The notion that paid links cheapens the web is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard because it runs counter to every other type of marketing that exists. The market will correct itself with paid links where the users do not receive value. They’ll stop following the links or visiting the sites that have them. Case closed.

@Roger – Yes the trust thing is a delicate balancing act

@Ann – I am sure TLA will pay better than you are getting from Adsense

@Matt – Yeah I guess most of us have a mix of opinions depending on how they are implemented

@Kristen – Ambiguous is fine

@Michael – What do you think about Mat Mullenwegs tirade against sponsored themes?

@Scott – Yeah, stick it to the man

@Jordan – That’s the thing though, they are not talking about their index, they are talking about OUR sites. They have every right to decide what happens in their index, their site, such as dropping or devaluing me, but me linking to you is not happening in their index, it happens between our sites so I don’t see why they should call the shots

@Adam – It is funny, a lot of the SEO people I know don’t buy links but tend toward #2

@doug – If you focus on people and not Google you will get far more traffic and links, and paradoxically find in fact Google treats you better

@Jeremy – Because so many people are addicted to Googles traffic they play by their tune, understandable I guess

@Steven – Heh, Al Gore will never escape that accusation will he

@Reztar – Supposedly!

@Mohsin – The way I look at it, look at John Chow. He got penalised by Google and his traffic went up

@BlogOxide – Careful is good

@SageRave – Good call

@Brad – As many people have said, perhaps they want the only advertising to be sold through them

Furthermore, if I attract outside advertisers who want to pay for some content-related links on my blog, I don’t see what business it is of Google’s.

But my vote goes for the third option.

Having said that, I don’t necessarily think that paid links are a bad thing, as long as they are still relevant. If the link is relevant, does it matter that money changed hands? The reverse is true also: if a link is irrelevant, does it matter whether it was given for free or not?

Quality links are quality links, and bad links and bad links, regardless of whether or not money changed hands.

HOWEVER, it’s never really that simple, is it? When money is involved, people might be much more willing to give a link to a site that they otherwise wouldn’t–relevant or not–because they don’t want to turn down the profit.

I guess I can kind of see both sides of the issue but, my opinion leans more toward paid links not being such a bad thing, as long as the links are kept relevant. If you’re selling text links, ask yourself: “Would I link to this site if he wasn’t paying me to do so?” If the answer is no, you might want to think twice about giving the link.

Having said that, I really don’t know all of the subtle nuances of this debate, so I’m keeping a very open mind, and am willing to change my opinion in light of new information.

Come on. Google has every right to do whatever they feel best to protect the integrity of their index. They’re not handling this issue well, but it’s still THEIR index.

If paid links are good for your users, then they’re good for your blog. But if there’s no way on Earth that anyone reading your blog is remotely interested in those links and your buyers are just doing it to try to manipulate Google, then that doesn’t seem quite right.

The blogs I read may sell links as advertising, yes. Better yet, sell to advertisers that would appeal to your audience. But to disguise paid links as editorial content? That doesn’t seem ethical, even without involving Google.

As far as google.. somehow along the way google turned into somewhat of the “Big Brother” of the internet. To me, It all has to do with confidence, expertise, etc of the designer/developer putting a particular site together. I think a lot of designers understand the “sites that suck” concept and depending on google isn’t nearly as much of a concern. Like you said.. the ability for google to “ransom” the site virtually disappears.

So really i don’t have a problem with responsible link selling/buying but I really see google in sort of the same light i saw my parents in my teen years… the more they tell me not to do something… just made me want to do it more. It’s a rebellion thing I guess. Maybe not the best practice for some people but.. then again.. Damn the man! haha

As a WordPress theme designer, I have an interesting perspective on this. At the bottom of my free WordPress themes is a link back to my blog. I paid for that link… with labor. When people use my themes, that link is how they “pay” me.

Except that no money has changed hands, it operates exactly like paid links do. The result? The homepage of my blog has a PageRank of 6 and my Technorati authority is over 7,000.

None of these links are relevant in the way that Google would like them to be, but I am rewarded rather than punished. This is why Google doesn’t like paid links–they work. Google can say what it wants, but as long as paid links work, people will buy and sell them.

Good an ambiguous, eh? ;]

Kristen

I do disclose on all my blogs that some links have been paid for. I think it’s important for anyone who does this sort of income generation to let their readers know that from time to time, there will be sponsored links. I have actually become a customer of some of the links I first placed as sponsored! This means I’ve blogged about them again, at other times, for no compensation at all.

How would Google know which are sponsored and which are not, if I am including links to sites I like anyway? Google is not the internet god, and should step back from trying to work in that capacity.

I actually haven’t tried TLA yet, but I do some work for other companies. Adsense has paid me a whopping $24 in the TWO YEARS+ that I’ve had them on my blogs.

Thanks for this post and the opportunity to share my opinion and vote in your poll!

Me, if I made money as a blogger it would surprise me. If I can make a few dollars now and again, it would be nice. I just don’t want to compromise the trust I have earned with my 35 readers.

I do agree with you Chris. I don’t think anyone one company should tell the rest of the web how webmasters should monetize their site. Imagine the backlash if it was Microsoft and not Google taking this stand…

@mark – Good point, I can imagine Ug the mammoth chef doing just that