Great post by my old friend Dan Thies on the SearchReturn Discussion List today. This comment had been made in a previous edition (sorry can’t recall by whom):
“Matt, using VPN, surfed into Google’s network (without showingthe audience his screen) to come up with the internal number oflinks the site was actually being credited for towards rankings.The number? Three links.”
And Dan responded by saying:
This is an extreme example of what has been the reality of paidlinks for a long time. Google is very good at detecting andfiltering paid links.When Matt said a while back that they were catching 95% of paidlinks already, the text link industry and their flacks in theblogosphere jumped all over it, accused Matt of lying, trying touse FUD to control webmasters, etc.Here’s the truth: the paid text link industry has become nothingbut a big scam. Those who profit by it, and there are many,don’t want to admit that. They want to shift the discussion andattention away from the truth.
Here’s the truth: renting links has never been a “standard and accepted SEO practice.” Bob Massa remembers. Danny Sullivan remembers. No amount of spin and noise on the part of the link peddlers can change the reality of the situation.
If you want links, build something worth linking to and market the hell out of it. It’s easier, it’s cheaper, and it works. ~ Dan Thies.
Excellent advice! If you haven’t had a chance to subscribe to Detlev Johnson’s SearchReturn, you should. It’s a great, free discussion list with lots of good info and input from people working in SEO and SEM. Here’s the link to subscribe to SearchReturn , give yourself an early Christmas present!
Good post.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for Google to ask webmasters to hold to some standards. It seems a bit disingenuous for us to sit back and criticize the quality of the SERPs (which, admittedly, still suck far too often), while at the same time, participating in a profit-driven scheme to undermine the system.
Advertising is advertising. It has it’s own value. That’s why we all do it.
But, selling links for the purpose of PageRank transfer is not cool. SEOs need to get off their high-horses and do things the right way.
You can’t have it both ways. Or, if you don, at least admit that it’s a dying strategy. Quit trying to convince everyone that there’s some nobility to your philosophical stance.
Too true, content beats cash anyday for quality SERPS. Lazy webmasters beware . . . the Good Will Out!
Hi Debra,
Was reading that this morning in my inbox. This quote was great!
“If you want links, build something worth linking to and market the hell out of it…”