make more on
paid links than adsense.

I do make tons of content, so not much trouble about
stuffing paid links.

Paul

[Paul M]

Originally Posted by paulgl

Well, it made me think that it would certainly be
a tipoff of a site selling paid links.

Paul

Hi Paul,

This is a little off topic, but I was under the impression google was ok with paid links so long as they're advertised and used as text ads rather than paid links for SEO purposes.

Is this entirely accurate where paid links are concerned?

It would be good to hear your take on this since you sell paid links. :-)

-Paul

[Jeannie Crabtree]

In thinking about it, we are working with two types of customers.

I sell some article written and distributed through network type backlink
packages to customers, so understand this type of backlink.

Yours is advertising, mainly for the backlinks. I guess most of them won't
want it easily available that this is what they are doing?

My directory sites, it is out there for general businesses to advertise
at the top of a list of like businesses. A different type of backlink.
They are mainly looking at it as advertising, not thinking of the backlink.