Will Google buy Text-Link-Ads.com?
Will Google eventually buy Text-Link-Ads.com? Decision will depend on Google’s long-term strategy, strategy that deals with growing concern regarding the paid links services, i.e services like TLA which offer services to sell text links on your sites. Now there are literally hundreds of them. And thousands of people are using these services.
Google’s Stand
At the moment, what Google is saying is: “Do not use these services. Instead use my Google AdWords.” Or that’s the message what people are getting from their recent war on paid links. Currently Google seems to be loosing the war. Nobody seems to be following Google’s order, only the sites which make more than 90% of their income from Google AdSense are taking a heed.
Google claims that “paid links” are being used to manipulate Google algorithm, be it to get a higher position in the search engine results or increasing the rank of the page artificially - through buying text links from high ranking sites.
To combat this, Google asks you to report your paid links to them, or to add rel=”nofollow” to the links. When Googlebot sees nofollow on any link, it will automatically ignore the link and do not index it. Obviously advertisers do not want that, and publishers comply with advertisers’ requests. When there is a demand, there is a supply!
How to use rel=”nofollow”:
<a href="http://www.advertisersite.com" rel="nofollow">Paid Link</a>
Google says Advertising is not wrong
Google says we are not against advertising, but we are against the manipulation of our system. What that means is, if you want to buy text links from a site with the purpose of getting more people visit your site, or to make more sales, or to just make awareness of your product. Google says that’s fine with us, but please use rel=”nofollow”.
So according to Google, there is nothing wrong with buying text links and getting a traffic to your site. But they have a problem if your SERP (Search Engine Results Position) increases or your PageRank increases due to your purchasing a link (and of course if you do not use rel=”nofollow”).
But that does not go well with advertisers. Because advertisers (and everybody who has a website) want higher SERP and higher PageRank. Because one of the objectives of buying paid links is to improve your SERP for certain keywords, so that you won’t keep advertising again in the future. So that, next time, people can find your site through Search Engines easily. So ordering a paid link that has rel=”nofollow” on it, is like drinking a Coke that has no gas in it (not carbonated). It simply has less ROI (Return On Investment) than a link that can boost your SERP and PageRank.
Google is screwing its own algorithm
By telling people to report their paid links, Google has somehow distorted the meaning of paid links and made it much more difficult to recognize them at first sight. Because now, afraid of being penalized by Google, bloggers and publishers have resorted to hiding their paid links under different titles. People are also using image titles for their advertisement sections, hoping that Googlebot won’t notice it when it spiders.
Has Google banned TLA?
TLA founders seem to think so, since searching Google for “text link ads” do not return any result for Text-Link-Ads.com. They used to come up on No.1 spot before.
Let’s assume Google had banned TLA. Then why would it allow TLA to use its AdWords to advertise the site? Below is the screenshot when you search for “text link ads”. TLA’s ad comes up on top.
You would say, money is everything, that’s why Google allows it. But iWEBtools’ Google Banned Checker service does not think so. In fact, it thinks TLA is not banned from Google (see below).
Also TLA’s official blog does come up first for the search “text link ads blog“. If Google really did ban TLA, then its blog should have been banned too right?
This can mean TLA is not banned, but somehow has lost its SERP or it’s being partially penalized by Google. Probably for selling text link ads. You can loose your SERP for various reasons, one of them is being intentionally targeted by a black hat seo expert.
Summary
Time will show if Google will stop its WOPL (War On Paid Links, I just made up that acronym ;), and if it will eventually takeover Text-Link-Ads.com. I personally believe, Google shouldn’t be acting as a big brother on internet and asking people what to do on their sites. Instead Google should spend more time in their Labs and come up with a better algorithm. What do you think?
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- Sold my first Post-Level-Ad on my PR4 page
- Sold another Post-Level-Ad
- PageRank update on the way?
By Text Link Center on Sep 15, 2007
I couldn’t imagine Google purchasing Text Link Ads. The reasons are kind along the same lines as why you don’t pay the kidnappers. If Google bought Text Link Ads for what most people retire on, they’d be sending a message to everyone else to create their own Text Link system.
I do think that the ethics involved to manipulate their own algorithm to remove Text Link Ads from Google is very questionable. Google generally allows searches for sites that they probably do not like. Off the top of my head a search for racial slurs still comes up, for example. However, it seams that if someone is going to oppose Google’s core algorithm, then Google gets a little more aggressive.
Fun times!
By Ades on Sep 16, 2007
TLC seems to be an interesting program, so when you guys are launching?
By Rice Blogger on Sep 17, 2007
I think google hate tla which is why they won’t buy them up. There is other ways google could play down tla i think
By Kane on Oct 26, 2007
I think the time has come for links as the measure of a pages importance. It was a great idea in the past. It no longer applies. A new way of measuring importance is needed and that is what google needs to be focusing on.
By SEO Expert on Dec 8, 2007
Paying for links can often help a small company or less known website become more visible in the SERPs.
Is this really that different than a major brand investing in heavy TV and Print brand advertising? It’s a new age, and a new medium… If you can find away to make a buck in the now, you will - right?
I think that Google is being ‘fairly’ responsible about the situation - If you read Matt Cutt’s recent post about Google making sure that factual information regarding medical issues and such - remain near the top - so as not to be replace with propaganda or junkie content… but you must admit - it’s a slippery slope. I wonder if the Google boys imagined one day being editors to the world’s content like this.