January 4, 2008
But what about Google?
My friend Evelyn, who blogs at Homespun Honolulu, recently signed on with PayPerPost and has done a few sponsored posts. Some of her readers think she’s made a mistake and have shared their opinions with her. What follows started as a comment to her post on the topic, but I have a lot to say so I’ve decided to do it here instead.
Guess what, folks? There’s life after Google. Yes they took away my PR4 because I do sponsored posts for PayPerPost. I have more traffic, more regular readers and have continued to make money on my blog at the same rate since the Google slap. My readers don’t come to skeet’s stuff because of my page rank or lack thereof. They come because they like to read what I like to write. I’m a small-time blogger with no niche, yet my traffic remains healthy despite my loss of Google status. Take a look at the Awstats numbers below for the first four days of January and you’ll see that I’m alive and well. Advertisers know this, too. They are seeing that Google PageRank is not a worthy measure of a blog’s value because it is given and taken so arbitrarily. The recent Googlespank was not applied evenly and across the board, but rather in a manner that smacks of a desire to quash competition. You are mistaken if you think that Google has deindexed those of us who do PayPerPost. I still get the same traffic from Google searches every day. My blog is still positioned exactly as it was for relevant search terms. Advertisers know this and know that there is still value in paying me for placement of their content. We’ve also always had a strong base of advertisers who are not looking for an SEO boost when they sponsor our posts. They are looking for visibility, buzz, WOM - that hasn’t changed.
If retaining your PR is your primary concern then I certainly wouldn’t recommend signing on with PayPerPost, at least not until Social Spark is introduced later this month. With SocialSpark advertiser links will be no-followed, satisfying Google’s terms and letting bloggers avoid Google penalty. Some bloggers have chosen to remove advertisers’ links from their older sponsored posts and have applied to Google for reinstatement of their PR. This also removes the threat of deindexing. I won’t knock anyone who chooses to do that, but I choose not to for a simple reason: I don’t blog for Google. I blog for me and my readers. If an advertiser asks me to remove their links I’ll do it as a courtesy to them, but otherwise, no. Google doesn’t own my blog.
The threat of deindexing does still exist. Matt Cutts (Google’s most web-present mouthpiece) and Ted Murphy (CEO of PPP) have had discussions and exchanged emails about Google’s stance. Perhaps there will be peace between the two. Perhaps not. {{{{shrug}}}} The world will go on, regardless.
Yes, there are spammy blogs that are filled with nothing but rubbish in order to provide a platform for sponsored posts. If you think all blogs that do sponsored posts fit that description, you’re wrong. A lot of us have fallen into the trap of finding the money too enticing and have spammed up our blogs in a fever of sponsored posting. Most of us who did soon realized that our blogs were more important than the money and scaled back significantly. I now probably average six or eight sponsored posts a month and I’m selective about the opportunities I choose to post. Good bloggers will post relevant content and will seek out items that they think will interest their readers, whether they’re being paid or not. There are a lot of good blogs and good bloggers associated with sponsored posting. Don’t paint everyone with the same brush.
The content of a blog is the personal choice of the blogger. If you honestly believe that the non-sponsored content is no longer of interest to you because the blogger has chosen to do some sponsored posting, so be it. Move on. Their blogs won’t implode because you’ve chosen not to read them. Be aware, though, that you may be tossing the baby out with the bath water. No only have you cut yourself off from a source of good original content, you may have also deprived yourself of products, sites and services that are sponsored on that blog. Yes, there are actually readers who find our sponsored posts of interest and occasionally follow the links to one of our sponsors’ sites. It’s not required, but it happens quite frequently. Who’d have thought it?
I was pleased to see that Evelyn’s comment thread has remained civilized. Some of her readers have dissenting opinions and and have expressed them, but they’ve avoided name-calling and chest-thumping. You’re invited to engage yourselves in like manner on my blog. I find feeback from my readers to be one of the most satisfying aspects of blogging and I value your input. You don’t have to agree with me, but I do insist that you play nice. 
Technorati Tags: blogging, Google, page rank, PayPerPost, sponsored posts
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January 4th, 2008 at 4:20 pm, Evelyn Says:
Thank you, Skeet, for your post response and for sharing the links with everyone! I think it will be most helpful for others to see that the lines of communication are open between the two “opposing” factions and that they’ve found a work around that is satisfactory to all.
January 4th, 2008 at 6:44 pm, pelf Says:
“Don’t paint everyone with the same brush.”
I love that, skeet!
I have stopped writing sponsored posts (if you haven’t noticed it) because I found that the opportunities rarely met what I wanted for my blog. I check out PPP once a fortnight to check out on things that could benefit my readers, but I am always greeted with dating sites that I have no intention of writing.
I would love to write about (online) services but those opportunities don’t drop from the sky. That’s why I haven’t written any sponsored post in a few months
January 4th, 2008 at 8:43 pm, Tina Kubala Says:
I’m in good company with the folks that lost PR in the Smackdown. I’d rather be with my Postie pals making a little money and having so much fun, then have G’s blessing anyway.
January 5th, 2008 at 8:01 am, Flo Says:
Well said Skeet!! I cut back on my paid posting well before the Google smackdown. Quite honestly I didn’t care about PR before paid posting and I don’t care about it now. My readers are generally people I share common interests with and that’s how I like it. I am just not concerned about traffic and PR and all that other nonsense. If I can do a paid post now and then and make a little extra cash, that’s great. If I can’t, life goes on. I blog because I want to and I write about things that interest me, paid or not. If Google chooses to play god and penalize me, have fun Google. It affects me not at all.
