Hot Linking Images From My Site -Google Red Flag

7 replies
  • SEO
  • |
If another blog hot links one of my images, so I am hosting it and it appears on their blog, apart form the fact of increased bandwidth to my site, is there any advantage to me.

Maybe it is considered like a back link possibility?

What do you think?
#flag #google #hot #images #linking #red #site
  • Profile picture of the author Ducksauce
    I found this good answer to a question on the subject.
    Signature

    I love life an everything in it. Don't worry, be happy.

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  • Profile picture of the author retsek
    Hotlinked images appear in the Webmaster Tools under "Links to your site", so yeah, I'd say they are considered backlinks.

    Bloggers lift my images all the time. I spend alot of time emailing them, not to demand they remove it ...but to ask that they properly give credit by linking to the homepage or something.

    Most are gracious and/or apologetic. It's also a good way to get a relationship started - guest posts ? links ? you name it.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Let me tell you a little secret about hotlinked images or even zip files.

    Free advertising!

    For the image, go back & create a watermark on the image, then host the image at the [exact] same URL that is being hotlinked. You can add anything you want on the image.

    A long time ago I used to get pissed off when people would hotlink images/files, until I learned to use hotlinked content to my own advantage (traffic).

    Holinking is way better than If someone takes your content & host it on their own site.

    For SEO, hotlinking is a backlink, but the free advertising is more important IMO.
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    • Profile picture of the author 1byte
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      Let me tell you a little secret about hotlinked images or even zip files.

      Free advertising!

      For the image, go back & create a watermark on the image, then host the image at the [exact] same URL that is being hotlinked. You can add anything you want on the image.

      A long time ago I used to get pissed off when people would hotlink images/files, until I learned to use hotlinked content to my own advantage (traffic).

      Holinking is way better than If someone takes your content & host it on their own site.

      For SEO, hotlinking is a backlink, but the free advertising is more important IMO.
      Good advice Yukon. A great way to turn your lemons into lemonade...
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      • Profile picture of the author yukon
        Banned
        Originally Posted by 1byte View Post

        Good advice Yukon. a great way to turn your lemons into lemonades...
        A few years back I had a guy hotlinking about 20 zip files of content, that was my first major experience with people taking my content.

        At first the hotlinking had me pissed off for a couple of days while I was trying to figure out how to block the hotlinks, then I started thinking If this guy is hotlinking my zip files, he'll probably never look inside the zip files a 2nd time.

        Bingo, Free advertising for years!

        I add an internet shortcut icon/link inside the zip file that lets me promote any page/product I want. Even If someone has my zip file on their PC for years, I can redirect that traffic anyplace on the web I want, as often as I want.

        The key is never change the original URL of the image/file.

        Hotlinkers are the best.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    Yukon's right on the money here.

    Also, I wonder if you'd also get some Google juice from your images (especially if they're named with SEO in mind) if they're plastered all over the Internet?



    Google images for the win.
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  • Profile picture of the author gameutopia
    If they are just using the "img src" code to display your image on their site I don't know if that would be considered a backlink. Seems to me they would probably also need the anchor text "a href" to be a backlink, which they may or may not be doing. Sometimes they will do this, and sometimes they do not. You could either block and prevent it or maybe add your site name and logo to the particular image.
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