Hello, I am about adding hotlink protection code into my .htaccess file but wanted to know it can anyhow affect my SE ranking ? For example it could block Googlebot visits especially for images ? The code is RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://([a-z0-9-]+\.)*.domain.com/*$ [NC] RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ - [NC,F,L]
theres no reason it would affect your rankings, ive used some code similar before and had no probs. Its does however stop spongers dead in their tracks. The only effect related to the SE's you will see is that in the caches images wont be displayed!
Actually you should consider changing the code a bit, so that people who come from images.google.com (google loads your page in a frame) still see the pictures. I don't have the code here right now, but I can check my files when I get home. I also prefer to give them a small gif (won't cost you much BW) with a short message that helps you promote your site.
Did I say short? I meant small. You can limit yourself to 4 colors and get extremely small files. Or you simply make a nice large picture with your url on it if you have enough bandwidth. The small gif should have your url or something like: domain.com/readthis.html where you explain that people can hotlink if they link back. There is a php script floating around somewhere, that does this backlink detection. If someone links to you, they get to see the picture. Tons of possiblities. I am just saying don't waste the potential by just grounding the requiest. The least you can do is have fun (see my signature).
Um. Let me go look for it. I haven't implemented it myself yet, since I want to have fun with those hotlinkers first. I have it bookmarked somewhere. I will be back with the link soon.