Matt cutts says the co-op ad network is bad.

It is enticing to think that way, many people feel safe doing it.

But the truth is it is fairly easy to find out once you strongly suspect someone is using it. There is no big secret, a hand review will do.

 

I'm still not convinced how Google can find out.

 

I can figure it out in 15 seconds, but Google can't. yeah...

 

How do you do it?

 

if i told you i would have to kill you !!

 

If it's because of the .txt file that is needed to store the updated information, you can put it outside the public_html directory, where Google doesn't have access, so I really don't know how it's possible. A list of links doesn't mean the person is part of the Co-Op network.

 

LOL!!!

To calande : it takes Google 0.015 seconds to know. For us mortals it takes 15 minutes, or maybe more(in my case I'm not as efficient as Matteh)

 

They don't need perfect 100% proof, enough suspicion and they just penalize you and move on....just like that.

 

These same comments have been going on since the start of the COOP, just look back through the forum at threads from then.

In the meantime from the first months of the COOP I have had coop ads on most of my sites and never had a problem with my Serps, I point weight to sites and terms that need a boost and usually within a month they are ranking on the first page of Google.

My only problem is that I don't have the weight to take on the real money making terms, for that I need more indexed pages but thats not happening .

 

Matt Cutts, please note ^^^

Yes, and there have been numerous examples of what seemed to be lost rankings during that time, always denied by Coop fans. This is the first official confirmation that those who have warned about Coop links were right all along.

 

Thats not quite right Minstrel, you more than anyone would realise that if someone has their site in the COOP and they lose rankings the first thing they look for is something/someone else to blame. They aren't going to believe that it's bacause the site is a made for adsense site or a site composed of affiliate links, and looking at the sites I see in the COOP that accounts for around 80% of them.

Of all the sites I have had in the coop for the past three years only two have suffered and both of those were Loan sites stuffed with affiliate links.
Thers no way I'm blaming the coop for that, it was my fault but I was pushing boundaries to see how far I could go.
Incidently one of those sites made me over 20k in two months before Google booted it.

I maintain .... use the coop in the manner it was intended and you won't have a problem.

 

True enough. But it works the other way 'round too, so the Coop gets credit it doesn't deserve.

And what IS "the manner it was intended" exactly?

Let's face it: The Coop is and always was a link scheme as Google defines it. No one who uses it ever had any doubt about that. Indeed, that was the reason people used it. It's not and never was an "advertising network". It fully meets the criteria for what Google has always warned people against using.

As I've posted before, I used it on two forums for about 2-3 months approximately three years ago. And yes, I knew it was dodgy but (1) I was curious as to how effective it might really be, and (2) the forums were new at the time and could use a temporary boost if it worked. I saw a small initial benefit on one that didn't last and no effect on the other, and I therefore dumped them on both.

With Google becoming increasingly aggressive with people who mess with or try to mess with their rankings, the scheme is even less defensible than it was in 2004.

 

LOL and that makes you an authority on the subject .... at least I can speak from experience, I have had the coop on my sites for over three years now.
Two to three months, you really gave it a chance .... in the search engine world thats a couple of minutes,

I'm not singling you out mate but the reason I rarely venture onto DP anymore is because of the amount of misinformation posted by people who either don't use the products they are 'experts" on or don't have a clue about the subject they are posting about. So many people post because it makes them feel important .....

Anyone who takes what Matt Cutt's says as gospel should check through his edicts, over time a lot of what he has said has proved to be wrong.

 

Congratulations. And that makes YOU an expert on link schemes? Wait... maybe it does..

Look, as I said above, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the Coop is at best gray hat. It's a walking, talking example of a link scheme. It meets all the criteria for a link scheme. I knew that going in, which is part of the reason I didn't stay in very long. It was an experiment. And that 2-3 months was plenty of time for me to conduct the experiement and get the hell out before it did some real damage. I don't do gray hat or black hat. I don't buy or sell links. And I don't do link schemes.

Care to show me some actual examples of that?

 

I pulled most of my coop stuff during the big scare. But there are a couple subdomain datafeed/webmerge affiliate pages that I had pretty much forgotten about. They just keep getting traffic (including a trickle directly from coop links) and making money...not an incredible amount, but a surprising amount since I've done no link building other than coop. Similar pages where I did pull the coop have completely tanked. Not conclusive of course, they deserved to tank anyway. I feel like I'm "getting away with it" for now on those subdomain pages, but I'm not feeling bold enough to try it again on anything I value.

 

Maybe my quick conclusion of "this is a coop site" wouldn't hold up in court, but it's good enough for me.

All kinds of clues beyond the .txt file

If suspect the site is publishing coop text links, just look for 5 or more text links in a group, often separated by a pipe. refresh the page. Do 5 consecutive links change? If yes, then 99% certain those are coop links. For more certainty look at the sites linked to and see if they have the same characteristics. Some won't since they are just getting the juice, but pretty quickly you will find one that has the telltale signature.


If suspect the site is receiving coop back links Check yahoo backlinks and look for likely coop using sites. Check for 5 text links. If more than 5 refresh page to see if 5 rotate. Check linked sites as above.

I would bet my intuitive immediate response to the look and type of links would spot a coop link publishing site most of the time with no further research. A couple clicks and I'm confirmed.

Of course you could write a script looking for common files, look for files named ad_network_xxx.php etc. or the txt file but yes, those could be tweaked and hidden.

 

What were you experimenting? Whether or not spamming search engines would pay off for you?

 

Well, if it isn't the Pot. if anyone knows about spamming, it would be you. I guess you finally found a thread where you can apply your expertise. Except of course in your case it wasn't an experiment but a way of life...

I wanted to know if engaging in that kind of scheme could actually jump start a new site and how long the effect would last. I answered my questions and got out.

I believe I already said that, Blobmaster, but of course you don't actually read before you type, do you?

 

You are weak, Minstrel. It is what I have always had a problem with when it came to you. DMOZ rejected you as an editor, you spent 4 years badmouthing them. You pretty much are the victim empowered by becoming the leader of victims. Few people know you from back then. I do. I have no respect for you because of it.
Try playing your little game on others. Good luck

 

The coop program can work, you just have to mix it with news feeds and be very careful on how much weight or vaultage you attribute.