Affiliate Sites

[jacobwissler]

What do you do when a client walks through the door and offers a considerable sum of money to build and optimize an affiliate site? As part of the optimization process, I would need to link to my client, and this would be suicide, since Google has said that if you link to an affiliate site, you will face a penalty. Is there any way to build and optimize such a site without destroying my business in the process?

[aaron2005]

Pay some loser to link to it?

[djstreet]

Did Google actually say you'd be smokmed if you linked to an affiliate? I thought it was more of a 'if the site is a thin affiliate' it would be penalised, whereas, if the site offered,say, a comparison of multiple affiliates, they wouldn't be penalised.

How google can figure the difference is beyond me.

[jacobwissler]

GoogleGuy said: "Yes we will place a penalty on you if you link to an affiliate site."

I have even seen them place a penalty on sites that were not truly affiliate sites, such as insurance sites that use a database on another site to generate quotes from 5 different, unrelated companies.

[roam_dx]

Where did you hear that?

I have almost 25 clients that use affiliate ads for a major chunk of the website advertising. I have never seen one of them penalised.

I have seen a lot of affiliate sites go down, but being an affiliate has never been the reason for it.

I have a Google Spam Guidlines word document that I got hold of from somewhere. It was given out to the college students Google recruited to manaually check their SERPs.

This document specifically states that only thin affiliates be flagged, affiliates that add value through their website even affiliates of sites like travelnow.com etc are not automatically flagged.

For example new york city guide that had a "book a hotel room" search box from the travelnow affiliate program, you think there is any logical reason Google would penalize a site like that?

[jacobwissler]

I know what I read, I know what Googleguy said, and try to find any other reason why this site has a Page Rank of zero on the index page, that is used to access an external data base for rate quotes, but a PR 4 on all internal pages http://www.ultimatetermquotes.com/

[roam_dx]

jacob, it does look strange, but I've been seeing a lot of weird PR pages since this update started. They've finally fixed msn's PR today, I hope the rest of us should follow sooner or later. I don't think it has anything to do with it being an affiliate site.

On my own web development site that has nothing to do with affiliate marketing and has had a PR of 5 since it was launched 3 years ago, now has a PR 4.

This site never exchanged any links, probably had 5 IBLs till now. I started exchanging links a month ago, maybe 10 links with quality sites, now the homepage and the links page (which I uploaded a month ago) are the same PR4!

GoogleGuy said: "Yes we will place a penalty on you if you link to an affiliate site."

I see that post on WMW, but can't access it as im not a paid member, can you give me more info on what exactly GoogleGuy said there.

Here's a quote from the document which is supposedly issued by Google

We differentiate between affiliates that produce extra service, value, or content, and those that simply are duplicates of other sites, set up to boost traffic to other sites and earn a commission for it. The former ones are not Offensive and should be rated on the merits to the query. The latter ones are Offensive.

They also have cited some very relevant examples there. But, then again, it may not be an official Google document.

[djstreet]

Well if what you say is true, a penalty just for having an affiliate, and I'm right, that I have evidence that shows thin affiliates (only using one affiliate, albeit only on a few shopping pages) not being penalised, then alot of legit sites are going/shoud be/ flushed by google.

Maybe it's a manually thing. Google just picks and chooses.... but i know i'm screwed although I'm not a thin affiliate, if this is the case....

[cbp]

Does anyone have a link to the thread at WMW?

Did GG say affiliate site or affiliated site? - BIG difference.
CBP

[jacobwissler]

I thought it said Affiliate Sites, but my memory is far from perfect.

[roam_dx]

I could read the snippet yesterday in Google...today it's message is blurred as it ends one word too soon...

Yes - if the site you link to has an affiliate link on it of any kind then Google will...

very vague, very Google. posting it for reference, it might be completely removed tomorrow.

Anyone here a paid member at WMW?

[jacobwissler]

I am a paid member of WMW but never use the forum because I can't figure out how it works, not as user friendly as this forum.

[djstreet]

just follow the link and log in :P

what I don't undersatnd, if this is true, that since 1% of all my pages have affiliate links on them, does that mean my entier site will be thrown in the trash?

furthremore, I have evidence to show taht well est. sites, those that were not created post april 2004, get away with being thin affiliates. In fact, they are very very strong in the SERPS.

[jacobwissler]

It is my understanding that the penalty for linking to an affiliate site does not mean you are banned, but rather that your rank in lower than it would be, if you did not link to affiliate sites. The only way to see if this is true would be to remove the links, and see what happens.

[aaron2005]

I have edited this post in direct request by phone removing inappropiate comments and unauthorized usage of purchased photos from another member's site.

Please observe forum rules and copyright laws.

Thanks,
Ken

[aaron2005]

I have edited this (second consecutive)post in direct request by phone removing inappropiate comments and unauthorized usage of purchased photos from another member's site.

Please observe forum rules and copyright laws.

Thanks,
Ken

[jacobwissler]

I purchase my photos from www.corbis.com

[aaron2005]

Come on, that was some funny stuff!

Lighten up and sorry, I will try to be good! ;-)

-Aaron