January 5th, 2008 at 4:37 pm, Andrea Says:
Thanks for all that info! I’m always wondering about this PR thing - google gave me a 0 rank of course because I had been doing a lot of sponsored posts - but we need the money, so I’m not about to stop doing them just for google. HOWEVER, since my PR went way down - the amount of sponsored ads that PPP lets me do went way down too - they view my blog as having a zero page rank now too - even though according to my stats and the amount of sites linked to my blog - everything is on the rise! I don’t get that…if my stats are rising, why did PPP cut me down to a zero page rank and give me pretty much no ads to do after this whole google thing? Sigh. Oh well…at least I still get one here and there - this is the first I’ve heard of this Social Spark thing though - sounds much better!
January 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pm, Misty Dawn Says:
I’m one of the ones who lost my PR. I now have hardly any opportunities available to me through the paid blogging companies. I continue to write from my heart, and I hope that, soon, I will again start getting paid opportunities. My traffic and faithful readers/subscribers continue to rise, but, I have to admit that I have taken a major hit in the paid blogging department and I’m rather depressed about it, because if things do not change, I will have some major rethinking to do about the way I can earn an income. Since I truly love doing what I have been doing for the past few months, I am sincerely depressed and stressed out about these recent events. I have gone from a major ‘high’ to feeling like I have now fallen and hit hard.
January 6th, 2008 at 9:27 pm, skeet Says:
I think we have reason to hope, Evelyn, that the two sides will find a happy meeting place eventually. Mahalo for inspiring me with your words!
January 6th, 2008 at 9:35 pm, skeet Says:
I’ve thought of your Giving Hands, Pelf, when I’ve seen some of the really good opps for various charities. There have been quite a few “green” opps, too, that would flow well with your environmental platform. But you’re right - other than those, I can’t think of many that would fit your niche blogs. I think it’s really important to NOT take opps that don’t fit with the natural content of the blog, so I’m with you on that. Making money is good, but not at the expense of what we’ve built up.
January 6th, 2008 at 9:38 pm, skeet Says:
Agree, Tina. I don’t put others down for going into a panic and doing what Google dictates, but it’s not something I’ll do. it was never “our” PR anyway - it’s always been theirs. Oh, well!
January 6th, 2008 at 9:44 pm, skeet Says:
Good attitude, Flo. I’ll admit I was really excited when Google first ranked me with a PR4 - there’s a “party post” in my archives celebrating that day. I was still a fairly new blogger then. Somewhere along the line, though, the blog itself became much more important to me than stats and the money generated by sponsored posts. You and I probably won’t get rich blogging, but I’ll bet we’re a lot more satisfied with life than the folks having palpitations over the Googlesmack and lack of opps.
January 6th, 2008 at 9:52 pm, skeet Says:
It wasn’t PPP who took your PageRank, Andrea. It’s a Google ranking and it’s Google who changed the way it’s computed. Follow the link in my post to learn more about Social Spark. There are other posts on the PPP blog that address different aspects of the changes that are coming. You might also want to check out the message boards where we all get together and discuss these things.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:02 pm, skeet Says:
It’s been difficult to see available opps dry up, Misty Dawn. I’m convinced we’ll have a lot more available once the advertisers have a better understanding of RealRank. I like the extra money I can make through sponsored posts, but let’s face it - it’s not going to be a major source of income for most of us. If you’re counting on online income to pay the bills you need to diversify, kwim?
January 7th, 2008 at 3:10 am, pelf Says:
But skeet, my Giving Hands isn’t registered with PPP. Only my personal blog is
January 7th, 2008 at 5:16 am, Lynne Says:
I think the Googlesmack happened at a tough time of year for everyone too. The holidays, when we all would like to have a little extra to spend. Unfortuanately, that’s also when when ops tend to be more limited. Many people have linked the two things together. While I think a small percentage of the reduction in ops may have come for the PR smack, December is a slow time for advertisers anyway. January has been a huge improvement all ready. Yes, I too was smacked to a zero, but I look to build readership, not PR. I think PPP is a good company who treats their posties well. We will all come through this shining, except for perhaps Google, who may be in for the fight of their life.
January 7th, 2008 at 11:45 pm, skeet Says:
Lynn, I think we’ll be fine, too. The downturn around the holidays is a natural event. Things should continue to pick up now, and once RealRank is more widely accepted I think we’ll see an increase in available opps. Patience is the toughest virtue to grab ahold of, though, isn’t it?
January 8th, 2008 at 2:24 pm, Chelle Says:
I like you blog just the way it is. You write well and clearly. I’m working to improve my writing, but I don’t consider myself a bad writer either.
Personally, I enjoy blogging for myself. I like reading people who enjoy blogging for themselves. It’s a way to share yourself with the world. Google doesn’t care or know that I exist and that’s ok with me, too.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:23 pm, skeet Says:
Aw, mahalo Chelle! I’ve always had various outlets for writing, but it’s only since I started blogging that I’ve had other people acutally reading what I write. Besides the sheer joy of opening up and sharing my mind, I think it’s also helped to make me a better writer, because I care about how people react to what I write so I work harder at it. And you’re right - we’ll all get along just fine without Google.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:14 pm, Tammie Says:
Bravo, Skeet — well said! I was bummed to lose my PR like everyone else, but there are so many things that are so much more important. And I agree that things will soon get better.