Comments on: Business.com using NoFollow? http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/ Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:50:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Peter Da Vanzo http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-775 Peter Da Vanzo Fri, 07 Jul 2006 22:26:45 +0000 http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-775 Agreed, a link is a link. And what sometimes appear to be paid links - aren't. I also think it is difficult to think of links outside the context of search engines, however I prefer not to use the tag at all - avoids overthinking :) BTW: W3C http://performancing.com/node/3192 Agreed, a link is a link. And what sometimes appear to be paid links - aren’t. I also think it is difficult to think of links outside the context of search engines, however I prefer not to use the tag at all - avoids overthinking :)

BTW: W3C

http://performancing.com/node/3192

]]> By: BDC http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-773 BDC Fri, 07 Jul 2006 17:47:47 +0000 http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-773 Business.com is the leading B2B search engine and directory. We do our best everyday to help small business owners and decision makers solve their most pressing problems by providing them with the best B2B resources on the web. Assuring accuracy and relevance of link resources in our directory is a very important part of pointing our users to the right direction. In order to address some of the questions raised around “no follow” tags, I’ve put together an overview on how the “no follow” tag is being used at Business.com: Featured Listings Clients (Pay-per-click) • Featured Listing clients advertise on Business.com under a pay-per-click advertising model. • We strive to deliver them the most qualified traffic. • These clients DO carry “no follow” tags as one of many methods we use to screen out unqualified search engine bot clicks on our client’s pay-per-click listings. Directory Inclusion • New listings submitted for inclusion in our general directory area are reviewed for accuracy and relevance to specific categories in our directory. • Upon editorial approval, these listings are admitted into the Business.com directory and matched to the appropriate categories by our staff. Directory Inclusion clients are charged $199 per year for listings included in the general directory. • These listings DO NOT utilize “no follow” tags as they have met our rigorous editorial review guidelines and they are not charged on a pay-per-click basis by Business.com. Web Listings / Editorial Links We have thousands of editorial links to online resources in our general directory. These resources have been added over time by our editorial staff because they were considered to be valuable resources in specific subject matters. Checking them for relevance and accuracy is an ongoing process. Editorial listings that have recently been reviewed and approved DO NOT have a “no follow” tag, while those awaiting renewed editorial approval DO have a “no follow” tag. Lane Soelberg Business.com Business.com is the leading B2B search engine and directory. We do our best everyday to help small business owners and decision makers solve their most pressing problems by providing them with the best B2B resources on the web.

Assuring accuracy and relevance of link resources in our directory is a very important part of pointing our users to the right direction. In order to address some of the questions raised around “no follow” tags, I’ve put together an overview on how the “no follow” tag is being used at Business.com:

Featured Listings Clients (Pay-per-click)
• Featured Listing clients advertise on Business.com under a pay-per-click advertising model.
• We strive to deliver them the most qualified traffic.
• These clients DO carry “no follow” tags as one of many methods we use to screen out unqualified search engine bot clicks on our client’s pay-per-click listings.

Directory Inclusion
• New listings submitted for inclusion in our general directory area are reviewed for accuracy and relevance to specific categories in our directory.
• Upon editorial approval, these listings are admitted into the Business.com directory and matched to the appropriate categories by our staff. Directory Inclusion clients are charged $199 per year for listings included in the general directory.
• These listings DO NOT utilize “no follow” tags as they have met our rigorous editorial review guidelines and they are not charged on a pay-per-click basis by Business.com.

Web Listings / Editorial Links
We have thousands of editorial links to online resources in our general directory. These resources have been added over time by our editorial staff because they were considered to be valuable resources in specific subject matters. Checking them for relevance and accuracy is an ongoing process. Editorial listings that have recently been reviewed and approved DO NOT have a “no follow” tag, while those awaiting renewed editorial approval DO have a “no follow” tag.

Lane Soelberg
Business.com

]]> By: Halfdeck http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-769 Halfdeck Fri, 07 Jul 2006 14:35:58 +0000 http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-769 If business.com really nofollowed free listings and left paid ads alone, they need their heads examined. >>Is link a vote? A link is a link. Navigation menu links aren't always "pointers of interest." A banner ad or link to "umdum" - I don't particularly find them all that interesting. Links on a toplist - I see no editorial control or relevance happening there either. A comment RSS link, a login button, or a copyright link - does the terms "point of interest" or "reference" really apply to them? "Entries (RSS)" is just a part of the blog UI. Links are used in many different ways. For us to expect the geeks up at Googleplex to write a code that figures it all out by just scanning a page is like us demanding Google to build a machine that can read minds. >Is there a threat of Google banning you if you don’t use nofollow on any link for which you receive compensation? That wouldn’t be particularly fair. Is kaptcha broken? When Google realizes no one is using nofollow tags, what is it going do -- ban every site on the net? If business.com really nofollowed free listings and left paid ads alone, they need their heads examined.

>>Is link a vote?

