Is Yell.com Selling Links?

Apr 14, 2010 - 8:19 am 7 by
Filed Under Link Building

Yesterday we ran a poll on how risky is link buying. Well, the last thing you want is me writing about your site when it sells links. :) Unfortunately, I found an interesting *public* thread at Google Webmaster Help about a big time web site, Yell.com allegedly selling links.

The person who started the thread clearly wanted Google to take notice and he leaded to an example of a page with "sponsored listings" that are links without a nofollow. Take a look for yourself.

If you view the source code, you clearly see that Yell.com understands how the nofollow attribute works. They have it on their printer friendly links and links where they do not want to pass or dilute their PageRank (which we know doesn't work too well anyway). The links doesn't go through any redirect, as far as I can see. So it does seem to be passing PageRank.

But is this a paid link?

It seems like even the free listings are passing PageRank. It also seems like a web directory like approach that can be equated to the Yahoo Directory or Open Directory Project. Kevin in the forums said he doesn't think this is a true paid link, he explained:

When you upgrade a free standard listing by buying a paid listing in Yell you are not buying a link. Having a link to your website on your paid advert is an optional extra - it is not what you are paying for. What you are paying for is extra pominence in Yells directory. You do not pay any extra if you have a link to your site. therefore you are not buying links when you buy a listing in Yell. If you buy a heavyweight listing at Yell and do not have a web site you don't get a discount on the fee because you don't have a link. Therefore you are not buying pagerank or paying to influence your SERP, you are doing nothing except to boost your Yell listing within Yell itself.

Is this a paid link? See, it is not that clear. How risky are paid links? :) Oh and did I just help out a web site? Nah, it is a public thread and does go within our code of ethics.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Follow

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 28, 2024

Mar 28, 2024 - 4:00 pm
Google Ads

Google Ads Suspended 90% More Advertisers This Year & Removed 5.5 Billion Ads

Mar 28, 2024 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Google Updates Its Definition Of Top Ads; They May Not Be At The Top

Mar 28, 2024 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Adds Share Ad Preview For Performance Max

Mar 28, 2024 - 7:31 am
Google

Google Can Search For Your Blockchain Wallet Addresses (Bitcoin & More)

Mar 28, 2024 - 7:21 am
Google Maps

New Google Shopping & Maps Search Features

Mar 28, 2024 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Google Bangladesh Snubs Their Bengali New Year