Today’s post, the currency of hyperlinks, is a guest post from and originally appeared on GaryAndrews.net. Thanks Gary.
Writing about the companies who email bloggers offering cash for links from blogs is long overdue – I regularly get requests from similar companies offering cash for ‘natural’ links in blog posts – and it’s a practice I have no time for, but editorial trustworthiness is only part of the issue.
In fact, the strangest thing about Gawker calling out a rather iffy link-pimping organisation was the lack of mention of SEO in the piece.
Hamilton Nolan is right when he says inserting undisclosed paid for links into blog posts is an unethical betrayal of the readers’ trust (similar to undisclosed advertorial), especially when it’s done without editorial consent. Transparency in linking is, to me, equally as important as other forms of transparency in journalism and blogging.
But, even from as well-read a site as Gawker, a text link will only drive a certain level of traffic. And the traffic is not the issue, mainly, it’s about SEO and attempting to game Google. A link from a trusted or authoritative site as Gawker will push said site higher up search rankings (to put it rather simply).
I’m mildly surprised we haven’t seen more of this sort of thing. Links in online news stories from trusted sites are, in some cases, worth more than the articles themselves. If a website is less than transparent, they have the potential to earn a lot of money from link trading. Hopefully discoveries of this sort will be highlighted regularly to discourage underhand linking.
Linking is also a battle I’ve had in the past to convince other parts of companies or organisations of the importance of linking to relevant content or partner organisations. It’s not just important to credit articles, but it’s also important to link.
To some journalists or other areas of the company, a link may just be that. For those working online, links are an important and valuable tool that carry real currency in their medium. Content may be king, but hyperlinks are kingmakers.
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