Google states here :
“However, some SEOs and webmasters engage in the practice of buying and selling links that pass PageRank, disregarding the quality of the links, the sources, and the long-term impact it will have on their sites. Buying or selling links that pass PageRank is in violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results.
Not all paid links violate our guidelines. Buying and selling links is a normal part of the economy of the web when done for advertising purposes, and not for manipulation of search results. Links purchased for advertising should be designated as such. This can be done in several ways, such as:
- Adding a rel=”nofollow” attribute to the <a> tag
- Redirecting the links to an intermediate page that is blocked from search engines with a robots.txt file”
Here follows an email conversation from today:
To me:
Hi Annie,
How are you?
I want to introduce you to [witheld], our Network Publishing Manager who is cc’d in this email. From now on [witheld] will be taking care of sending you the content/posts for your website www.mammasaurus.com and arranging for any other requirements you may need.
Just to confirm, the price per article is £70.
Please keep me up-to-date with any questions or concerns you have,
From me:
Good afternoon ladies,
I can understand your concerns, however there only becomes an issue with followed links if you disclose them as ‘sponsored’ or ‘ advertorial’, what we suggest is disclosing articles as ‘guest post’ or ‘This post is supported by…’
Please let me know if you’d like to discuss further.
And my response:
Hi Annie,
Our links do need to be followed as we need Google to follow them to our clients site, if they are no followed we don’t get the benefit of what we are trying to achieve.
As general advice to you;
- · Disclose as sponsored post – link needs to be no-followed.
- · Disclose as guest post – link can be followed.
We are in the process of putting together a guidance for bloggers on how to survive the latest Google update, as you can imagine we’re getting asked all the time now about followed links etc. We plan to send this out to all the sites we work with or have been in contact with.
Hope that helps.
My blog is not yet a year old, I don’t know everything and I don’t pretend to. This advice seems to go against what Google state. Sadly this isn’t the only Media Company to have written this type of thing to me.
I’m lucky, I attended to Blogcamp and I listened, very carefully and with great respect and interest to Lee Smallwood who spoke there.
Do they genuinely think that their advice is right? I’m going to email Google to ask them directly, I’m sure I have a contact from the presentation that I did with Google at a conference recently somewhere… I shall report back with my findings.
In the meantime be wary of accepting everything that you may be told from companies who want to use your blog to manipulate Googles search engines in exchange for payment.
I’m saddened to see people encouraging bloggers to break Google’s T&Cs but I’m so, SO disappointed to see so many agencies actively telling bloggers to obscure a paid relationship, in direct violation on the CAP Code. Genuinely shocking.
Quite. As bloggers we get told so often at the moment that ‘our voice is huge’ and yes, we do have a bit of on-line power to influence Google searches and make a noise on social media.
Most companies seem to respect that, it’s a shame that some still don’t. The sad thing is that somewhere there’s a big client, a well known brand name, getting their name tarnished with their association with such agencies. Maybe it’s time the big brands started to sit up and take more interest in what happens ‘below’ them…
This makes me so cross, mainly because lots of newer and less savvy bloggers could get sucked into an agreement based on this. As if flouting the Google T&Cs isn’t bad enough, they are basically saying “Don’t say you were paid” which could result in your being fined. With the potential fine amounts that £70 payment suddenly looks like small change.
X
I totally agree Lucy. I know there’s wide opinion on follow links already with some bloggers now declining to add them and others still happy to accept them.
Personally I could cane the sponsored posts and make a pretty penny short term but I love my blog and I want it to be here and searchable long term and as a wise Love Squirrel keeps telling me – “play the long game”.
Each to their own so long as it’s an informed choice and not one taken as gospel from the person dishing out the cash!
How blooming naughty is that!!!
very bloody naughty! For shame, media agency.
FOR. SHAME.
This is outrageous and such bad practice. This is what gives PR a bad name – flouting rules, encouraging dishonesty and with no thought at all to the impact this may have on you and your blog. Yes, they’re trying to secure results for their clients but there are other, arguably more effective ways of doing that
I’ll put my hand up and say, I’m one of those bloggers who doesn’t understand this stuff/ finds it hard to comprehend. After reading your post, I googled what are follow/ no follow links (that’s how lost I am) and then read something on Wikipedia and I’m still none the wiser. I don’t work with PR /do sponsored posts anyway, but I still don’t want to unknowingly make mistakes.
Is there an idiot’s guide/ simple explanation to this stuff anywhere? Thanks.
Here you go my dear! the Tots100 Simple Guide – http://www.tots100.co.uk/2012/04/14/a-simple-guide-to-follow-and-no-follow-for-bloggers/
Hope that helps!
Thank you. Very helpful!
