There is no sugar coating this. If Google ranking is important to you, then using Text-Link-Ads on your blog or site is like accepting money from the devil. You are going to get burned.
However, a staff member at Text-Link-Ads has told me differently. It has been communicated to me that it is perfectly safe to use their service. It was told to me that they are well aware of the situation with Google and the issue of paid links but they have no reports of participating sites being affected by using their service.
Drew Hayslip, an inventory specialist from Text-Link-Ads says in an email to me, “Our product is specifically designed to not leave a footprint and have yet to see a site have any adverse affect without either going out of the way to point out that the links are purchased through our marketplace or if the site is conducting other non-approved tactics (keyword stuffing, hiding links, sneaky redirects, etc).”
That’s the biggest bullshit I have heard in awhile. Basically, that statement means this: If you get banned or penalized from Google, Text-Link-Ads chalks it up as being the publishers fault, not theirs. They are prepared to point blame in your behavior with keyword stuffing, hiding links, etc…
If a publisher makes the decision to use Text-Link-Ads, they also make the decision to put their blog or site at risk of getting penalized or banned in Google. Period.
It’s your choice to do so… I respect that! I have no problem with publishers using Text-Link-Ads. It’s your deal… it’s up to you. I don’t judge you.
However, when I am told by Text-Link-Ads staff that it is perfectly safe to use their service, that is where I begin to have a problem. That’s totally not cool! and its misleading.
Clear as day… Google has made it crystal clear. If you sell paid links that attempt to manipulate their PageRank, you are in violation of their quality guidelines.
Here is what TLA says on their homepage:
Here is what Google says:
Again, if you use TLA, Garry Conn doesn’t think poorly of you. I understand that people have to make money and I also understand that there are people who don’t depend on Google for traffic. My problem is with awareness. My problem is that there are thousands of people who don’t understand the risks with using Text-Link-Ads and other programs that are in clear violation of Google’s quality guidelines. My problem is that I now know that Text-Link-Ads is going to simply lie to their publishers and make you feel like it is safe to use their service while continuing to place focus on marketing in Google.
Because Garry Conn dot Com doesn’t want to burn a bridge with Google, I have no choice but to remove Text-Link-Ads. I do still participate in TLA on many of my other blogs, but I am seriously going to be putting a lot of thought into my continued business with Text-Link-Ads. Not for the fact that I am worried about losing my Google rank, but for the fact that I have witnessed first hand how TLA is addressing the public via email in response to this large controversial situation. They lie…
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Date/Time: 10-12-2007 13:06:23 Comment #5735
Garry,
I guess I don’t see how the Google ToS apply in this situation. Text-link-ads are a simple anchor tag added to a word. Google has no way of telling if you are running text-link-ads or not. For the highly paranoid you could write an robots.txt that disallows googlebot from reading your plugins folder.
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 14:01:20 Comment #5736
I am as much into Google as anyone around. And I certainly do not disagree with your stance, however, the facts are a little different. I can show you several sites with and without Text Link Ads and there is no way to tell the difference, unless you call them out with a header or something. Yes there is a little different formatting with style functions, but that is easy to match up. SO, how does Google know which are, and are not, TLA?
I have sites that have been banned without TLA, and I have sites that are running fine with TLA.
I think the main issue is that some TLA are totally irrelevant, and you have to pick and choose to keep it looking organic.
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 14:25:29 Comment #5737
I am a firm believer that if I can sniff out a site using TLA so can Google.
Use TLA at your own risk if you value your Google Ranking.
What bothers me now, is that there are now tips that help people avoid getting spanked by Google. Make a choice… either roll with TLA and let your freak flag fly or don’t. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. It’s a matter of time before Google will get a hold of your site and they will adjust your ranking accordingly. Again, if you could care less about ranking in Google, awesome! I am more concerned with making sure that everyone understands what is at stake if they value ranking in one of the most popular search engines on the Internet. Some people could careless. I am getting to that point too.
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 14:44:03 Comment #5738
Wow.. I have been aware of this Google shakedown these past few days but haven’t spent time finding out about it. I don’t run TLA so I guess I’m good for now. This is good information to know though!
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 14:47:32 Comment #5739
Garry, must be something in your setup, mine look nothing like that.
Links
TruCast
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 14:51:25 Comment #5740
Just dawned on me too, I bet I know the difference. I never tell them that my site runs on WP, I don’t want the Plugin mucking things up. Notice yours has class=widget. If you take those lines out, then it is impossible to tell. And that is exactly how they look without the TLA Widget/Plugin.
