Funny Google PR Fallout: Advertisers Requesting Posties To REMOVE Links.

In the unexpected danger category: If you pay for links, you may find a few link sellers will refuse to remove them even if you ask! Seriously, the Postie Board thread started by SeeKim, a postie, who writes:

I just got an email from an advertiser wanting me to remove a post from September 13.

1. What would be the logic behind that?
2. Can I delete posts, and if so, how old do they need to be?

Why ask to remove the link?

Theoretically, the advertiser was walloped by Google for paid links, and is trying to correct the issue. They are now writing posties asking them to remove posts, as required to get Google to consider re-inclusion in search results.

Will Posties remove the links?

Probably. Few want to screw over their paying customers.

Still, the responses can be a bit funny. Here’s a tongue-in-cheek quip:

“*chuckle* . wonder if they would pay you to remove it Wink”

Ouch! And who is to say it’s entirely unfair?

Here’s a refusal:

[...] the say they don’t want links from blogs anymore. Well………..I’m a tough love bitty, and my post is good and I don’t delete content.

So, I guess if you pay for links in content, you may lose control!

Two other posties suggest additional evil spins on the request:

A funny/evil thing to do would be to change the links to a competitor!

That would be a smarter choice, because if I was an evil competitor, I would nicely start emailing all the posties to get rid of the post of my competitor Twisted Evil

Which prompts at least three Posties to point out that such requests should be funneled through PPP. After all, how is the Postie to verify who is asking them to remove the links?!

Presumably, PPP will figure out a procedure to deal with these novel requests. Who’d a thunk this would happen? :)

2 Responses to “Funny Google PR Fallout: Advertisers Requesting Posties To REMOVE Links.”

  1. Robert MacEwan says:

    Glad I went out with a bang. The PR quagmire has been quite the ass pain.

  2. Karl Erfurt says:

    Hmmm…Google’s crackdown on paid links seems to have had some unexpected but interesting results.

    Another “evil” twist on posties responding to advertiser requests for removal would be changing the advertiser’s original link to your own referral or affiliate link if the content is appropriate enough. Otherwise, the content of the post could be rewritten to suit the audience of whatever program the postie might want to promote.

    I have been tempted to get into the whole Pay Per Post thing both as a postie and an advertiser, but with all of the recent brouhaha over the ethics and treatment of paid links, I’m afraid that it might create more problems than it would solve.

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