| LED Digest 2619: Taking Advantage of Hotlinkers |
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The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom http://www.AudetteMedia.com : the LED's Publisher Boutique Internet Marketing: SEO, SEM, Social Media http://www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. April 4, 2008 Issue no. 2619 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Bidding on Trademarked Terms ==-- ~ Lorelle Smith "...there ARE ways to convey what you are selling in an ad without mentioning the forbidden brand name." --== Bandwidth and Spiders ==-- ~ Tom Aman "A spider that is indexing the page content is not likely to actually retrieve the image files." ~ Will Bontrager "HotlinkALARM can embarrass hotlinkers and even turn their hotlinking to your advantage." --== Anti-Spam Company Spamming ==-- ~ Michael Linehan "...unsolicited emailing is the single most reviled advertising medium..." ~ Chris Nielsen "Remember that I consider UCE, UBE, and SPAM to be one in the same." ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Lorelle Smith Subject: Trademark bids Google is the only PPC engine as far as I know that allows bidding on trademarked terms even if it has agreed with the trademark owner not to allow ads to feature the trademarked name. There's no persuading them to make an exception unless you can get a letter granting permission by the trademark owner. Of course, if you are selling something that corrects a deficiency with the brand-name item, permission will not be forthcoming. I once helped a client advertise a special cleaning kit designed to keep a certain brand of printer from being tossed in the garbage prematurely. The manufacturer could sell more printers because of the tendency for their brand's print head to clog and dry up, and it was the only brand with non-user-replaceable print heads. So the landfills are full of these particular printers. (I hope they've cleaned up their act by now!) Yes, there ARE ways to convey what you are selling in an ad without mentioning the forbidden brand name. You just have to be really careful and extremely creative -- and know how to use the various keyword matching options to your advantage. First, set up a negative keyword list to exclude every brand you don't want in the query that triggers your ads. Then you can use all your generic keywords with and without the taboo brand name. You can even bid on just the brand word. If you don't sell any other brand, you will need to write the ad in such a way that it discourages mistaken clicks. You'll still get lots of them. That may be fine if you sell something people might be persuaded to become interested in. (Consult an IP attorney to make sure you have a legal leg to stand on if the trademark owner takes issue with your website or domain name.) You might also try slipping the forbidden brand name into the display URL (example: BestDarnCameraEverMade.com/Kodak/). [Note: Google is now requiring the destination URL go to the same page as the display URL. But it's easy enough to set up a landing page at the same URL.] Keep in mind that you CAN still be sued by the trademark holder for BIDDING on their brand as a keyword. Just because Google allows the practice does not mean it is legal. (Freedom of speech allows you to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater, but you can still be prosecuted for the end result.) Lorelle Smith http://www.PPCsmith.com -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Tom Aman Subject: Spiders > 1. When a search engine spider comes to my > site, does it follow my links to other > sites? - Barb Radisavljevic, LED 2618 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/2033/190/ It may follow links to other sites but that would depend on the spider and how it is programmed. > 2. If so, does its visit to those other > sites actually open the pages, thus > triggering opening the images on my > listings and using bandwidth from my > hosting site? Opening (reading) a page does not automatically trigger the opening of the images on the page, regardless of where they may be. The images are opened when the user agent requests them - basically, a user agent (like your browser) loads a page, parses the content, then requests any other things, like images, that it may need to properly display the page. A spider that is indexing the page content is not likely to actually retrieve the image files since they do not contain any content to be indexed. > 3. When someone is a referring domain to > another site, does that mean some real > person has come from that domain to the > other site from a link -- not just a > spider? Whether or not the request to the other site includes the refering domain depends on whether or not the request includes the referer and that, in turn, depends on how the user agent has been programmed. That is why, if you view the raw log files, you will see some requests that do not include a referer. Some user agents do not included the referer. > 3. Would these links from my site help > tomfolio's ranking with Google and other > search engines? Basically, if it is a natural link, it is more likely to help than to hurt. As for your bandwidth problems, before you switch, make sure you have a good idea of how much you really need. Personal recommendation: I use 1and1.com - their *Home* package at $4.99 a month includes 1,200 GB, more than enough for my own business, while their *Business* package includes 2,500 GB which is probably more than enough for all but a few businesses. One thing I liked about them was that they give the option of using either Linux based hosting or Microsoft (Windows) based hosting. I am in my second year with them and have been happy with their service. Tom Aman http://www.cyberspyder.com -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Will Bontrager Subject: Spiders > I'd like to stop the hotlinking, since I > think it's also stealing some bandwidth. > I'm also changing web site hosts to get > more bandwidth for less money. - Barb Radisavljevic Disclosure: I built HotlinkALARM and I benefit from its sales. Barb, HotlinkALARM from http://hotlinkalarm.com/ can embarrass hotlinkers and maybe even turn their hotlinking to your advantage. It replaces the linked image (or other file) with a substitute you determine. The substitute can be anything you want, including one of low bandwidth requirements. Works pretty good, if I do say so myself. Will Bontrager -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Michael Linehan Subject: Anti spam > But I do not consider a UCE email directed > to some potential specific need that I > might have, usually as a result of someone > actually viewing my site and seeing the > need, to be SPAM. - Tom Aman, LED 2618 Well, if they really did, let them phone you, or send you a letter. Because of the medium, it requires basically no effort to contact millions of people. Remember, at one point, it was all called spam. UCE is a more modern term. UCE, in my opinion, is just a sugar-coated name that attempts to make certain kinds of spam OK. (Shades of 1984 doublespeak.) I've been on the Web since literally one month after it came into being. In all that time, I have never received a single unsolicited email about a product or service I cared about. But even if I had, I'll take the risk of missing one potentially useful ad as an excellent price to pay for eliminating thousands or tens of thousands of unwanted emails. Discussions of fine distinctions in definition of spam/UCE/UBE aside, unsolicited emailing is the single most reviled advertising medium, on or off the Internet. Michael Linehan, Marketing Alchemy www.marketing-alchemy.com -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Chris Nielsen Subject: Anti-spam > The problem with regarding all UCE as SPAM > is that it makes it impossible for anyone > to directly alert anyone else to a product > / service that may be of use to them. > As a concrete example Chris, if I send you > an email telling you that, in a sample test > of your site (304 links tested), 4 broken > links where found and that I have a product > to help you find these and also offer a > service to do the testing for you, if you > prefer, I agree that is UCE, but is it > SPAM? - Tom Aman It's only a problem for spammers. Remember that I consider UCE, UBE, and SPAM to be one in the same. If you think there is a difference, then contact your ISP and see what they say. All I know is that most ISPs respond to my reports and while the spammer's account may not be closed, they are contacted by the ISP and the spam stops. As far as your concrete example goes, yes it is both UCE and SPAM. One test is simple: What is your motivation for sending such an email? Is it to rid the world of link rot, or sell a product? Perhaps it's both? It's still spam. I don't want you knocking on my door and I don't want you in my inbox. I actually did the very thing you mention about 6 years ago in connection with starting my SEO business. I analyzed the sites of potential clients and wrote to them about the problems on their site and how I could help them. I was really lucky I didn't get reported and have my account closed. Most people didn't respond at all, and the few that did were angry and offended. And while it hurt a lot, I didn't blame them one bit. Thanks, Chris Nielsen (c) Copyright 1995-2008 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Practice is everything." - Periander |
