Re: web site ads

**"* S* "* <s*@NEMOURS.ORG>**

On the Q and T, in my mind it would be your turn. I haven't heard from Kirk in a while either. I'll give him a call today and see how he is.

-----Original Message-----
From: gardenwriters-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[g*@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Tom Ogren
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 3:22 AM
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
Subject: Re: [GWL] web site ads

That's some great advice, Doug. Thanks! I too have been getting a lot of
those offers, and have ignored all of them.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Douglas Green" <dgreen@kos.net>
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 6:15 PM
Subject: Re: [GWL] web site ads

> Carlo et al.
>
> There are two answers to this question - the short form is that if you
> can't identify the reputable company - don't take the ads.  Period.
>
> The long answer is that it has to do with google and page-rankings and
> hence search engine effectiveness for your site.  A little history
> first.  A very nice business sprang up selling links on websites - you
> put a code on your blog and they paid you depending on much of a
> google page rank  (pr)  your site had.  In my case, I was getting $20/
> link for six links a month for not doing a darn thing.  Good deal.  I
> removed them when I moved blogs (a long story) so wasn't participating
> for round two of the story.
>
> The companies doing this had a good deal.  They were making money hand
> over fist and so were the bloggers selling links.  A link is a form of
> Internet currency and the links and ads were relatively inexpensive
> considering how much search engine value from google each one link
> brought to the buyer.  So you paid a few hundred dollars for incoming
> links and you made a few thousand on the website the links pointed to.
>
> Except that google was losing advertising money as well as giving
> their competitors link benefits.  You might appreciate that this is
> not in google's long term interest so their engineers figured out a
> way to identify paid links (not foolproof but good enough) and
> overnight - literally overnight - the paid link industry crashed as
> the websites with those links found their google page ranks
> approaching zero.  So - a site that may have been making 4-500 a month
> with paid links and ads found themselves making nothing having moved a
> pagerank 6 to 0 overnight.  There was/is much discussion on the Net
> about whether this also influenced traffic with some sites crashing in
> traffic and others not being influenced at all.  There was/is no
> consistency with this problem.
>
> So - commercial sites  want inbound links.  Because these are still
> valued by google.  But publishing  site owners are now wary - who
> wants to have a lot of work google-bombed because of a few bucks a
> month for a link.   Some don't know about it and are still blithely
> selling links.
>
> Enter the bottom feeders .  Now we routinely get requests from "pr"
> agencies asking us to sell a link.  The offers range anywhere from 5/
> link to 75+/link for a site in the pr4 range.  A one time fee for an
> all-time link.  You get the money and take the risk that google is
> going to bomb you for that link.   This ranks up there with Nigerian
> cousins asking you to please help them get their money out of the
> country except you're getting 5 bucks upfront before you're messed
> with by google.
>
> And endless variations on the theme abound.
>
>    Now here's the twist that's happening for gardening sites. (see you
> thought I had forgotten there was a gardening point to all this).   A
> company approaches a blogger and says, "would you like a composter?"
> "would you like a XX garden gadget?" , " a book or video?"   All you
> have to do is review it and mention it on your site with our company
> link.   So in effect, they're buying a link on your site for the cost
> of a composter or XX garden widget.  And it's happening quite
> regularly now.    If google decides that this link is a worthless one
> - that the site in question is a spam site of some kind - those sites
> linking into it are also going to get g-bombed.  So instead of 15/
> month, you're trading the link for a composter and running the risk of
> having the same result.  If the company is a good one ( a reputable
> publisher or other company) the risk is still there but not as much.
> And there is a way to deal with links from reputable companies that
> google loves.  Keep on reading.
>
> Want to figure out if the offer is a genuine one or not if you don't
> know the company.  Tell 'em you only give nofollow links.  Using this
> kind of link tells the google search spiders to ignore the link and
> not count it for search engine ranking.   (for those who don't know
> what this is - you add a rel="nofollow" command just before the last >
> in the url of the link before the text component.)
>
>     The good guys will say "OK" because they're happy with your
> recommendation and natural traffic from the  link.  The bad ones will
> wither faster than an impatiens cutting at high noon on July 4th.    I
> had one this week for a water barrel (rain spout thing) and I can
> guarantee you that after I told him the link to a commercial site
> would be a nofollow tag, I won't hear back nor get my super-duper rain
> barrel. ;-)  That rain barrel retailed off his site for 89 and
> probably cost him 10  (at most) from China.  So his cost for the link
> was around 25 with shipping etc.  Cheap link.
>
> So thats' the long answer.  But it still ends up in the same place.
> Selling links is a fools game if you value your site or blog.
> Exchanging links between gardening sites is still fair game as you're
> linking to sites of similar value and content so don't worry about
> exchanging links with friends.
>
> Hope that explains it well enough.
>
> Doug
>
>
> Douglas Green
> Online Garden Publishing
> Blog:  http://blog.douggreensgarden.com
> Home: http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com
>
>
>
> On 3-Apr-08, at 8:16 AM, carlobal@netzero.com wrote:
> > Dear all,
> >
> > I've been contacted by an individual I do not know who would like to
> > advertise on my web site. They have offered payment, but I don't
> > know anything about them or their product. I've googled what I can
> > and have come up with nothing. Does anyone have an idea of how I can
> > do a little due diligence before I question this person directly?
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Carlo
> >
> > Carlo A. Balistrieri
> > The Gardens at Turtle Point
> > Tuxedo Park, NY 10987
> > Zone 6  (845.351.2049)
> > Visit:   www.botanicalgardening.com
> > _____________________________________________________________
> > Not making enough money? Click here to get free info on medical jobs
> >
http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2221/fc/REAK6aBedRorBO7lhWhQbSFXwbEf0
OYxImjzK6cuphQn3aQl0EgJ8y/
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gardenwriters mailing list
> > gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
> >
> > GWL has searchable archives at:
> > http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
> >
> > Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
> > at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
> >
> > Post gardening questions/threads to
> > &quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;
> >
> > For GWL website and Wiki, go to
> > http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
>
> _______________________________________________
> gardenwriters mailing list
> gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
>
> GWL has searchable archives at:
> http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
>
> Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
> at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
>
> Post gardening questions/threads to
> &quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;
>
> For GWL website and Wiki, go to
> http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters