Sponsoring Wordpress Themes

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by lordcage, Feb 12, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hello guys,

    I have been purchasing some sponsor links in free Wordpress themes. Do you think this is a good strategy to follow?

    Can I be pennalyzed somehow by Google for doing it in so many WP Templates?

    As I have started purchasing some sponsor links in free WP themes a couple days ago, I don't have this info yet.. But have you any idea on how many backlinks will I get sponsoring an average (not a very good nor very poor) WP theme?
     
    lordcage, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  2. Blogmaster

    Blogmaster Blood Type Dating Affiliate Manager

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    #2
    Why would Google penalize you for that? What is wrong with sponsoring a theme and promoting your site that way?
     
    Blogmaster, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  3. lordcage

    lordcage Active Member

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    #3
    I have purchased , say 10 sponsored links in Wordpress templates.... I could gain so many backlinks at once...

    If each template is downloaded 2000 times (let's say 30% of them would go online), I would gain 10 * 600 backlinks , 6k backlinks at once..

    I actually have no idea on how many backlinks each template can provide
     
    lordcage, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  4. Blogmaster

    Blogmaster Blood Type Dating Affiliate Manager

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    #4
    It doesn't matter, sponsoring wordpress links is not something that Google looks down on.
     
    Blogmaster, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  5. lordcage

    lordcage Active Member

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    #5
    Does anyone have any idea of how many backlinks should I gain, in average, for each sponsored WP theme???

    Considering the theme will be advertised/posted in resource 10 sites or forums..
     
    lordcage, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  6. Gallito

    Gallito Peon

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    #6
    That depends 100% on how popular the themes become, if they are extremely popular than you will get very nice numbers out of it.
     
    Gallito, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  7. rockerdish

    rockerdish Peon

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    #7
    but there is something else of concern too.....many people remove the links that come in templates. so you may not get as much links.
     
    rockerdish, Feb 12, 2008 IP
  8. lordcage

    lordcage Active Member

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    #8
    I don't think so, such new themes come with the footer encrypted.
     
    lordcage, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  9. shyboy

    shyboy Well-Known Member

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    #9
    The number of themes being downloaded today is a fraction of what it used to be a year or two ago. Many good sites have banned sponsored links and the remaining ones do not get that many downloads. You also have a problem now of so many new designers who design the theme and then dont bother to submit them properly. I hate having to chase people up. I paid on time, do what i paid you to do.

    Anyway, i am now not sponsoring themes from unreliable people. The design is only half the job. It needs to be submitted properly also.
     
    shyboy, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  10. lordcage

    lordcage Active Member

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    #10
    Do you have any statistic, or idea, about how many backlinks should you get for each sponsored (and properly submited) theme?
     
    lordcage, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  11. Spider-Man

    Spider-Man Banned

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    #11
    That doesn't stop users using their own version of the footer file;) That's why I would advise anyone if they are designing or sponsoring a wordpress theme - always request that somewhere on the layout there is a 1x1 pixel (or something not very obvious) which is a backlink to your site. Yeah, you won't always get the anchor-text backlink, but 1 backlinks better than no backlinks - this way, the majority of the time the template is used, you gain benefit from it.

    I sponsored a wordpress template around 6 months ago - and so far, with a site I haven't specifically built backlinks for, the site has around ~2600 backlinks from ~180 sites. Not bad for $10, I reckon.
     
    Spider-Man, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  12. gtull1

    gtull1 Guest

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    #12


    Who did you do this sponsorship with? Can you share?

    :)
     
    gtull1, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  13. Spider-Man

    Spider-Man Banned

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    #13
    Try the Buy, Sell, Trade topic - there's guys selling footer links on phpld, wordpress, web templates etc for really good prices. You might at first think with some guys "$50 for one link?!" - but after a few months you'll think "Hey that $50 was certainly worth it!" - The same amount of backlinks you could have generated yourself by submitting to directories is made on its own. Obviously the better looking theme/template, the higher the price you'll pay, as the more people will use it = the more links you get.

    Sometimes a guy's just gotta be lucky. I was. I got bit on the effing hand by one of 20 rare spiders in the world, it modified my genes and now look who I am!

    Good luck. After all - With great power, comes great responsibility.
     
