This is an issue we’ll be debating in lots more detail at BlogCamp next week, but we are getting lots of questions on Twitter about this issue, so thought a brief Q&A might be a good place to start. If you have other questions, do leave them in the comments and we’ll ask our panel at BlogCamp to provide more guidance!
In recent weeks, you’ve probably heard lots of discussion about follow links and no follow links and Page Rank.
What’s it all about?
There are a few things you need to understand to get your head around this stuff.
Why Google cares about links:
When you search Google for any information, some sites rank more highly in the results than others. Being a top ranked site in Google is very important if you run a business. And the sites that rank at the top of the results are those with the most links pointing to them.
How your blog is a part of this:
Every so often Google crawls your blog (along with all the other sites on the web) and looks at all the links it contains. A regular, normal link on your site is known as a ‘follow’ link because Google will follow that link to see where it points.
If Google finds a link to Site X in a post about cats, this basically means you have recommended Site X as a good place to find out about cats. As a result, the site will rank a little higher on Google next time someone searches for ‘cats’.
How PR/SEO is part of this:
Being a top ranked site in Google helps companies make more money – so they are happy to invest money in making that happen. One way is to simply ‘buy’ links on blogs like yours, that tell Google you recommend their sites. That link might be purchased by a PR agency who asks for a paid-for text link in a post or on your blog sidebar. Or they might ask you to write a sponsored post containing a link.
Why it’s a problem:
The problem with this is that paid-for links unfairly skews Google’s results. After all, when you’re looking for information about cats, do you want to see the sites that have the most money? Or the sites that are really, genuinely recommended by other Internet users?
What Google recommends:
To avoid these skewed results, Google came up with the ‘no-follow’ link. This is a special sort of link that tells Google not to count the link when it crawls a website. Google’s own guidelines say that any website owner or blogger should ALWAYS use a no-follow link when adding a paid link to their blog. That includes links in posts, links in your sidebar and (yes) banner ads. Affiliate and network ads should already be set up with a different sort of tag that lets Google know they’re advertisements, so you shouldn’t need to worry about those.
What’s no follow?
A no-follow link is exactly what it sounds like – it’s a link Google doesn’t follow.
If you use WordPress, there are plug-ins to help to create no-follow links, and Blogger recently added the capability to its blogging platform.
Otherwise, creating a no-follow link isn’t too difficult. You simply need to add rel=nofollow to your existing link. For example:
A follow link might be:
<a href=”http://www.nappiesrus.com”>Buy discounted nappies here </a>
The no-follow version could be:
<a href=http://www.nappiesrus.com/ rel=”nofollow”>Buy discounted nappies here<a>
Why should I worry about this stuff?
To an extent, you may not need to worry about this stuff at all. Google’s guidelines aren’t the LAW, and it’s not illegal to accept sponsored posts with follow links. Nobody will go to prison or be fined for this stuff.
However, Google is clamping down on these paid links, and if you get caught by its algorithms, you can be penalised in different ways:
- You might find your site is demoted in Google search results, either just for specific searches, or for all searches. This could mean your site traffic could drop dramatically.
- You might find your site is removed entirely from Google. Again, if lots of your traffic comes from Google, this could be a problem. It’s also likely to be a problem if you’re running ads that are paid based on page impressions, for example.
- You might find your site loses its Page Rank. This is a score from 1-10 that Google gives to all websites to indicate how influential they are. Many blogs have a Page Rank of 3-5. If your score falls to 0, you may find you receive fewer PR and advertising opportunities. (You can check your Page Rank at www.prchecker.info)
Can I get around this?
Some SEO and PR ‘professionals’ may tell you that if you use a word that isn’t ‘sponsored’ in a sponsored post, then Google won’t know the link is paid for. They might suggest you use an image saying ‘sponsored’ because Google can’t read images.
We can’t say for sure whether this strategy works or not, but ask yourself – do you think Google’s algorithms are REALLY that easy to fool?
What if I get caught out?
It’s not the end of the world, so don’t panic.
