 |
| Stop. Google is watching. (photo credit: OCAL) |
Good friends can harm your blog site.
What you are about to read is a classic case of social networking gone bad, and the scenario is familiar to newbie bloggers.
You've just had your blog site approved on the Adsense program and you're eager to start earning. Soon enough, Google tells you that your site has been banned.
Among the variety of grounds that will merit a ban, there's one crucial variable that you must not overlook: your pals.
A solid support system is advantageous, but too much support can harm your blog site. In the blogosphere, the following well-meaning gestures will do more harm than good. Make sure that your friends avoid:
- Clicking your ads like crazy
Bloggers earn money when readers click on-site advertisements of interest.
However, getting too many clicks from the same IP address (and neighborhood) will alert Google of click fraud which will result to a ban. Your chums will even make things worse when they tell everyone to click your ads for support.
If your pals really want to help you out financially, then have them donate PayPal funds or write you a check.
- Promoting your blog site to everybody everywhere
Promotion drives traffic to your site.
Take note though that spamming your blog site on Facebook, Twitter and forums is an activity that will raise a red flag with Google. Besides, more is not necessarily merrier. Untargeted traffic ups your bounce rate.
Although driving visitors to a new blog site is one of the biggest challenges that writers face, it can be done slowly but surely when your buddies share your blog to the right group of potential readers.
- Sponsoring the costs of link rentals and purchases
According to search engine optimization (SEO) experts, links juice up your page rank.
So, while it's quite sweet for your pals to offer monetary support in that area, be ready to say "No" with a smile. Google frowns on link buying, renting and flirting with link farmers.
Here's a thought: A number of enterprising bloggers have used contests to promote their site. Instead of buying links, why not let your rich supporter sponsor the contest prize?
It's important to educate your friends on how Google works and how they can safely appreciate writers like you. Don't allow social networking gone bad to jeopardize your online presence and Adsense standing.
Frequent ad clicking, spamming and link buying are three Google no-no's that can harm your blog site. Surprisingly, they usually pass off as "good" deeds to unsuspecting and eager-to-assist buddies.
