Brent Crouch - My Online Journal

Previous Post For This Project

Most SEO experts will tell you, on site optimization is important, but it is only a small part in determining how your site ranks.  90 - 95% of your rankings are determined by off page factors such as backlinks and anchor text.

I’ve been building backlinks to my project site by networking with related blogs and participating in the comments.  I’ve built some links doing this, but a lot of blogs use the nofollow tag, so there isn’t any “link juice” flowing to my project site.  Reciprocal links no longer have the effect they once did, so how can a new site get good quality links?

There has been a lot of controversy about paid links.  Google a.k.a. “The Paid Links Police” has been openly targeting sites that buy or sell links.  Personally, I’m willing to risk it.

One of the big link brokers is Text Link Ads.  You can choose links from their inventory of sites and pay a monthly fee that ranges from ten dollars to  several hundred dollars.   The problem with this option is once you stop paying, the links disappear.

I think a much better option is paid blog reviews.  There are several brokers that link bloggers with advertisers.  I found Blogvertise the best in terms of selection and price.  I had to be approved as a “Power User” in order to view their inventory of blogs.  Once I submitted my application for”Power User” status, I was approved within 2 hours.

The big advantage of using paid blog reviews versus text link ads is cost.  With most text link ads, you have to pay a monthly fee to keep the link active.  With blog reviews, you pay a one time fee and your link stays active as long as the blog is active.

I was able to pick up reviews for my project site from 9 blogs, including 2 pr6 blogs, for only $44.  In my opinion, $44 for 9 permanent links is a great deal!  These same links would easily cost me $200 - $300 a month from a text link broker.

A piece of advice, if you decide to purchase paid links, then be selective.  Buy links from blogs that are closely related to your site.  Make sure the blog is writing quality reviews and isn’t writing reviews for shady sites like gambling or pornography.

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Tags: blog reviews, blogvertise, paid links, paid reviews, text link ads