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Nobody Wants A Google-Friendly Link - At Any Price!
I love Scratchback and the whole concept behind it (Scratchback is that widget to the right that says Are You In My TopSpots?). I might not be totally crazy about the nofollowed links, but hey, they are Google-friendly, so I’m doing the “right thing”, right? I understand people don’t want to pay a lot of money for G-friendly links - I get that. But when it’s difficult to practically give them away - what’s up with that???
Most of the Scratchback links you find on blogs are priced in the $1-$5 range. I was selling them for $1 here on SEO Scoop (recently upped that to $5) and am still selling them for $1 on DazzlinDonna. You’d think people would jump at the chance to display their ad, or yes, even an affiliate link, prominently, above the fold, on a fairly well-trafficked site for almost nothing. You’d be oh, so wrong.
When did the concept of advertising disappear? Is it ONLY about link juice? Hey, I’m an SEO. I love link juice. It’s the nectar of the search heavens. But I also appreciate the idea of cheap, targeted traffic. Juice or no juice, what I want at the end of the day, is cheap, targeted traffic. You don’t?
I think, comparatively speaking, I’ve probably had some pretty good success at selling Scratchback links, and when I say comparatively speaking, I mean just that. Just from the people I know or the blogs I’ve looked at, lots of people have a lot of empty spaces that are going unsold. So the few I’ve sold start to look pretty good. I don’t know. Instead of scratching my back, I’m scratching my head. Why the heck aren’t people jumping all over these cheap links? Are nofollowed links that undesirable? Really??? Weird. You can’t even GIVE this s*** away!
For just a $5 tip, you can advertise your site or affiliate link on SEO Scoop. Find out how.
If you are the first to "discover" any of my posts in StumbleUpon, one of the following categories would probably be the most appropriate to place it into. You don't have to choose one of these, of course, but based on what I usually write about, there's a good chance any of my posts will fall into one of these categories.
Business * Computers * Computer Graphics * Computer Hardware * Computer Security * Databases * Ecommerce * Internet * Internet Tools * Linux/Unix * Marketing * Search * Self Improvement * Web development * Weblogs(Blogs) * Windows * Writing
December 6th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Well, I think it’s several things that hold some people back from participating. I should know, I designed ScratchBack
I’ve done years of research on this topic.
First off, we have two distinct crowds. Industry people like you and me, and everyone else. We are .0001111% of the long tail. Everyone else is just regular people who publish websites or blog, etc…
Industry people (who I would describe as anyone who even knows what page rank means), seem to a bit edgy these days about links in general. Many see the headlines (google busting test links) and automatically just sway away from the widget because they aren’t sure that it’s safe to use.
Others are as you say… just not interested in anything that doesn’t help their website. That’s fine, nothing wrong with that. So they don’t use it because they figure “why bother?”
ScratchBack was designed for the long-tail. Sure, it’s great that industry people like you have adopted it and are using it in this beta, thank you. But in all reality, ScratchBack is built for non industry people who really have no clue how to “make money online”, nor care really about it. The fact that you can use it too is a bonus! Thanks again.
I call these non-industry people, or 99.8% of all bloggers who are just writers who are passionate about something. They have small groups of loyal readers, who have been more than glad to “tip” their “friends” blog or site. They are having great success so far.
So you may be seeing some spots not sold, but in the grand scheme of things, many of our users are selling one or two links and are making more money from those tips than they did ever before.
Thanks for the thoughtful post. I’m more than interested in your and your readers comments and suggestions.
December 6th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Ok, those are fair points, Jim, but I guess since my audience is mostly comprised of industry people, it’s really them I’m talking about. These are people who, I assume, understand the benefits both of links and of advertising (I’m differentiating them here, although they may overlap). And I’m wondering, I guess, why they aren’t taking advantage of what is essentially, really cheap advertising. So, I guess you are saying that they are just edgy right now, and don’t want to mess with anything that they aren’t sure about. That’s understandable, I guess, but it’s kinda crazy too. Just sayin’…
December 6th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Well, let’s hear from your readers.
Why wouldn’t you tip Donna using it?
Is it because the cost is too high?
Is it because it’s not worth any benefit to your blog seo-wise?
Is it because me, the owner of ScratchBack has failed to market the system well enough to explain the benefits you can get from tipping?
Donna, we could also point out that you have been one of the most successful widget owners to date, and we paid you earlier this week for your tips.
