payed text links caught by google

I have always wondered how google catches people with payed text links? Is it against their "terms" to sell links?

How do they know that other companies aren't trying to sabotage a competitor by buying links in there name?

Does anyone have information relating to this topic about google/ yahoo/ all search engines?

 

The truth is, that they can't catch nobody. It's probably just to fright off some people

 

I think they only catch the big guys that announce it on their site.

 

Matt Cutts said on his blog they use algorithmic techniques. Here are some examples of text link displays they detect as being paid.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/how-to-report-paid-links/

 

Well I mean if a person wanted to they could totally try to sabotage a competitor. And I was also thinking that maybe there search spiders targeted threads "for example".. from the dp link sales forum. I was thinking that maybe they looked at posts that had selling link in the text or what ever and checked for website names in the sig and/or the person website in there profile. But than I thought... people don't always put there websites that they own in their profile.

So i'm just honestly trying to figure out how they catch people... and how the "caught" people know if they have been "caught".

 

cant you just buy a link of a higher pr page than yours and make it look like a link exchange?

 

Yeah see i just don't understand how they can catch/ know what a payed link is.

 

me either o mean if you know someone with pr6 and u buy a link from them but also link back to them wont google just see that as a link exchange?

 

It's unlikely the will ever apply a negative to paid links for that reason, they will just nullify the positive effects of the link ie, internally it will be rendered just like a Nofollow.

 

I take it you missed their guideline on link exchange schemes?

 

You can report paid links as well.

 

Sorry but that made me laugh coming from someone with an Avatar advertising high PR links, and offering 3 signature links for sale.

Another thing you can do is just beat them in the SERP's with good solid SEO and feel proud. I'm page 2 (#19) for the term "SEO" and beating SEOmoz, seroundtable, seo-watch and a bunch of industry leaders and if i done that by reporting people i'd feel like shit and not a SEO or Webmaster.

 

If caught, the penalty for the seller would be to delist their site from the index. The buyer wouldn't be penalized directly, but would lose the PR juice from the link, so their money would be wasted except for the possible traffic.

 

Interesting topic.
Someone contacted me just the other day and wanted to purchase text links on 2 pages of a site I'm still developing- but it is live currently.
Hey- it DID make me a quick $50.
Am I realistically at risk??

 

Google seems very serious and tell us through video, document, gadget.

 

Not possible. When Google detects paid links, they nullify the PR value of those links. It's a filter, not a penalty. So all a competitor can do is buy some free advertising for you. It won't help your PR but it won't hurt you either.

Yeah, you guys keep believing that if you want to...

That would only be true in the case of blatant PageRank selling, i.e., advertising the PR vaklue of buying links from you. Selling links per se is a legitimate advertising business and it's highly unlikely for many reasons that Google would delist any site for selling advertising.

Yes, exactly.

 

If I were google, I'd notice the links would be gone after a month or two months (depending on how long the links would be on your page).

Yeah, I'd flame you both. That's how G would think.

 

and the people who use the big guy's widgets or codes. If you have text-link-ad code on your blog, you think its difficult to track for google?

 

i do not belive it is automated algorithmic techniques. it is definetly manual.