This month, Google has finally given word on the recent controversy regarding the dropping of PageRank amongst those who sell links. As well as an update on the official Google blog, Matt Cutts (that guy who works for Google) has composed an interesting and informative post on the subject (Selling links that pass pagerank.)
To summarise for those too lazy to read either entries on the subject: Google is penalising those who sell links for the purpose of passing on PageRank, such as the links inside sponsored posts and paid reviews. Furthermore (and contrary to the rants that this is a new thing) Google has linked to their webmaster guidelines originating in 2003 whereby they advise “Don’t participate in link schemes designed to increase your site’s ranking or PageRank
“. So, they’ve been doing this for years. (I can only assume that we’re seeing an increase in people affected because there’s an increase in people spamming their blogs for cash.)
In his entry, Cutts specifically targets PPPers (PayPerPost users) and highlights the ridiculous misinformation that becomes available because of bloggers publishing crap, despite being totally inexperienced in the field about which they’re writing. This is nothing new, we’ve all heard about the teenagers reviewing household insurance providers on their otherwise typical teeny blogs. Anyway, these posts only serve to ratify my suspicion of the negative impact PPPers have on blogging as a whole, and I will continue to nofollow links to known PPPers as and when they appear in my entries/comments.
I for one am glad that Google is taking a positive action towards the ‘downgrading’ of these bloggers. While I don’t begrudge anyone an income — or pocket change to support whatever lifestyle they want to live — I don’t see why people searching for genuine, relevant information should suffer as a result.
Now, excuse me while I go back to laughing at the muppets in Matt’s comments that think they have the right to an income through Google…
03 Dec at 5:31 pm
I’ve seen a lot of blogs complain about this… it’s rather sad so many people care. Clearly people take the internet too fucking seriously sometimes :P I’d never intend on making a living out of my blog…
03 Dec at 5:35 pm
I think that’s the key to happiness right there. ;D Neither would I Matt, neither would I.
03 Dec at 5:42 pm
I don’t make any money at all from my blog, and neither would I want to. That’s what my 9-5 job is for! Blogging is for the weekends… Is there a reason the PR has dropped for other sites (like mine) who don’t get involved in paid links at all? *is curious*
03 Dec at 5:45 pm
I gotta agree with Google as well. The mass spread of misinformation by pain bloggers is getting out of hand. I wouldn’t see much wrong with it if they had to actually research and properly present the information. But they don’t even have to do that.
03 Dec at 5:46 pm
Well, PageRank constantly fluctuates so its not like I can give you a definitive answer, but when you consider its based on things like content, your internal link structure, the keywords you’re targeting etc.. every change to your site basically becomes a method by which you could possibly ruin your own PR. (OK, that sounds more drastic than I intended.) There is of course the other major factor: incoming links. If people stop linking to you, or the websites that people are linking to you from die that means a loss in PR. Sometimes, if a page linking to you is found to be a “bad link”, that can also affect your PR. If you’re worried, you’re likely to get a better answer from those who know more than me! Try cre8asite: http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums
03 Dec at 6:46 pm
I think if people can make a living of there blog then they should, it should probably be a little more than a blog thou such as chris pirillo and what he does. i don’t agree with google penalizing people for this, i dont do this fot the simple fact my blog is worthy enough for me to make a living off of and you average joe shouldn’t make a living off it either but there is exceptions such as if joe has something we all want to hear!
03 Dec at 7:11 pm
The guy who runs PPP is a pillock, so it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person :)
03 Dec at 7:26 pm
Just because some people might not intend to make a living off their job doesn’t mean that everyone should quit. Some people (myself included) do make money from their blog. Would you think it’s a big deal if your employer suddenly gave you a 50-80% pay cut? This is what people are seeing with this action. For some people it represents tens of thousands of dollars. For others it might only be a couple hundred dollars a month. Any time you are hitting people in the wallet, they are going to complain. I have yet to see someone not be upset when taking a pay cut.