No, you didn’t get rich off the payment, but it was more than a few nickles
Check out this post I put up the other night about using ScratchBack to drive affiliate sales. It works.
http://www.scratchback.com/blo.....ate-sales/
December 6th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Actually, Jim, I’m not really complaining about “me” not getting enough. I really love Scratchback, and I’m just wondering why people wouldn’t be all over this. Not just me. I’m not here to beg for tips. Heck, DON’T tip me because of this post, please. That’s not the aim of this post. The aim is to discuss the value of nofollow links. Done right (and my opinion is that Scratchback is an example of doing it right), I believe they have more value than others are realizing. But I may be one of only a few who holds that opinion.
So, yes, I’d love to see answers to the questions you posed, but rather than asking why you wouldn’t tip me, let’s keep it more general. This isn’t about me. It’s about the concept. K?
December 6th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Yeah, Donna, I was being ponderous. Didn’t mean to insinuate this was all about generating tips for you. It’s not, right.
Thank you again for bringing this up. I value your and your readers feedback. Interesting topic.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:16 am
What great interaction between the two of you with regard to scratchback. Now I’ve got to check it out.
For the most part, Donna, as you would know, I can’t use your traffic. But this conversation is really revealing. And if I wanted that industry traffic, geez louise, what could be a better price.
Thanks,
Dave
December 6th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Ah, but, Dave, have you checked to see if there are other Scratchback users who DO have traffic you could use? Eh?
December 6th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Jim, I actually think I have a solution to this, or at least something that might help quite a bit.
With marketing blogs especially, the majority of the audience is going to be a mishmash of people with a large variety of products to promote, most of which are not promoting marketing services. They are trying to learn how to market their own products better. With non-marketing blogs, you will have many readers who don’t have any products to market, but who instead are target audiences. If the target audiences aren’t reading the marketing blogs, then there is no reason to advertise there, and if the marketers aren’t reading the same blogs as the target audiences, then there is no way to know that they should be tipping there.
Not too long ago you sent out an email about the new Scratchback directory:
http://www.scratchback.com/directory/
This went out to all of the Scratchback publishers… the problem being, it is info that really needs to reach the Scratchback tippers.
I would revamp the search functionality of the directory, and incorporate 2 components that I don’t see now… price, and traffic (which you should be able to get from the widget downloads, since they download from your site). This would make the directory much easier for people who are looking for $1-$5 advertising venues to find them, and to be able to do so based on data that is meaningful to them.
I would make sure that word about the directory got out to these users… revamp the tip landing and thank you pages to promote the directory, and add one more link at the bottom of the widget (in between the “Show me love” and “Get your own” links) for “Browse Scratchback Publishers”. Since you are serving the Javascript from your own server, making this change to the layout might be able to be done without anyone having to re-download the script if you wanted.
Think that would work?
December 6th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Also, Jim, it looks like the directory is separate from the actual publishers accounts. I would tie the two together, and just make it an opt in/out section on the main site for getting listed.
December 6th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
@mvandemar
GREAT thoughts, thanks.
1. I know the beta directory is kinda boring and could be better. Your idea about having the tip cost and traffic attached to a listing is our future goal. We wanted to get the directory up sooner rather than later, so we put up what we could. But definitely, those additions are planned for sure.
2. Your idea about promoting the direcotry on the thank you page is brilliant. Not sure why I didn’t think of that, duh. Making that work now right after this.
3. Your idea about linking to the directory in the widget is also a great idea. I don’t really want to add another link there, so maybe I’ll just replace “get your own” with that?
Awesome thoughts.
December 6th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
re: #3 You could hyperlink the header, without changing any text, to the current page… I bet people have clicked on that just to see what it does, add in an alt text there of “Get your own…”, to maximize the real estate you have (there’s no alt text there at all now).
re: #1 Might want to look into pushing for that sooner rather than later, but of course up to you. I think having the stats will help a ton in promoting it to advertisers. Otherwise they pretty much have to visit each site to see the price and use third party traffic reporting (ie. Alexa, etc).
The script you are currently using for the directory has a website dedicated to mods for it, might want to look there for a quick easy way to integrate into it:
http://www.pmdmods.com/
December 6th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
You’re right mvandemar. Good stuff. Only so much we can do so fast though. We have a huge list of “get outta beta” improvements we are doing right now. The problem is figuring out which ones are more important and focusing on getting those done right. Thanks for your feedback and suggestions.
I should put a board together, want to be on it? Your feedback is invaluable. Thanks.
December 6th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Jim, sure. I have a few things I am working on myself at the moment, and so not sure exactly how much time I would have to be able to dedicate to it, but I would love to be able to help where I can.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
That is really cheap exposure! Will be checking out this new service for some of my clients.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I will give you a good example of why it is use-full.
I have been meaning to go back and check out more of MR SEo’s podcasts but you know how busy we get and forget.
