My beefs with Link-vault

Working fine. Now you just have to choose the domain from the drop down menu and click "display links". Much better this way because if you have a ton of ads you don't have to download all of them everytime.

 

Yup works fine, thanks guys. Also noticed the last few days server seems more responsive. .

 

Server was pretty slow for me just a few minutes ago.

 

Have your checked out BannerShift Link Exchange Network?

This network is smaller but it is steadily growing.

And nobody is choosing links for you. You decide where to place them.
This network has a search engine in the backend.
www.bannershift.com

 

Hmm, looks interesting:

Have you used this network before? Is there a cost after the first 20?

This is actually a good thing if the admins are selecting links for you that are relevant. I have to say I have notice major improvements at LV.

 

I don't have any experience with Link Vault other than seeing all the spam they posted in this forum. I'm surprised that they got much response, and I'm also surprised Shawn let them do it for so long. (if he ever did ban someone I didn't read about it - maybe they stopped on their own).

I was skeptical of them then, and I have to say that this kind of thing seals the deal against them. While there have been scammers and spammers in the DP network, I've seen DP have a quick response to get them out. Server side performance issues resulted in updates to address them as fast as possible. You can argue the effectiveness of the coop network versus some other method until you are blue in the face, but the thing you can't argue is that the DP Coop network is managed and supported extremely well - and that's something that is very hard to find when you are looking for a free service.

Even if you created an exact copy of the network, you can't duplicate the dedication of the admins nor the helpfulness of the community.

 

To be fair, the LV admins didn't spam DP. It was users of the network that wanted to gain referrals.

 

Boy oh boy I can't argue any of the points you make. Shawn is a gr8 guy...not to mention a genius. I too, was surprised that Shawn allowed some of the DP members BLANTANTLY ADVERTISE the LV network as they did. Not to mention any names but some got really carried away with the IN YOUR FACE LV sigs. But then again that's what makes DP what it is...the best forum online for ALL types of webmasters from novice to expert. Let it run...unsensored .

There will always be some that knock the DP COOP. Especially when some Ses appear to be gunning the COOP down. It will come down to your choice as to what is best for you and, of course, nothing personal .

I appreciate what Shawn has done here and really did benefit at one point with DP COOP. But right now it is my choice to move along if that is what I desire to do.

The one important point I want to make is the DP forum is second to none. I really enjoy the feedback, interaction with others, opinions, tech talk and OMG, general chat has been a recent discovery of mine that consumes me . Unless I get banned I will likely remain a DPer for life.

 

Too funny.

 

sounds like you guys have a "man crush" on shawn.

BTW: although all of these link exchanges work on increasing web exposure, LV and DP have major difference that suite themselves to seperate situations.

 

It didn't take long for that red rep to show up in my user control panel.

I love the comment: stop your wide statements on software you have never used.

I don't see any wide statements in my post above. I even prefaced my comment by stating all that my experience with the LV Network is all from spam posted in this forum.

I don't care if people use link vault or click exchange or any other mechanism they can to market their websites. If you can make money or at least pick up some traffic more power to you.

Do I trust linkvault? no. Will I join their network? no. There are several reasons for this - first being the fact that their marketing that I saw was all spam - whether it was affiliates or the admins, and I suspect it was both - but either way I'm not going to go use a service that markets itself that way. The second reason is that there is no indicator that they will grow consistently in the future. The third reason is that there is no indication that if they do grow consistently that they will handle that growth gracefully.

There's no "man crush" going on here, but the guy does his work consistently, he has a dedicated community which he is responsible for building, and there are plenty of people including myself that have picked up great results from his free products. Just because he allows people to speak freely in here, doesn't mean that it's right to dance around in his forum evangelizing a competitive product.

 

come on man, lighten up. Dont take it personaly that there is another product. If you are complaining about spam, how about all the users the have coop links in the sigs?

It is great to hear about new developments in the industry, glad most have an open ear for it. We cannot afford to limit or discredit any product just because of the source of the marketing or development.

As far as i can tell you dont like LV just becaue, there are no hard facts as to why you dont like it.

We all would be interested to hear specific, hard fact as to the benifits and drawbacks of this product offering.

 

And how is the marketing any different than with the CO-OP? Both have affiliate codes that grant the user who referred someone to the network a bonus in either weight or features (or both). I remember when everyone had a co-op referral link in their sig here (I did too). Some people market things differently than others.

There was also no indicator with the co-op that they would grow consistently. They were the only game in town in the past, and people figured they'd give it a try.

As far as handling growth gracefully...I don't see what that has anything to do with...anything. It sounds to me like you really don't know how the network works and are basing what you know of the network on the forum signatures of others. I don't personally use the network anymore because of their hardware issues (and at one point DP would have been in that same boat if it weren't for donations), however I may go back at some point.

 

I am somewhere in the middle of ServerUnion and nevetS

I agree, hence the reason for this post.

Valid points, but there are associated (calculated) risks with any seo tactic we choose to employ. At the end of the day we are talking about 'rotating' vs 'static' links and it's your judgement call.

I agree that some DP members went overboard with "The big bright Red Sigs", but the mods allowed it. I don't think it was intended spam but rather other coop's just trying to get referal bonuses. That's what I enjoy about DP as a community.

No, I am not into hairy asses ServerUnion

 

They're baaaack.

 

I have sites that use co-op and sites that use LV, links seem to increase for both.

The issue I have with any conversation of this sort is when people stay away from the facts of the outcome and lean toward "I just dont like it" with no reason.

What I have found is that when people move away from the facts and stick to opinions, that means that there are no facts to make the choice and personal preference will come into play.

as stated, the first question is if you feel static or rotating links are the best for your SEO strategies...

 

Maybe they know the owners past and they have a bad reputation? Saying they don't like it and moving on would be polite then.

I'm not saying it's true, but it's to be considered.

So let me ask, who is the owner and staff? What sites do they run? Where do they hang out? What nicknames did they use in the past? Can we get a little background?

 

noppid: I have done some research on the faces behind LV. They are very committed to making this work and are constantly updating user CP for the better. There main consultant is 'webby' who I understand is one of the few real SEO masters left on this planet .

The forum names of the main admins are SOX and SENSEI. Both seem willing to listen and grow with their network. Time will tell...results are all that counts. So far I can't find ANY links from them showing using link: command. I joined 11 Apr 2005. LV shows I have over 10,000 static links pointing to me. Their system allows you to see these links so you know they are there. There must be some kind on link sandbox for static links . In any case I am going on my 3rd month of link building with them.

At the end of next month I will assess again. <shrug>

 

That's cool info. Thanks.

 

I use Link-Vault as well and some of the sites you get listed on are on the same domain and just a different page. That doesn't seem right to me. Shouldn't each link pointing to your site come from a different domain for optimal effect?

Otherwise, it is a great service and the more referrals you get the better. Maybe we could setup a link vault exchange between forum members to bost our VAULTAGE.

-Jon