Great stuff! I’m sure there are more of them out there I just remembered that one as being good
It’s not really a Google issue so much. They are trying to con google by not using flag words but it’s the ASA where you’re going to get into trouble as you are misleading readers into thinking it is non-commercial. Google doesn’t only look for the words sponsored or advertorial and with them it boils down to: if the link was paid for it should be nofollow *regardless* of how it is dressed up.
The thing is, there’ll be some newer bloggers out there, who haven’t been to blog camp or read the hoo ha on the forums or been made aware of the Google update – and, ultimately, they’re the ones who’ll be losing out. It seems mightily unfair of companies to give out incorrect information. I’d also question if these companies really aren’t aware of the rules, as it’s their own field after all. As you say, if people choose to break the Google rules that’s up to them, but at least let them make an informed decision. Great post Annie.
They clearly do know what they are doing, it really isn’t rocket science. And therefore they are engaging in underhand and I daresay illegal practices, which puts bloggers in a very difficult position. Not everyone understands, lots of bloggers are new, and lots will be convinced by their very assured statements. Smacks of people worried for their jobs!
Well done Annie
Well, what a hornets nest here…!
Firstly, I’m really sorry that you’re having these kind of issues and that they’re ‘attempting’ to pull the wool over peoples eyes… However, really well done for standing your ground – you will win in the end…
A link if paid for has to be nofollow – it is against Google’s Ts&Cs -irrespective of how they would like it decorated: ‘guest post’ or ‘This post is supported by…’ they would be paying (X)£s for an article to be posted to obtain a linkback to their clients site…
It is always worth getting clarification from the horses mouth – so post it on the Google webmaster forum – http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!search/paid$20links
And you can also ask Matt Cutts directly from Google the question (his Google+ profile is https://plus.google.com/u/0/109412257237874861202) it’s also worth checking out the Google Webmaster Central YouTube Channel – also hosted by Matt Cutts http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp
Do let me know how you get on and feedback / answers you may get…
Lee
Wow thank you so much for that really helpful comment Lee. You took time to give me advice and Blogcamp and now again – I owe you young ‘un!
I shall now embark to seek some answers and feedback and will be sure to let you know how I get on.
*Rolls up sleeves and prepares to go forth*
nahh – you don’t owe me anything
happy yo help out ((hugs))
i’ve just got a plugin called wordpress seo that puts content=nofollow in the header – that’s the same thing, right? I’m pretty sure it is.
What a kerfuffle!
Do people really do this – that’s appalling. It surely doesn’t matter a hoot what you “disclose” something as…its what it IS that matters. If you jhave been paid for a post, its sponsored, and therefore should be no follow, shouldn’t it? End of….
I wasn’t at Blogcamp but have read a lot about the no follow-follow debate, and its a horrible minefield anyway without brands trying to pull the wool over bloggers eyes.
I’ve decided that if a company wants a follow link then I’m not interested. If they want me to review something that my readers would be interested in and they are interested in my writing about it for that reason I will take their money. If they just want to manipulate their page rank I don’t care. I don’t do this for money.
“Disclose as sponsored post – link needs to be no-followed.
Disclose as guest post – link can be followed.”
Underhand? Maybe. Clever? Yes.
I dont know about you ladies but I don’t have a full-time job to live on and since giving birth 2 years ago am relying on my hubby to bring home the bacon.
If I can make money out of blogging about my child and parental experiences, I will. And I am. I am continuing to do as the advertisers please. Why? Because they’re funding my child’s clothes, food, toys etc. In some cases, we get sent free items to review. In all cases I do only accept the sponsorship and free products if I like the company. I am not a complete slave to anybody and I have rejected some companies in the past.
Hey Kel
I am all for parents making money from their blogs if that’s what the want to do. But…if you get paid to add a follow link to your blog you must disclose it properly. If you state it’s a guest post you need to make sure that you say it’s a guest post that you recieved payment for else you and the agency are breaking ASA rules.
Lees advice at Blogcamp was based on facts, I’ve asked Google directly and anyone can read the facts on the internet.
“Lees advice at Blogcamp was based on facts, I’ve asked Google directly and anyone can read the facts on the internet.”
At Blogcamp about Google advising to put NoFollow tags on, yes. Fact.
From speaking to other bloggers (who will remain nameless, but you can probably guess whom), about him advising them that they lost their Page Rank because of their sponsored posts, is a guess more than anything else. And here’s why I think he was making an uneducated guess (copied from my comment left on Tots100):
“I find it a little odd that of the 500+ mummy bloggers on Tots100 that only 3 have been penalised for publishing sponsored posts. Neither of them were at the top of the charts, Google caches my site frequently (and I’m sure it does most of to most of yours too). Of the 500+ sites, 59% of these (according to Sally’s survey) made money (so will presume they did sponsored posts of some kind).