A link is a link. Navigation menu links aren’t always “pointers of interest.” A banner ad or link to “umdum” - I don’t particularly find them all that interesting. Links on a toplist - I see no editorial control or relevance happening there either. A comment RSS link, a login button, or a copyright link - does the terms “point of interest” or “reference” really apply to them? “Entries (RSS)” is just a part of the blog UI.

Links are used in many different ways. For us to expect the geeks up at Googleplex to write a code that figures it all out by just scanning a page is like us demanding Google to build a machine that can read minds.

>Is there a threat of Google banning you if you don’t use nofollow on any link for which you receive compensation? That wouldn’t be particularly fair.

Is kaptcha broken? When Google realizes no one is using nofollow tags, what is it going do — ban every site on the net?

]]> By: Peter Da Vanzo http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-761 Peter Da Vanzo Thu, 06 Jul 2006 21:19:26 +0000 http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-761 Loren, not an "abuse", but a curious use all the same, especially as you note the difference between the treatment of various links on the page. I agree with Jill Whalen. "Anytime you have a user that you’d trust, there’s no need to use nofollow links. Nofollow is recommended anywhere that links can’t be vouched for". That's was tags intended use. Halfdeck - thanks for your comments. I'm aware of Matts statements regarding nofollow. Some webmasters don't like nofollow links, which is why, I assume, people are bringing it up in relation to business.com. Is a link a vote? It could be seen that way, but links were never intended to be a vote of confidence, more a pointer of interest. As long as a link is relevant to me, and the context is transparent, then it doesn't bother me if a link is paid, begged for, stolen, awarded, given, cited, or otherwise. Is there a threat of Google banning you if you don't use nofollow on any link for which you receive compensation? That wouldn't be particularly fair. Also, define compensation - is it just cash? How about a favour? How about nepotism? Should such links also be nofollowed? If not, why not? Loren, not an “abuse”, but a curious use all the same, especially as you note the difference between the treatment of various links on the page.

I agree with Jill Whalen. “Anytime you have a user that you’d trust, there’s no need to use nofollow links. Nofollow is recommended anywhere that links can’t be vouched for”. That’s was tags intended use.
Halfdeck - thanks for your comments. I’m aware of Matts statements regarding nofollow. Some webmasters don’t like nofollow links, which is why, I assume, people are bringing it up in relation to business.com.

Is a link a vote? It could be seen that way, but links were never intended to be a vote of confidence, more a pointer of interest. As long as a link is relevant to me, and the context is transparent, then it doesn’t bother me if a link is paid, begged for, stolen, awarded, given, cited, or otherwise.

Is there a threat of Google banning you if you don’t use nofollow on any link for which you receive compensation? That wouldn’t be particularly fair. Also, define compensation - is it just cash? How about a favour? How about nepotism? Should such links also be nofollowed? If not, why not?

]]> By: Halfdeck http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-758 Halfdeck Thu, 06 Jul 2006 15:23:50 +0000 http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-758 >>Wasn’t NoFollow intended for to stop drive-by blog spamming? Peter, Matt Cutts also recommends the use of nofollow when running ads. A 199 bucks a year paid listing on business.com qualifies those links as ads. It's their way of staying 100% Big Daddy compliant. Those index.asp?bdcu= 302 redirect links are also pretty ugly looking - why would business.com want them cluttering up Google's index? Yeah, robots.txt - except Google has a habit of ignoring robots.txt especially if there are enough links pointing to a particular page. I still don't get why people whine about nofollow. It's an option, not a requirement. Any blog can turn off nofollow by activating a plugin. >>Wasn’t NoFollow intended for to stop drive-by blog spamming?

Peter,

Matt Cutts also recommends the use of nofollow when running ads. A 199 bucks a year paid listing on business.com qualifies those links as ads. It’s their way of staying 100% Big Daddy compliant. Those index.asp?bdcu= 302 redirect links are also pretty ugly looking - why would business.com want them cluttering up Google’s index? Yeah, robots.txt - except Google has a habit of ignoring robots.txt especially if there are enough links pointing to a particular page.

I still don’t get why people whine about nofollow. It’s an option, not a requirement. Any blog can turn off nofollow by activating a plugin.

]]> By: Search Engine Journal » Business.com Using No Follow on Listings http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-757 Search Engine Journal » Business.com Using No Follow on Listings Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:38:54 +0000 http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/05/businesscom-using-nofollow/#comment-757 [...] Peter Da Vanzo at V7N points out that this seems to be an abuse of the tag, which was originally intended as a preventive measure against blog spamming. Citing the Google Blog, Peter quotes: “Q:What types of links should get this attribute? A: We encourage you to use the rel=”nofollow” attribute anywhere that users can add links by themselves, including within comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists. Comment areas receive the most attention, but securing every location where someone can add a link is the way to keep spammers at bay” [...] [...] Peter Da Vanzo at V7N points out that this seems to be an abuse of the tag, which was originally intended as a preventive measure against blog spamming. Citing the Google Blog, Peter quotes: “Q:What types of links should get this attribute? A: We encourage you to use the rel=”nofollow” attribute anywhere that users can add links by themselves, including within comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists. Comment areas receive the most attention, but securing every location where someone can add a link is the way to keep spammers at bay” [...]

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