If you find you’ve lost your Page Rank or been removed from Google results, you can get in touch with Google to find out why and they will tell you what the problem is.
Experts then recommend you spend some time removing the links that Google doesn’t like, or amending them to no-follow links. Once this has all been done, you can apply for re-inclusion. The process should take around 90 days.
So, should I stop accepting paid links?
We know paid links and sponsored posts are a REALLY important source of revenue for many of you. It may be that you choose to accept sponsored posts with follow links – but you should be making an informed choice, and be aware of the potential consequences.
Should I go back and remove old sponsored posts?
Again, this is a personal choice.
In some cases, companies will specify a certain type of link in a sponsored post, or require that the post remains live for a specific period of time. If this is the case, then you have entered into a contract with that company, and you can’t change the terms of that contract (ie change the link or remove it) without their consent.
In practice, companies are unlikely to give such consent, and you will need to decide whether to live with the link on your blog, or offer a refund to the company.
However, if a company requesting a sponsored post didn’t request the post remain live indefinitely, and didn’t request a follow link in the post (or provide specific code for the link) then you should be fine to make changes, as there is no contractual requirement to provide a follow link.
PS: This isn’t the same as disclosure
While Google isn’t the law, and there’s nothing to stop you NOT using follow links for paid links on your blog, there are laws and regulations that mean it is NEVER okay not to disclose a paid-for link or post on your blog. Both the OFT and ASA take a very dim view of web publishers who do not disclose when they’re being paid to recommend something. So regardless of the link you choose to use, remember to always tell your readers when you’re being paid to do something, or have been compensated for writing something.
About Sally
Sally Whittle is founder of the Tots100, Foodies100, BlogSummit and the MAD Blog Awards. When she's not working, she can be found blogging at Who's the Mummy, or having fun with her 7 year old daughter, Flea.
An excellent overview Sally – thank you.
Does anyone know how this works in terms of things like reviews and competitions? Especially, if you have been paid to host a competition?
I look forward to the discussion and debate about this at blogcamp next week.
There’s lots of conversation about reviews but for my money I would suggest a review with a follow link is fine, since you’re not being paid for the link and many, many reviews are based on products that are returned after the review period, so the link isn’t really ‘paid for’.
It will certainly be an interesting discussion next week
Thanks for this, really helpful info and I knew mostly none of it!
Our pleasure! We’re not experts either, by a long shot.
Thank you!
Having just received my first few PR requests, this is very timely for me.
Excellent article!!! I’ve shared it in my blogging forums! Thank you! I’m going to pin it, too!
A very helpful guide that answers a lot of questions I’ve seen popping up all over the place lately. Can’t wait until Blog Camp to really dig deeper into some of these big issues!
I’m confused is their something on the blogger platform or do you have to do the nofollow manually ?
I’m not a blogger user but as I understand it there is a new option on the Blogger platform that when you compose a post and add a link, there is an option to choose whether the link is nofollow or follow, without doing the code yourself.
Yes there is a “nofollow” option on blogger now. When we click on the link box, to make our link, in the bottom left side there are two option boxes, one to open the link we are adding in a new window, and one to make it a no follow link. We just have to check the relevant box.
This is what it says, and there is a check box to the left had side.
Add ‘rel=nofollow’ attribute
Angela x
Much needed and very helpful, particularly as I won’t get to BlogCamp next week *sobs* *wails* *stamps feet*
Ah, such a shame we won’t see you there!
Brilliant article, it clearly explains to me not only the issues and reasons why but what I can do about it.
Thank you for the no panic explanation, for me I need 1/2 a day o sit and look at my blog and decide do I go back and change the handful of posts, do I start from now forward or do I just ignore and wait and see.
As I’ve never gone out looking for ads/sponsored posts and I only have a PR of 3 I am not too sure I will do anything at the moment. Maybe sit and wait for the future. I don’t reply on the money coming in, yes it ha been a bonus the odd thing I’ve had.