But when I saw his link here, I go Oh Yeah I forgot about that and clicked the link.
And in the meantime clicked a couple more and bookmarked your site as a good resource .
Thanks
December 6th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
I’ve used topspots something like two weeks ago.
Basically, I paid a buck, and got maybe two or three clicks.
However, my link is still there on the page, so there’s more to come.
I’ve just paid five bucks on this blog and we’ll see how it goes.
(5 bucks is expensive though)
December 7th, 2007 at 1:55 am
Well, I have this morbid aversion to sidebar widgets
but if I switch off the visual blankspot in my brain and turn on my ‘naive visitor’ settings, my first impression is ‘what is this?’ … and clicking through didn’t tell me.
There’s a link (’tip’) that seems to be unconnected to the list of links that appears to let me send Donna money (and I love you, Donna, but I’m not sending you cash :-P) but when I click through it wants me sign up for some sort of link exchange deal (this is my ‘naive visitor’s hat’ impression)
And theres a ‘get your own’ link that takes me through to a signup page. I may not like a hard sell, but this seems ridiculously far the other way - shouldn’t you tell me what I am signing up for?
I think you need to revamp the overall navigation on that page (if not the site - I haven’t looked through it to thoroughly yet) to target it to ‘new visitor who doesn’t know what scratchback is’
What Michael says about the widget itself makes sense, too
Hope it helps!
December 7th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Well, I love the widgets and the http://www.Nemeas.com SEO software I use, but…
I am still not sure the cost is the holdback, as much as not knowing how it will effect my readers to see yet another (misunderstood or questionable) sidget staring them in the face.
I guess I need to really get a better understanding first, and that has certainly started with this great post of yours. Since this thing is for 99% of people I think I will send this link out to my entire readership.
Again, thanks for the insight, and…
Merry Christmas!
December 8th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Oh, Jim, I have no idea if you are checking back on these comments or not, but I just had another idea that I think would probably help quite a bit as well…
Reading Lea’s comment is what gave it to me (thanks Lea! :D). Customizable, brandable, landing pages. Allow people to do some simple modifications to their own landing pages with a logo and approved sales pitch. I’m thinking all you would really need would be a very simple interface consisting of a place to put in a logo url and a textarea for the custom text. The landing page you have now heavily emphasizes “tipping”, whereas on professional blogs I think “cheap advertising” might actually be a better plug. Either way, it would allow each publisher a little more control and say in what their audience sees when clicking on the links.
For instance, I have a “What’s this?” link underneath the widget on Bad Neighborhood which leads to a page explaining what the widget is for, but far more people click on the actual widget itself than do the explanation link. I have a hunch that if the landing page had my logo and a slant towards the advertising value of the “tip” then there could very well be a better conversion ratio.
December 8th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Custom landing pages is on the list mvandemar. Thanks for thinking of it though.
As I said before, there’s so many things we want to do, but only enough time in the day to do some of them. So right now we’re prioritizing and focusing on one or two main things.
Great idea though, and definitely something we will do.
Check out the buy page, we updated it a bit with a friendlier graphic/explanation. It’s a start.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I had been unaware of Scratchback until coming here a few days ago. I’ve since read through Jim’s information, the directory and the comments here.
Its a terrific idea. Over time, in one form or another, I’ve “tipped” those that have been of great help.
This is a formal way to do it, and its nominal for most folks.
Of additional comment, Mike’s ideas make enormous sense. Predominately let the tippers see how much money and volume can be made by the recipients.
One last comment, relative to something Donna referenced at the top; amongts links and traffic to some business sites, I have a couple of links that happen to be no-follow for various reasons. They were no-follow long before the recent issues with no-follow.
Two in particular are the best traffic generators to my site(s) after direct and major SE traffic. One of the link sources is totally on topic. One is very on-topic–but somewhat less on topic than the other.
Both generate more traffic than 2ndary SE’s such as Ask or AOL. Both generate not only traffic but conversions with the totally on topic link doing better than the second (expected).
I’d go for highly relevant no-follow links any day of the week.
It looks to be highly valuable, especially for blogs that are regularly helpful. The whole thing makes loads of sense and to reiterate Mike’s comments make lots of sense especially as it relates to spreading the info on the value to tippers and others interested in adding Scratchback.
Thanks for all the comments.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Donna, you have a great blog. I’d take a link “with or without sugar on top” any day!
December 11th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Wow, this has been a lively conversation… I’m on fan of wigets, but to have the created involved in this feedback was way cool. However, it does look like link buying and selling to me!
December 12th, 2007 at 6:32 am
Boris, you do realize that these links have nofollow on them, right? Totally ok with Google…right?