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 15:01:02 Comment #5741
Unfortunately, many people do not take the time to hard code things like you and I. Most people will end up downloading the WordPress Widget that TLA offers. And if you do, then you are not allowed to modify the code at all:
My set up is no different than the other thousands of bloggers who are participating using their WordPress blog. You are the minority. You are one of the few who have made the code undetectable to Google or other search engines.
Google will still eventually get you as they look for trends. As you may be successful with thwarting their efforts to detect your activity others are not as successful as you. And when others broadcast the same links as your have on your site, Google can easily put two and two together.
In my opinion, if you value your Google rank, then using TLA isn’t worth the risk. If you could careless, then you are golden!
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 15:10:28 Comment #5742
This is gettin funny Garry, I know it was not a month ago you and I had this conversation, except we were both on the other side, lol. I did NOT CHANGE anything in the TLA that I ran, I just simply did not use the Widget. Now with that said, I quit using TLA on most of my sites, but, I have a couple sites with NO pagerank, banned from Google, running TLA and they are making more money than some Adsense sites.
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 18:22:05 Comment #5744
I think the main point that Gary is trying to make is that TLA basically said they’re blameless and it’s not so much their problem if you encounter problems with Google for paid links, it’s your own responsibility and accountability for wanting to have them in the first place. I made some points about being responsible on our own part and choosing only links that point to relevant/proper sites, but if Google is not condoning the action of paid links itself (it’s still really not very clear to me
), plus what Gary just pointed out, then I need to rethink my use of TLA.
Thanks Gary for sharing!
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 18:24:11 Comment #5745
You are probably right about last month!
And as far as using TLA on sites that are already banned, that makes sense… I guess you have nothing to lose. I have really been torn between using TLA or not. It pays… and pays quite well. But, every individual blogger needs to decide if the risk of using TLA is worth it to them. I continue to use TLA on my other sites… but I might be doing away with it all together. One thing is for sure, I am done using TLA here.
Date/Time: 10-13-2007 08:02:12 Comment #5753
Gary great post! I truly appreciate your honesty and your opinion that is based on your doing some legwork to get some answers. So…how do we as bloggers monetize our blogs? Does that mean we can’t sell advertising? I can’t imagine that’s the case. Your thoughts please.
Date/Time: 10-13-2007 13:08:49 Comment #5762
There seems to be compitetion everywhere for those looking to make money online eh.
Date/Time: 10-14-2007 06:17:47 Comment #5773
that article link to “How Not to Get Penalized” will surely help
i too hard code all my blog, i just feel in more control doing so. i think bloggers are getting too ‘lazy’ these days
slap a new theme plus ads and hope to make money. not easy as that
btw love the new look! always a new look everytime i’m here
Date/Time: 10-15-2007 05:49:28 Comment #5807
to put it bluntly, tla is sh%t. I have never used them and never will. I cant understand why people put “creditcard loan” et cetera on their sidebars. as if someone would click it anyway. best decision ever to walk out of them garry.
btw. the GC DC picture is amusing ;o
Date/Time: 10-15-2007 10:05:41 Comment #5811
You realize what’s next?
Once Google has everyone believing they can’t sell text link ads, they are going to tell everyone you can’t sell banner advertising without the “nofollow” tag, because the extra links mess with THEIR algorithm (which they do).
After that what will be their next target???
As far as TLA telling lies, I have gone to a couple of places that sell TLA ads and haven’t seen the signature you are talking about. On the other hand, I am sure Google can find Text Link Ads by the many people who “tell on” their competitors for selling ads.
Do you know of people actually losing their rankings for selling links? I have heard of people losing their page rank, but not their search rankings.
All the best,
George
Date/Time: 10-15-2007 10:11:15 Comment #5813
George,
It’s actually more common the other way around. More people lose their search engine placement/ranking per individual post compared to losing their actual PageRank. Meaning your site can be a PR5 but pull up on page five for a lot of things that you normally pulled up on page one or two for.
As far as selling text link ads, Google doesn’t say you can’t do it. They say that if you do, your site doesn’t meet their quality guidelines. You can sell text links all you want. But, if you value your ranking in Google, you might not want to do so.
Some houses… the owner wants you to take your shoes off before entering… other home owners don’t care. All in all, the rules each home owner has set for their guests should be honored and respected if you want to enter. This isn’t much different than Google.
Date/Time: 10-15-2007 11:01:58 Comment #5816
Can you show me one example of this? A page that ranked high for “xyz” and after putting TLA on their site didn’t rank high for xyz?
Date/Time: 11-13-2007 05:47:56 Comment #6521
This post and the comments were quite informative.We’re not into hard coding and would like to set-up a blog with the least effort as possible. Looks like we won’t be using TLA. Thanks all.