So now we’re talking about 300+ sites that have published a sponsored post (I’m assuming with a regular link), and yet only 3 of these have had their Page Rank removed? I think theres other problems to their sites than just sponsored posts…”
Hi Kel
Love you phrasing “uneducated guess…”
Everyone’s entitled to opinions – thus why I love blogging – flame me if you like … but please don’t try and pretend that putting ‘Guest Post’ on your blog and then having a link as dofollow is – errr clever
Believe me, the people at google are:
a) far more intelligent then me or you
b) really know all the tricks under the sun (how do you think the deindexed entire blog networks!
You may get away with it for a while but they will catch on.
Many site owners, bloggers and businesses are at this moment in time wished they had never gone down the road they did – because now they are not appearing within search results as they were previously.
Your site is – after all – your site – and you can action whatever you like, and if you choose to receive money for those ‘guest posts’ plus paste a dofollow link that is of course your choice…
However, can I just offer you a bit of advice, don’t publicise the fact that you are doing that – especially within a public facing discussion, which is available for the world to see – and indexible by google…
Keeping it to yourself would be clever…
Please excuse typos above – typing on my iPhone with fat thumbs is not very efficient
Heh heh that’s a nickname that’s going to stick!
Lee, I am publishing a post this weekend giving SEO and blogging tips for children. It will be pretty much what you have said here – it’s not really rocket science is it??? Thank you for your no-nonsense delivery of the facts – and Sally too
Fabulous, Helen – I look forward to reading it – as a pre-pubescent blogger it will no doubt come in handy!
I have to admit to being slightly confused about all this. I occasionally linked to other blogs, and have also done to a couple of businesses. But no-one has ever paid me to do anything on my blog…so I presume all of these are fine to be follow links? I was only linking to them as I either like the blogs or the businesses – didn’t even cross my mind to worry about Google and my Page Rank…should it have done?
Sorry – new to this. Thanks goodness I am going to Blogcamp in London!
Thank you for responding Lee,
“Everyone’s entitled to opinions – thus why I love blogging – flame me if you like … but please don’t try and pretend that putting ‘Guest Post’ on your blog and then having a link as dofollow is – errr clever
Believe me, the people at google are:
a) far more intelligent then me or you
b) really know all the tricks under the sun (how do you think the deindexed entire blog networks!”
Whilst I don’t disagree, you are hinting that Google is going to penalise me for sticking in a paid for link (let’s say “Product X”) in a guest post, or just a regular blog of mine because “they know all the tricks”??
If they penalise me for linking to product x (whilst I have hidden the fact they have paid for the link), why don’t they penalise me for linking to Tots100, or Mammasaurus.co.uk (who haven’t paid for the links)?
It is perfectly normal for us bloggers to link to a product, or a company in our blogs naturally (I’m sure we’ve all linked to Amazon, Huggies, Tesco at some point naturally, without no-following the link because they weren’t paying us to talk about their products, but we naturally were from an event that day, or that week etc), the same way we naturally link to each others mummy blogs.
Is Google going to remove our Page Rank for this? If so, no blog will have Page Rank or be appearing in Google…..
“However, can I just offer you a bit of advice, don’t publicise the fact that you are doing that – especially within a public facing discussion, which is available for the world to see – and indexible by google… ”
Thank you for this tip, I made sure not to put my blog url in any of these comments
Hi ‘Kel’
My pleasure – I always try to respond as soon as I can – although sometimes work commitments don’t allow me to reply straight away…
Firstly, I’m pretty straight talking when it comes to information relating to what can damage a site… Google will penalise(!) I wasn’t implying…
They do know all the tricks, it’s catching people out that can take them a bit longer. But as I’m sure you’re aware, the successive changes that Google have made to their algorithm lately are – in part – targeting webmaster actions that breach their Ts&Cs. These algorithm changes are making the task of finding sites with links from “bad neighbourhoods” that much simpler…
“If they penalise me for linking to product x (whilst I have hidden the fact they have paid for the link), why don’t they penalise me for linking to Tots100, or Mammasaurus.co.uk (who haven’t paid for the links)?”
Well, for a start an external link e.g. to a brand site from a ‘sponsored’ review is very different contextually than a link to Tots100, Mammasaurus or similar sites – as you quite clearly mentioned – you chose to link to them yourself and they haven’t paid you for a link…
Also, this ongoing discussion is not just about PageRank being stripped – Google can just remove sites for blatant disregard of their Ts&Cs… plus if the algorithm picks up on something (e.g. Penguin update) there is no manual review…
RE: Not including your website URL – it wouldn’t necessarily be that difficult to track you down really… e.g. if the majority of bloggers on tots100 have set their sponsored post links to ‘nofollow’ – and you link to tots100 – it wouldn’t take Inspector Morse to produce a list from the 344 sites that link back to tots100 that use ‘nofollow’ to product sites from reviews and those that use ‘dofollow’ to product sites…
You see, when a company approaches and asks you for a link with specific anchor text pointing to a specific page on one of their client sites – they have approached not just you but many people just like you. This creates a digital footprint
And if they check the receiving page out, checking all the links pointing to it) e.g. using a Google argument search like ‘allinanchor:tots100′ – (which produces search results of webpages within its index using the anchor text ‘tots100′
So rather than try and say Google will never find out… I think it’s best to to ask this..