    Spider-Man, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  14. micksss

    micksss Notable Member

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    #14
    Can you recommend any good designers here on DP that really promote their themes? Thanks!
     
    micksss, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  15. Spider-Man

    Spider-Man Banned

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    #15
    Mikey1090 has a few killers for phpLD.

    With regards to wordpress themes, no, I haven't really noticed anyone who is a serial wordpress theme pro that is a well established member of DP.
     
    Spider-Man, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  16. loredan

    loredan Well-Known Member

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    #16
    Sponsoring WP, phpld or any other themes it is certainly a good way to get backlinks to your website.

    The only downside of the story is when sponsoring general themes. If you sponsor a general wp theme for example this might be downloaded and used by anyone on any website. I doubt you will want your website or link to be associated with a porno videos or breast enlargement blog.

    What I would advise is to look for niche themes relevant for your website, If you have a real estate website, try sponsoring a real estate template. This way the backlinks will be related/relevant to your website which is obviously a big plus.

    Thank you
     
    loredan, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  17. cdotech

    cdotech Banned

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    #17
    I recently released a Wordpress Theme for a client here on dp end of last month,
    the wp theme is on the 2nd page already of the most downloaded (zine style) theme in
    such a short span of time.. However, Terra Blue remains to be the most downloaded theme (and so is greenwithenvy, make money blog and more) i have designed for sponsorship.

    These sponsors contact me on a per project basis and I don't have to go through auctions most of the time. I figured it's better to release a theme with only one sponsor (and the sponsor will decide on the number of links they want on the theme). That way, I don't have to wait forever for everyone to pay up before I can release the theme. You as a sponsor, will get all the link juice on the theme. Advantages of Wordpress Sponsorship?? Here's my answer.. Visit my site in my signature.. no promotions no anything, no heavy content but it is PR4. (and i highly doubt google penalize me for that, so much link love)

    IMO, If the footer is presented in a simple way as

    Designed by: and Coded by:

    people don't remove them with or without footer encryption.
     
    cdotech, Feb 13, 2008 IP
  18. Mihaela

    Mihaela Banned

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    #18
    I`ve bought some sponsored links and I have some experience.
    Here are some tips for you when are you going to sponsor a theme:

    1. Think about who is going to use the theme: If you sponsor a bad looking theme that will be used only on small, cheap blogs you will going to lose. Why? Because 1k of backlinks coming from that kind of site will only put you down, wil decrease your Page Rank.

    2. Be sure that theme is a good looking one: If you look on most used themes on internet you see that not "glossy" and "web 2.0 wannabe" themes are in front. No baby, not! Now nice, clean and eye-candy are in power!

    3. Don`t put same anchor text and same URL on all themes: Try to put links to inside pages of your website with different anchor texts. Try to make links more natural. This advice is a general advice.

    4. Look at the theme features: Think that a lot of backlinks are coming from usual bloggers, bloggers that don`t have some internet knowledge. Than try to sponsor only widget ready wordpress theme, try to sponsor good looking theme. And another advice, if you look on theme directories you will find out that most downloaded themes are that with 3 Columns.

    Here on DP are two kind of themes offered to sponsoring:

    - 1: That I will never sponsor: bad looking themes, bad coded themes, uneffective themes. I saw here some people who release a theme 2-3 times, only with some colors changed, here is an example: (1: forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=705187 ) and (2: forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=701998 ). If you see a developer with very good looking themes just please him to keep you updated with latest releases, I`m sure that he/she will be glad to do this).

    - 2: That I want to sponsor: There are only few (I saw 4-5 in a "Sponsor" search). Are themes that I`m open to sponsor, that could really help me. Here are some examples:
    BlackGrey: forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=704177
    Publicizer: forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=704150
    RedCross: forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=698226
    Mentosa: forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=702413

    So, I`m happy if I`ve helped you!
     
    Mihaela, Feb 14, 2008 IP
  19. fabriciogr

    fabriciogr Active Member

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    #19
    could you recommend any theme designer here in DP or elsewhere who does a proper job?

    that would be highly appreciated..

     
    fabriciogr, Feb 16, 2008 IP
  20. chairilmax

    chairilmax Well-Known Member

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    #20
    i need recomendation too...
     
    chairilmax, Feb 16, 2008 IP