What do you all think of Linkslist/Directories using the Nofollow tag?
 

What do you think of linkslist/blog directories/trades using the NOFOLLOW tag for all the user submitted links? Basically what this means is that search engines will not look at your link at all based on that particular page. In other words, to the search engines it is as if YOUR LINK DID NOT EXIST ON HIS SITE. For more info on the tag, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nofollow

Should people using these tags without disclosing it to you be considered "cheaters" ? Does anyone know of software which will not only check for te linkback but also check for the nofollow tag not being present?

While you are doing that, you also need to check that search engines haven't been excluded from pages with outgoing links via robots.txt...

I think this was discussed already:
http://www.greenguysboard.com/board/...light=nofollow

Plus it really depends on what your goal is - trading traffic isn't effected by the tag since surfers don't see it when they click on the link :)

Works both ways imho - if you want to put nofollows on links to my freesites, then I should be able to put nofollows on your recips links.

The third way Ive seen recently with a few LLs is they have the robots meta set to noindex,nofollow for category pages - and some that just set the nofollow - of course no one knows the effects on a particular search engine and what they really do when running into any of these three different methods mentioned here despite what they "say" publicly :)

Exactly. In that other thread someone explained what Google intended nofollow to be used for, but it not only quickly got abused among link exchangers, but also for manipulating internal PR distribution. By last summer if not before, the idea was already out there that BigG was now penalizing such abuses.

I played safe and took the tags off, because it is one of those things which isn't hard for a spider to spot and Google aren't big on being manipulated. But whether they have reacted yet, is anyone's guess in reality.

Oh sorry I missed it. You guys can merge it into the other one if you want to.

About trading traffic, well that depends to me. For hard link trades I would be pissed if the person did not disclose the use of nofollow. I have a feeling many here would be too since they seem to make a very big deal about PR. I consider the search engine benefit to be part of the deal unless told otherwise upfront.

Personally any linklist, directory, or trader which uses nofollow is a cheater to me unless they have disclosed so upfront.

I use it on most of the sponsor links on LOR, so it does have some legit uses - but I do hear what you're saying & I guess it'd come down to what you were looking for.

Plus it's not like it's "hidden" - it is an extra step, but just view the source before you set up a trade & see how the current trades are set up.

if i check the ses of google about the links listed on my ll, i see them all, they get listed their with their own title and all, so i dont know what you are talking about but then i dont use any tag for that and all that shit , you submit and i list if by the rules, but i do know what you are talking about, from the time i submitted free sites, alot of things i didnt agree with, but then i choose myself to submit at those places.

The day LL owners start doing that shit in this age where their traffic is way down and they want 2 recips and all the other rules etc, and i can post on pornotube with out building and recips etc and get 10 times more sales, it IMHO is just the nail in the coffin you will only get newbie shit submission with crap content, and I will just say bye bye :) no offence, but if i wont even get an SE benifit to the site after all the hassle and maybe 1 or 2 sales of the initial traffic then i will just stop, i pretty much have i dont submit anywhere, except for 2 or 3 days a month i will do a few freesites in a row, but thats it.

And keep in mind the few people like me who cut original content and rare hot content, not the same BS lesbian teen crap bring you bookmarkers and traffic, if you put a no follow on me i am outta there, dont need you anymore, alexa is not perfect but put in any LL and watch a 5 YR graph, it's time to start working with people not pissing them off or adding new BS rules or you will lose all, you arent the kings you once were, pornotube gets 50 million uniques a day, do a graph with the hun and Pornotube and get the picture of where the web is headed.

PS i dont mean to start a pissing match, just my opinion and a few facts. Take it as you will :)

Picture posts (now virtually unknown), webrings (never really took off in adult), toplists (floundering), directories, TGP's and links lists have been the only serious attempts in online adult to create symbiotic marketing models: ie ones in which the site operator provides an appealing surfer interface and submitters provide content in one form or another.

What they all have in common is that the way they start out is about the best it is going to get for everyone involved.