— If Google established that your ‘Guest Posts’ where in fact sponsored (paid) articles what would the potential impact of being removed from within the search results mean to you? —
But it’s up to you… as I said it’s your site, I’m only pointing these things out
Hi Lee,
When you talk about “bad neighbourhoods” – what exactly is one of these? Won’t Google think Tots100 is a bad neighbourhood? After all, all 500+ blogs are linking to it, and a lot of those 500 are linking to each other. My blog alone links to Tots100 + at least 20 other blogs. Does this make it a “bad neighbourhood”?
Regarding the “Sponsored reviews”… if I don’t make paid posts as being sponsored or even guest blogs, how is Google going to determine that it is paid? And if it determines that my posts linking to Tesco/Huggies whoever are paid, then why won’t it, or will it also determine that my links to Tots100/Mammasaurus are also paid?? Even though they’re not, but they look just the same as external links to Tesco/Huggies on my blog.
3 weeks of continuing to accept sponsored posts and my website is still ranking and getting similar traffic to previous months. I have not been penalised. How much longer should we give it?
I am willing to run the risk of Google penalising me. At the end of the day these advertisers are paying for/giving away a lot of my child’s items. If I get penalised then I get £0… the same I’d get for offering no-followed posts.
Can any other bloggers like me, but whom are no-following their links honestly tell me they are getting as much interest and money as they were before they no-followed their links?
Funnily enough just following all the initial information about follow links I myself had an influx of companies asking me to add sponsored posts, one day alone I had 12 emails requesting these posts.
I have heard of bloggers putting their prices up for such posts.
I’m now making no money from blog, but that’s cool with me, there are other ways of making money through blogging without having to resort to follow links.
Exactly
Hi Kel
I wasn’t implying that tots100 or Mammasaurus are “bad neighbourhoods’. I was just stating that a link from a penalised site fits under that term…
With regards to Google trying to determine what is paid and what isn’t – there are no hard facts – only what they release in their posts. However, and I assume that you’re mentioning ‘Tesco / Huggies’ as hypothetical examples – they could also be penalised if Google associated their SEO activity being in breach of it’s Ts&Cs – after all if Google penalises itself (i.e. Chrome incident) or BMW in Germany a few years ago, it really will make no odds the size of the brand participating in said activity… especially if a competitor files a complaint to Google…
BTW, Huggies only have 110 referring domains linking to it and that is decreasing – see this image here http://www.flickr.com/photos/leesmallwood/7249035430/in/photostream . This shows that their SEO activity has changed due to the recent Google updates
But again, I suspect that you’re only using them – hypothetically…
Regarding timeframe, this process by Google isn’t going to stop – it’s firmly embedded in their DNA now – and everything they do and implement moving forward will be in support of that.
There is so much misinformation floating around in this sphere it’s very frustrating.
There are two issues at stake here. First of all, if you receive payment for a link, Google insists that that link be nofollow. If you’re found to be selling “follow” links, Google will drop or even remove your page rank. At the moment this is only happening to a very small number of bloggers (3 of the Tots100 – which is actually over 3000 blogs), so many people are not seeing the risks. Just be aware Google is constantly improving the way it identifies paid links, and if you never actually remove any of your sponsored content it stays there for Google to find at any point in the future.
A lot of people say “bah, who needs Google page rank anyway?”. and that’s a reasonable approach if you’re not bothered about getting traffic from Google, or future advertisting/sponsored posts. Your choice.
There’s another issue though, which is getting muddled up in all of this. As bloggers we have a legal obligation to disclose if we are being paid to write about something, in the same way that journalists/magazines must. This is covered by the Advertising Standards people, and you can be taken to court and fined if you don’t comply. Again, I’ve only heard of this happening to big agencies so far, but the risk is still there. I also think there’s an integrity thing here – if you don’t tell your readers you’re being paid for something, and they later find out that you were, will they trust your opinion in the future?
Anyone who advises that if you do not mark your paid links as sponsored so that Google doesn’t find them is not only wrong, they’re encouraging you to break the law. Google uses many algorithms to identify paid links – for example if the same link with the same anchor text appears on a significant number of blogs over a short period of time, that’s a bit of a red flag, isn’t it?
At the end of the day, each of us make our own decisions about what we will and won’t do with our blogs. I just think it’s important to understand the potential impact of those decisions…
What GeekMummy said