Firstly, it violates their rules.
Secondly, I have had large-scale marketers who have come to me telling me that Google has caught them, and asking me to remove what I thought was an innocuous link. Many sites have been pulled from Google ratings for artificial SEO.
Finally, for those who use InLinkz, there are comforting words...
Are InLinkz links nofollow?
Will Google penalize me for using InLinkz?
Link schemes
Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site's ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.
The following are examples of link schemes which can negatively impact a site's ranking in search results:
- Buying or selling links that pass PageRank. This includes exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links; exchanging goods or services for links; or sending someone a “free” product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link
- Excessive link exchanges ("Link to me and I'll link to you") or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking
- Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links
- Using automated programs or services to create links to your site
Additionally, creating links that weren’t editorially placed or vouched for by the site’s owner on a page, otherwise known as unnatural links, can be considered a violation of our guidelines.
5 comments:
I know bloggers who are all ate up with their page rankings and other metrics and moan and whine when Google changes what they do. I don't give a whit about any of that.
Nor have I responded to any offers for "sponsored posts" or the like. I have read and reviewed books in exchange for the free book but I feel both cheated and guilty because the books are always bad so I quit doing that.
I think the main thing is to just be yourself. If people are interested they show up, if not they go look at somebody elses blog.
I don't look at blogging as a competition, it is a conversation.
I have found that just creating interesting content (and lots of it) seems to bring in more readers to my blog. I usually have a fairly high ranking on Google. I always assumed it was because I used Blogger, a Google product these days. - Margy
Like Margy says, creating interesting content is what works. I don't really pay much attention to rankings like that, but my two blogs get quite a bit of traffic regardless.
Spammers, of course, will try to get in even though the filters catch them over and over. I've had some ask if I could take them on as an apprentice.
Hari OM
The whole bizzo of SEO confuses the bedickens out of me and I have no interest in it whatsoever. It took me ages to find out how to code a pertinent link for appropriate use with a 'nofollow' component and although it meant having minimal entries, when I set up the one linky I am hosting at the moment, I stipulated 'stick to meme or be removed'. I participate in a couple of others but only one has shown itself to be a rather commercial 'blog hop'; but even the numbers have dropped for me on that as I just don't visit or comment on those which are clearly seeking commercial and page ranking connections. The 'trubies' continue to visit and link and that is pleasing.
For me blogging as a money-spinner and advertisement is just a silly concept. That doesn't mean one doesn't wish to be read or at some time promote stuff... but there surely is the same etiquette as in any polite society. Which refers us back to Yogi's comment; keep it fresh, keep it clean, share and care. There are police in the real world to ensure this happens. Folk ought not to be surprised they exist in the ether too!
YAM xx
It seems to me that one of the main activities of blogging in the early days was to make sure you linked, linked, linked. It seems almost obsessive with some bloggers and very much distracted from an otherwise smooth read.
I do link regularly when I write up the posts of the week. I see nothing wrong with promoting other bloggers whose content I admire. I see nothing wrong with folks who do giveaways.. which is very often an advertising promotion on the part of the manufacturer of the giveaway item. As long as nobody is being spammed or scammed, to each his/her own. We can continue to read.. or not.
Google Plus just confuses the bejeezus out of me. I spend more time trying to find a Google Plus member's blog from their profile page than I care to. I don't equate GP to blogging at all.. just networking in ways that do not interest me.
An P.S.... we now how two flying squirrels hanging around at night. I'm hoping for an adorable flying family. :)
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