Re: web site ads

**"* P* D* <m*@dargan.com>**

Doug- That was an eye opener...Thx! MP
On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 21:15:29 -0500, "Douglas Green" <dgreen@kos.net>
said:
> 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/REAK6aBedRorBO7lhWhQbSFXwbEf0OYxImjzK6cuphQn3aQl0EgJ8y/
> >
> >
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-- 
Mary Palmer Dargan, MLA, ASLA, APLD, RLA, CLARB
Author, Timeless Landscape Design (Gibbs-Smith, Feb 2007) is now in its 4th printing making it a HOT design book.
To order an autographed copy: contact www.dargan.com. 
 800-454-3889 ext 4 & 404-354-1715 mycell  Dargan Landscape Architects

Tip: Visit English gardens by Sir Harold Peto at Buscot and Iford in Wiltshire and Avon, also must see Sir Roy Strong's formal garden at the Lasket in Herefordshire (by appointment)

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