Webmaster forum - Don't Be Fooled

Author

Don't Be Fooled

Matt Probert

2007-11-19, 6:19 pm

Experienced webmasters will be familiar with these scams, but for the
benefit of the less experienced, be wary!

A common email is sent to webmasters supposedly offering to excahnge
links, the format of which frequently follows the real example below:

"Dear Webmaster,

My Name is Jeniffer and I am building links for my client campaigns
and would like to exchange link with your website. The exchange would
benefit both the sites, helping towards improving our ranks in search
engine positioning.

The more popular a site is, the higher its position becomes.

Our site details are as follows:"

The reality is, these link farms have no positive benefit for your
site, and can actually diminish its standing within more sophisticated
search engines, such as Google, which equate multiple unrelated links
to "spam".

Obviously, if the site is related, then relevant links benefit your
readers and should be encouraged, but sites which send out these
standard form mass emails usually just put your url on a "resources"
or "links" page together with dozens of other unrelated urls from
where they are at best ignored by readers and search engines alike.

Matt Probert
--
Author of The Probert Encyclopaedia
http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com

Gary Peek

2007-11-19, 6:19 pm

mbstevens

2007-11-19, 6:19 pm

Matt Probert wrote:
> Experienced webmasters will be familiar with these scams, but for the
> benefit of the less experienced, be wary!
>
> A common email is sent to webmasters supposedly offering to excahnge
> links, the format of which frequently follows the real example below:
>
>
> "Dear Webmaster,
>
> My Name is Jeniffer and I am building links for my client campaigns
> and would like to exchange link with your website. The exchange would
> benefit both the sites, helping towards improving our ranks in search
> engine positioning.
>
> The more popular a site is, the higher its position becomes.
>
> Our site details are as follows:"
>
> The reality is, these link farms have no positive benefit for your
> site, and can actually diminish its standing within more sophisticated
> search engines, such as Google, which equate multiple unrelated links
> to "spam".
>
> Obviously, if the site is related, then relevant links benefit your
> readers and should be encouraged, but sites which send out these
> standard form mass emails usually just put your url on a "resources"
> or "links" page together with dozens of other unrelated urls from
> where they are at best ignored by readers and search engines alike.
>
> Matt Probert

I have recently received a spate of these that actually mentioned
the subjects of things on my sites and had pages specially for those
subjects.

They are still link farms -- the things have just become sophisticated
enough to classify their pages and do some kind of search of your site
before sending their cover spam.

A close look makes it clear that they are worse than useless.
These types of link farms have been posting to some newsgroups
recently, too.
--
mbstevens
http://www.mbstevens.com/

Brian Cryer

2007-11-19, 6:19 pm

<Matt Probert> wrote in message
news:47419d9d.21831359@news.freenetname.co.uk...
> Experienced webmasters will be familiar with these scams, but for the
> benefit of the less experienced, be wary!
>
> A common email is sent to webmasters supposedly offering to excahnge
> links, the format of which frequently follows the real example below:

<snip>

> The reality is, these link farms have no positive benefit for your
> site, and can actually diminish its standing within more sophisticated
> search engines, such as Google, which equate multiple unrelated links
> to "spam".
>
> Obviously, if the site is related, then relevant links benefit your
> readers and should be encouraged, but sites which send out these
> standard form mass emails usually just put your url on a "resources"
> or "links" page together with dozens of other unrelated urls from
> where they are at best ignored by readers and search engines alike.

Hi Matt, good to hear from you again. I thought you might have given up on
this newsgroup.

The warning is a good one. Whilst many here seem to have given up on link
exchanges I still exchange the odd link, but only if I like the site and I
know where the reciprocal link is going to be placed.

Its worth also being aware of so called three way link exchanges. I'm sure
the rational for this can be good, but I cottoned on to the scam side of
this when I was offered a link on the same page from three emails from
different individuals plugging different sites (not all at the same time I
might add). Then I tried to contact the owner of the site where my link was
placed and never got a reply. So I stay away from three way link exchanges
as well as anything that looks remotely like a link farm.
--
Brian Cryer
www.cryer.co.uk/brian

freemont

2007-11-19, 6:19 pm

On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:42:01 +0000, Matt Probert writ:

> Obviously, if the site is related, then relevant links benefit your
> readers and should be encouraged

I just got one from a site that sells laptop batteries in Australia. I'm
sure that people who are looking for computer help in Georgia would find
that link useful. ;-)

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·..·¯`·-> freemont <-·¯`·..·¯