03 Dec at 7:34 pm
Only in as much as it’d require me to hand in my notice and find a new job. I am trained in multiple fields so it’s not like my options are low. If you’re stupid enough to put yourself in a position whereby your financial stability relies on something as rapidly changing as the Internet and a company you have no control over (Google), you’ve only got yourself to blame when it goes tits up. Sorry it that offends you (I’m not in the habit of alienating newcomers after only one comment) but after seeing/hearing about the big dot com bubble burst the first time, I find it ridiculous that people would still put all their eggs in one basket like that.
03 Dec at 7:48 pm
I am with you 100% on this, as you know. PPP ftl.
03 Dec at 8:01 pm
I personally want people to come to my site because they are interested in a blog, poetry or whatever else I might have to propose as content. I am in no way qualified to offer household insurance, so I don’t want people to come across my site looking for that sort of stuff. Now, of course, I will gladly link to any other company or website I support, because they are awesome.
03 Dec at 8:25 pm
It seems ridiculous to me that they should expect links without true value behind them to be worth PR.
03 Dec at 9:47 pm
Link selling and eMail selling is so shallow.
03 Dec at 9:47 pm
I think PPP started as a good idea but got corrupted along the way. Blogging about anything is fine, but if you’re doing it to get paid, than you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.
03 Dec at 10:12 pm
I agree with the boo PPP’ers although I’m signed up to a few, it just annoys me when you visit a good site and its full of irrelevant material. I dissagree with their stance on selling links etc lke TLA I need the income and I like to think it doesn’t detract from my site too much!?
03 Dec at 10:19 pm
I’ve been considering doing PPP, but not as a main income and not (if I can get away with it) review stuff that I have no business reviewing. I don’t know if you can choose what you do or don’t review, but I don’t know…I would also make an entirely separate domain and blog for reviews, not spam my own blog. It wouldn’t seem right to me. However, all that being said, I think both you and Matt have a legit and good reason for not liking or linking to PPP blogs. I don’t know…I’m sorta on the fence.
04 Dec at 2:35 am
I stopped using PPP a long time ago. It wasn’t giving me anything worth bragging about and I wasn’t gonna write about mortgage and realty. It’s jsut a waste of my time. I could care less about my pagerank as well.
04 Dec at 7:57 am
…Are we talking the two middle fingers here as a “FY”, or is this some strange British action I’ve yet to learn?
04 Dec at 8:21 am
Yeah, PPP gets abused quite a bit by people posting any and all of the ads they can get. Not all the people at PPP do that though. Some people that sign up for PPP only take the opps, as they’re called, that fit their blogs. I dare you to find a sponsored post on my blog that isn’t relevant to the targeted readers or to the site.
04 Dec at 9:05 am
Yep ;) I saw the fucking huge Amazon widget and decided better of it. I don’t want my eyes blasted with shit adverts this early in the morning. I wonder how many people happen upon your blog and think the same?
04 Dec at 10:53 am
I’m not exactly “getting” something here. Why exactly is Google supposed to help out the “poor fellows” who have to resort to PPP to make a living? Do these “poor fellows” DO anything for Google? Do they develop new scripts which will make Google a better search engine? Do they advertise Google in a way that will increase Google’s income? Just when did Google start playing the role of a saintly benefactor? Basically these people do absolutely NOTHING for Google, but they have the audacity to demand that Google help them earn money. Hypocritical much??
04 Dec at 11:47 am
Well said, Vera.
04 Dec at 1:26 pm
I agree with you, I have no problem with people writing trash for a living (people always have), but I think it’s smart that google treats it like what it is and moves it to the bottom of the heap (where it belongs).
04 Dec at 2:13 pm
I signed up with PPP awhile ago, but never actually wrote a post for them. If you want to see a real laugh, you should visit their message board (http://boards.payperpost.com) which is usually full of “posties” complaining about how unfair Google is and how they’re not making any money. These people take PPP insanely seriously. It reigns on the pathetic side.