The issue as I think has been discussed is that if bloggers insist on the no follow then the PRs will find others who will post without them
But back to this post, it is always great to have the facts to make an informed decision. Thank you
)
Wow great advice Sally, can’t believe how much has changed since i was last blogging, it seems such a minefield now!
A very useful and interesting post. I will definitely be wary of sponsored posts, not that I have done any
Thankyou that was a really helpful post as i have just started receiving pr requests and i would not of known any of that without reading your post.
Thanks
Catherine x
Great post, but as someone who does work in that area and is a blogger, it’s a important not to spread fear. Most SEOs and PRs try and approach sites where a ‘sponsored post’ for their client would be on topic to the blog’s theme. I am absolutely against people who spam their sites with unrelated posts about everything from loans to dogfood, it’s essential that you have a balance, and if you do accept a sponsored post, make sure the brand is actually on-topic to your blog.
That said, it’s also important to understand the SEO/PR’s point of view. No-follow links may sound all good and well, but from their stand point, if it passes no value to their client, then why would they pay you? In my mind it’s just good to strike a balance here.
And as rightfully said in the post, Google Law isn’t THE law. Unless your site is posting about completely off-topic subjects, then it shouldn’t really be an issue that you should worry about. I have seen many spammy sites that get away with it when they really shouldn’t and so Google doesn’t patrol the web as well as they may like to. Maybe just the key thing here is to think about the company asking for a post and make sure it is in keeping with the rest of your blog and is something your readers would benefit from.
Thanks,
Sarah
I think it’s right – spreading fear is a bad thing. But we’re providing people with information and allowing them to make an informed choice. We’re helping bloggers to better understand Google rules about paid for links – and it’s up to each individual how they behave after that.
With respect, though, you are wrong that Google will only penalise sites for using not relevant paid follow links. The three bloggers I know of already who lost their Page Rank this week were all using relevant sponsored posts on their sites.
The key thing here isn’t “Will this be a good fit for my site?”. The key thing here is, “Is this a paid link?”
If it is, and you don’t want to risk losing Page Rank, the link should be no-follow.
Simple as that.
Thank you for the information I have now gone in an amended one post to ‘No follow ‘ links.
Thanks for this Sally, I’d seen so many mentions on twitter in the last few weeks, but honestly not had a clue what it all meant (and hadn’t noticed the “make no-follow” button on the blogger link box).
Thanks for the no nonsense advice. Clearly explains the situation so even a total SEO/blogging lemon like me can understand it! Quite timely too as I just received an email from a PR offering my first sponsored post. I now know exactly what points will be deal breakers. Hurrah for you!
Hi Sally.
Interesting post, I work in digital marketing and the key for Google is not necessarily about follow and no follow links when it comes to penalties, the main key is for any given blog post to be natural, sponsored or not.
With this in mind, it is important to note that in many cases it appears completely unnatural to inconsistently follow then no follow links in a blog post. It depends what you are trying to protect, genuine search rankings or the search credibility of your own blog.
If it’s the former, then anchor text links are decreasing in value, whereas social mentions are more important and no follow links still contain some (admittedly not as much) value for SEO.
If it’s the latter, then this no follow and follow inconsistently shouts to Google, ‘I’m publishing sponsored posts!’ as complying with the guidelines. This will, if done consistently, actually detriment a blogs trust metrics as opposed to naturally, like you would in any post, add a followed link. The issue here is about consistency, either no follow all or none.
Google doesn’t like people sponsoring posts, so if you are very worried (which bloggers should not be, as external linking is natural and enriches the web as a whole) then don’t offer sponsored links. The guidelines are there for it to make it more obvious to Google who is breaking them, so complying to this rule actually can be more detrimental than beneficial long term. The guidelines also say buying links is entirely against them but everybody still does it.
It’s just a case of creating lovely, natural, unique, content, sponsored or not.
Very helpful and informative. Easy to read, too. Thanks very much!
In this article it says if you have found your site to have issues you can contact Google–WHO do you contact?
Thanks,
Cheri
great read, I was struggling a little with all this nofollow and dofollow stuff on my firstAmazon affiliate site
thanks eddy