DigitalPoint Coop Advertising Network

[MikeDammann]

I have to agree with Clasione and everything that he said. I don't participate in the coop because I don't feel 100% comfortable with it. Not as an seo tactic at least. If you name it an advertising network, then that is what it should be.

Shawn will be on top of things and I don't doubt that it will benefit many for a long time to come.

But here is an excerpt from the Google page for webmasters:

Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you’d feel comfortable explaining what you’ve done to a website that competes with you. Another useful test is to ask, ’Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?

I network with many great seo's but every decision I make is my own. I follow search engines and not what is popular amongst seo's, because that can always change.

Whoever feels comfortable with the coop, go for it. But there are many other ways you can get good rankings.

 

[webrover]

i have it on one site...very effective

 

[Kathy]

Sorry this is an old thread I'm bumping up but its the most relevant one I can find on the topic.

Be aware. Google is penalizing sites using this co-op. Severe penalties.

 

[mightyb]

Sorry this is an old thread I'm bumping up but its the most relevant one I can find on the topic.

Be aware. Google is penalizing sites using this co-op. Severe penalties.

Can you explain this further? Have you got any evidence? Iv been using co-op for a year now, pointing up to 100k weight on one of my larger sites. My whole network is using it infact (more than 20 sites) and i only had the positive effects.

 

[aboyd]

Hey mightyb, you should look through the digitalpoint forums itself. They've been talking about the Google fallout for a few months now.

I'll give you the quick summary of what I remember reading. Basically, around the time of the last big Google update (what was it called? just maybe 2 or 3 months ago?), a lot of co-op members dropped in rank. The one thing they all seemed to have in common was running the 5 co-op links at the bottom of their pages. So the conclusion was that having those links was causing badness. Now, what specific part of the links caused trouble, nobody knows. Maybe a site from a "bad neighborhood" joined the network and poisoned the listings. It's possible that Google set up a "honey pot" kind of site, got it listed, and then penalized any site that was discovered with a link to it. Who knows?

However, I think there is another answer. And that is, the Google update. My own sites -- many of which do not run the co-op links at all -- were in complete disarray from the Google update. One day my sites were #4, the next completely gone from the results (according to digitalpoint, I dropped like 9900), then a week later, back on top. Ugh. They ought to call that Google update the "bipolar" update -- it was completely freaked out, and it's still ping-ponging my sites even now.

Personally, I'm so frustrated with Google's inconsistent rankings that I'm probably going to start using the co-op more just because it does seem to bring in traffic, and Google is now impossible to fathom. If Google drops me off the listings, well, that's like last week, and 3 weeks before that, and 2 months ago. You know? Google needs better competition. I'm open to Yahoo & MS & Altavista & Ask and anyone else who can step up.

Oh, wait. Did I get sidetracked? Sorry for the rant.

-Tony

 

[cpvr]

Sorry this is an old thread I'm bumping up but its the most relevant one I can find on the topic.

Be aware. Google is penalizing sites using this co-op. Severe penalties.

Not to be a gravedigger, but what sites have been penalized using the co-op system?

I know of a few sites that have been using it for the past year or two and continue to rank well. My thoughts are simple; I've used the system, removed it, and used it again.

It has worked for some sites and hasn't worked on others, but ya; if you do get penalized its because you rely on the system too much and aren't building links with relevant sites - it will only work if you build links with sites as well. It helps, but not for all.