A Story of Paid Links & Black Hat SEO with Bad Results

Summary:

• The blogger's site was penalized after adding paid links (one sponsored and one by Text Link Ads).
• The 2nd criteria is what many of us might not have considered to be a blackhat SEO technique. However, it turned out to be just that.
• Check out this fully detailed description of the scenario and how he was able to get his re-inclusion request approved with the help of Matt Cutts.
• This individual went the extra mile to investigate, so I hope that you fully explore his article to find out more:

Google search rank drop: advice needed | David Airey » graphic designer, logo designer

This is the #1 reason I try not to sell "paid" links on my site. I may not get as much with programs like adsense, but the traffic is what I really get a kick out of

Originally Posted by Brandon Sheley

This is the #1 reason I try not to sell "paid" links on my site. I may not get as much with programs like adsense, but the traffic is what I really get a kick out of

I will second your comment.

There are other methods you can use to monetize versus selling links...I don't see a problem if the link bought/sold is going to be there longterm but if a site rotates the links then it can be seen as simply tricking the system.

What is the difference between "PAID LINKS" and "advertising".

I'm in the middle of a site redesign. When it's done, I plan on purchasing some advertising/links on some related sites that aren't really competitors. A big ad blitz to kick off the new site.

Whats the deal?

If you pay for the links, rather than have them occur naturally, they have less authority in the Google algorithm and could result in the site posting them losing the ability to pass PageRank.

It's safe to apply rel=nofollow on them if you sell them, but that's useless to people who want the link value.

It's very risky.

If I were to buy a link, I would buy a feature post (like a sticky on a forum) that includes information and an article instead, but certainly not site wide footer links, etc.

Originally Posted by Joe Ward

If you pay for the links, rather than have them occur naturally, they have less authority in the Google algorithm and could result in the site posting them losing the ability to pass PageRank.

It's safe to apply rel=nofollow on them if you sell them, but that's useless to people who want the link value.

It's very risky.

If I were to buy a link, I would buy a feature post (like a sticky on a forum) that includes information and an article instead, but certainly not site wide footer links, etc.

My intent is to just get my site's name in front of eyeballs, not any link value. In fact I'm already listed on this particular sites links page for free, it's just jumbled in with many others. I'd like to buy a month's worth of time on a few sites that will bring me a lot of exposure to my niche.

Again, what is the difference between "paid links" and advertising? Isn't that what most all banner advertising is?