Talk about ups and downs, I just about think I’ve got something new making money when yet another income source comes under threat. This time it’s the small amount I make with TLA.
I have a domain that’s been a home page PR4 since the very first days of Page Rank. It slipped to a 3 at the last update, which I could understand (some links have got very old) but I’ve just checked now and it’s a big fat ZERO! There are 3 or 4 pages on that domain (out of hundreds) that contain links sold through Text-Link-Ads. Other than that it’s full of top quality original content and is an authority website on a few subjects, holding great rankings. The whole domain has seen it’s page rank slashed. So the questions is this, for the sake of a few hundred dollars a month is it really worth selling links with Text-Link-Ads and having the Google PR penalty? Whilst a PR penalty isn’t affecting my rankings at the moment is there a chance it will in the future?
My gut feeling with this is no to the first question and possibly to the second. No doubt as soon as the link buyers see that my PR has gone they’ll be bailing out anyway. If it was big money then I could be tempted to carry on using TLA until the money dries up but it’s not big money, would you risk your websites relationship with Google for less than $300 a month? I feel gutted that my whole domain has been hit for what is an indiscretion on no more than 4 pages but as always Google can and will do whatever they like. I guess all that is left to say is goodbye Text-Link-Ads, you’re just not worth using anymore.
ps What I wouldn’t give for just a few weeks of stability at the moment!
7 Responses to “Is It Worth Selling Links With Text-Link-Ads?”
Dan Mihaliak
May 13, 2009
I didn’t realize it could hurt my PR. Are all textlinks considered no-nos on Adsense?
|Paul B
May 13, 2009
Don’t get your question? This has nothing to do with Adsense? But any type of link selling can result in a PR penalty if Google find out.
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