04 Dec at 7:48 pm
Hi Megan, thanks for the link. I am already aware of the board though, it popped up in my referrals this morning (that’s where Jason is from). In the thread in question (tinyurl.com/36pqts) we’re told that the reason why people hate PPPers is the social stigma, and that stigma originates from “the people trying to protect older internet revenue models”. Kind of funny when you consider my website is devoid of any revenue-making schemes whatsoever. I don’t want to break their bubble, but the reason why people are against PPP is because the ‘program’ is dominated by illiterate morons who expect to make their Internet fortune spamming their blogs with crap about products and services they’ve never used. In Jason’s case (I went back after he removed the Amazon advert), he is right in that his posts are generally relevant to his perceived audience. This still doesn’t change the fact that he is artificially inflating the rank and positioning of sites that do not/may not ‘deserve’ to be listed in the first place. While he can make a guarantee that his information is relevant, can he say the same about the content and pages he links to? Of course, this is not something that the two “sides” are ever going to come to an agreement over. Those that do PPP think they have some sort of right to a living through the Internet, and I don’t think much can stand in the way of ‘man and his money’.
04 Dec at 8:01 pm
Wow! You guys are blog snobs. Go figure. I really have never seen and will not see what the problem with paid posting is especially if it helps a person pay the bills. Some people have crappy incomes and need the help. I do not see anyone coming along giving out jobs for folks who cannot get out of the house to work, do you? Oh wait. The paid blogging companies do that. DUH!!
04 Dec at 8:59 pm
Sorry Jaz, what was that – I couldn’t make out your point through all the whining? Have you tried purchasing less domains – lurasbookcase.com, purrfectdomains.com, peculiarplace.com – I mean, far be it for me to tell a person how to spend their money but if you’re short of cash, shouldn’t those be the first to go, with your Internet connection being the next? I don’t buy any of your crappy excuses for “needing” to PPP. My mother suffers from RSI, has been written off as disabled for years and yet still managed to bring up a 6 child household, as well as our many pets, without having to resort to spamming the Internet. If you want to try and justify your PPPing that way, you’re going to have to try a lot harder to pull at my heartstrings.
04 Dec at 9:32 pm
Jaz: that still doesn’t explain why Google has to help you earn money. You don’t pay a measly cent to Google, therefore Google is allowed to link or not to you as it sees fit. Also why are we blog snobs? Because we decided that our rants/raves/whining don’t warrant money? If it’s a choice between being a snob and a hypocrite, I can assure you that the vast majority of us will choose the latter.
05 Dec at 12:01 am
As a student and avid Google user, I totally agree with them. I can’t tell you how many times I use Google for research or whatever, and stumble upon a blog, that obviously use PPP or whatever (I don’t own a website). I think PPP is great for bloggers, but as Jem said, Google users shouldn’t have to suffer as a result. Often I have to sift through search results in order to find the pages I need, which are buried beneath the blogs that advertise and sell links (among other things). It is extremeley frustrating that a person can’t use a search engine for what it’s designed for – finding the most relevent web pages for you. And it worries me about the younger kids who do schoolwork using a blogger’s biased take on things, and not an objective source. Bottom line: PPP is great for some extra money. But Google users should be able to find good, useful web pages at the top of their search results, and not some blogger’s opinionated rant.
05 Dec at 12:06 am
Regardless of any views on PPP, shouldn’t people be complaining to PPP themselves? This has nothing to do with Google! Correct me if I’m wrong but Google doesn’t get a cut of each PPP advert someone posts. PPP need a better system to gauge how much they pay each person.
05 Dec at 8:09 am
You’re right, I can’t guarantee the relevance of the sites I link to in a paid post. I can’t guarantee the relevance of sites I link to in any post. Things can change pretty quickly on the net. I can link to something great, but in a month it could be completely different for any number of reasons. The webcomic I link to today could fold and the domain sold to an MFA splogger for example. Oh, you were right abut that amazon thing too. I was trying that out, but dang it was ugly. *L*
05 Dec at 9:18 am
@Jason: the difference as I see it between linking to a site randomly that could change in a month, and linking to a PPP link that could be/could turn irrelevant, is the ‘power’ behind it. If I link to someone in an entry, that’s only me linking to it – the “link juice”/PR/whatever value is relatively small. However, when you’ve got 15-20 PPPers or more blogging about the same thing, of course the subject shoots up the ratings and its this artificial inflation that pushes irrelevant information to the top of Google.
05 Dec at 1:20 pm
I agree wholeheartedly with you and with Google’s decision to penalize these people. :)
07 Dec at 8:34 am
Well said, Vera. I used to do paid posts (eek!), but decided it was crap. It’s not worth selling out for. ;)