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Need Help Settling A Link Building Debate

Discussion in 'Link Development' started by jayaic, Apr 6, 2011.

  1. #1
    Quick back story.

    While going over a competitor's back links we noticed a high number of their customers link back to them. Normally we would have passed over this because it's not odd for a customer to link back to a service they use, but here it just seemed higher then normal. So after some investigation we noticed that buried in their customer control panel they were offering a discount to customers who direct linked back to the home page, with some form of their keyword in the link text.

    Now for the debate:

    Some in the offer are saying this is straight buying links because money (in the form of a discount) is being exchanged for a link. Others are thinking that this is completely ok because it is their customer base so their is a valid reason for the link back.

    So what do you think?
     
    jayaic, Apr 6, 2011 IP
  2. 1812

    1812 Active Member

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    #2
    This is a fairly common and widely used practice and acceptable in my opinion. This is not buying links.
     
    1812, Apr 6, 2011 IP
  3. DanAbbamont

    DanAbbamont Guest

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    #3
    It's pretty much the same as buying a link. It's certainly not an editorial link. It's not a particularly dirty trick, but I don't think I'd use it.
     
    DanAbbamont, Apr 6, 2011 IP
  4. saicou

    saicou Peon

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    #4
    this is good practice for ranking higher
     
    saicou, Apr 6, 2011 IP
  5. quiosys

    quiosys Guest

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    #5
    you will need to hire a dedicated person who can build up the database and identify opportunities for links pointing to your website.
     
    quiosys, Apr 7, 2011 IP
  6. adcents

    adcents Peon

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    #6
    It is definitely link buying. I would consider it to be ethical and smart if it works. There are also are draw backs like it lets your competition know who to target. Build a list and market to their customers and offer a big discount to switch. It will weaken your competition and build a larger base for your company.
     
    adcents, Apr 7, 2011 IP
  7. jayaic

    jayaic Active Member Affiliate Manager

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    #7
    Ok, for those who are saying it's link buying, would you consider reporting the competitor to Google? Would it even make a difference/Would Google care?

    This is kind of a second level discussion that is going on with this debate
     
    jayaic, Apr 7, 2011 IP
  8. saqib889

    saqib889 Peon

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    #8
    What kind of business are they in?
     
    saqib889, Apr 7, 2011 IP
  9. jayaic

    jayaic Active Member Affiliate Manager

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    #9
    The business is general multi-platform web hosting
     
    jayaic, Apr 7, 2011 IP
  10. BlackHatMaster5000

    BlackHatMaster5000 Peon

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    #10
    If this practice is not banned then discount or not any legal agreement I make with my client base is between us. My answer is no. This is not buying links as the customer can opt out and this is not a requirement of purchase.
     
    BlackHatMaster5000, Apr 9, 2011 IP