Surfers love something new, so when a business model is first introduced it attracts visitors. That generates a bandwagon effect among webmasters and the extra exposure they give the new model increases its audience further.

But lacking any attempt to broaden the appeal of the initial incarnation (in fact, quite the opposite), the audience eventually levels off and then declines. But meanwhile competition for that audience grows. Not unreasonably - from their point of view - those providing the surfer interface (eg TGP or links lists operators) want to maintain their income.

If they did this by somehow increasing the appeal of their sites or adding marketing devices which sold more effectively, all might be well. But inevitably their response has been to make it harder for the submitter to sell (the logic being that should make it easier for them to sell). They may also begin charging the submitter and/or monetizing some of the most productive spots on their sites.

How long it takes for these changes to impact depends on several factors. But sooner or later the quality of submissions must decline. As submitters are squeezed, many will drop out of the business entirely or switch to other models. Those who are left will increasingly be beginners and those able to automate (in many cases mass produce) submissions. And of course cheats. The submitter may be closed out of the picture completely (many TGP's).

The end result is that the business model in question suffers because it not only fails to develop and deliver anything new (which alone would cause its popularity to slip, since markets have a thirst for "new"): it actually delivers less of the same.

Some will agree with this analysis, some not. I firmly believe that the only reason the effects are not more obvious is that a) no completely new (legitimate) business model has appeared since the late 90's and b) the biggest operators gained enough momentum early on that they can handle quite an extended decline. I would suggest that the rising popularity of blogs, even though most will fail and to be successful they involve far more work, skills and talent than many can provide, is because so many who would more naturally be submitters (perhaps still are), are seeking alternatives. Many others have started their own TGP's, directories, etc., out of frustration as much as from dreams of empire building, but unfortunately this only speeds the decline by diluting the market further.

No, I can't provide specific answers (and if I could, I would be putting them into practise, not handing them out for free). What I do know is that taking the cake which is handed to you and then fighting over it, is inevitably destructive. For a market to prosper, it must be dynamic, constantly changing and broadening its appeal.

Certainly there are new surfers each year, but they increasingly come from parts of the world we are not yet able to monetize and as a proportion of the total surfing population, they are shrinking. Business models intended for the long-term, must constantly find ways to attract and keep experienced surfers. They cannot be based solely on playing with the income split between interface operator and content provider.

If a link list or other site uses the no follow tag..... We use it on the return link to them.

Hugs,
Danielle

I could see where that would be kind of a drag for the guys getting their freesites listed, but also may be something you would want to do for your links to sponsors.

honestly, i am not sure maybe i am missing something is there an se benifit to a no follow on sponsor links when you have and LL with so many links?? because i know its great when you hit the SE lottery and you refcode comes up #1 for the sponsors site for even a few days, it can be worth an easy 3-500 bux in just 2 -3 days while it lasts, so why block it?? A proven tested page with your refcode and now BW?? Why block it?

Before anyone else gets overly concerned with this "hot topic", can I ask if there are any Link Lists or TGP's or Directories other than http://www.youneedfreeporn.com/ (from the 1st thread, who seems to be running everything thru a tracking script anyway), using the nofollow tag?

Reading these threads, one would think that everyone is using them on every link |huh

Hell, babymaker has convinced me that |skyfall|

:)

Seriously - are there any other sites - especially sites that people have heard of - using it on submitted links?

Very true.

babymaker - using those codes doesnt stop the SEs from listing your links to paysites - it just doesnt follow the links away from your site

The only thing you need for those codes to be picked up is the very first part (the actual code) and the text that you use on the page

Ahh, so there would be an SE benefit, by keeping the SE bot focused inside your site but you would still get the benefit of the SE lottery every now and again on the sponsor link |thumb Nice to know! Thanx!

Never realised that - thanks Linkster :)

As long as its not a hard link trade, I don't care.

The only thing you need for them to be picked up (by Google - behavior depends on the engine and is easy to test) is a link that passes PageRank. Nofollow blocks PageRank and anchor text, so your ref code will never get indexed.