What do you think of free sites linking to a pre-sell FPA

[Head Boy]

This question is really a follow on from a discussion in another thread in the TGP forum.

If all of my out links from a free site go to a pre-sell page rather than to the sponsor (and the sponsor doesn't object), would you be reluctant to list the site?

How would you feel about any changes to that page, assuming that the new page didn't break any rules, and it was monitored by the sponsor?

Here is an example of a pre-sell page, and the sponsor is aware that I use it in this way.
http://www.raven-riley.com/

[MadMax]

Personally, you can use your sponsor links to send surfers to Bob's House Of Ribs and it won't bother me a bit. As long as they're not blind links and there aren't more than allowed, FPA or sponsor tour makes no difference to me.

[dareutwo]

I frown on domain rip offs.
But on a normal free site, if the link isn't blind, have at it!
Doesn't matter to me whether is a sponsor or someplace else.

[Head Boy]

Originally Posted by dareutwo

I frown on domain rip offs.

So do I, and I chose that link quite deliberately so that I could be open about it.

That site is used to promote Jayman's pay site with his knowledge, and I contacted him before using it. It works for the benefit of both of (and RR of course), and it saves him from having to worry about it being abused and losing him sales. RR is converting and rebilling well for me, and I have no intention of risking my account over anything on that site. In any case, that isn't the way I do business. I don't even have j/script on that site anywhere.

[dareutwo]

Originally Posted by Head Boy

So do I, and I chose that link quite deliberately so that I could be open about it.

That's fine with me, as long as they know. Thanks for clearing that up

[swedguy]

What MadMax said. If the 3 links are going to sponsor, FPA, Google or LL. It's up to you. If you have an excessive amount of popups or disable the back button, I might object.

[Greenguy]

You're allowed 3 ads/banners per page - where you send them is up to you

FPA's are good if you have all your links pointing to them & you need to swap out a link for some reason. But they are also bad because it's one more click the surfer has to make to get to the paysite.

[Head Boy]

Originally Posted by Greenguy

But they are also bad because it's one more click the surfer has to make to get to the paysite.

That's the bummer for me - I think the sponsor has probably got better design skills than I have, but as you said there are a few advantages.

One of the reasons I tried it is that it gives an alternative to ccbill code displays without using mouseovers

[Opti]

Originally Posted by Head Boy

That's the bummer for me - I think the sponsor has probably got better design skills than I have, but as you said there are a few advantages.

One of the reasons I tried it is that it gives an alternative to ccbill code displays without using mouseovers

means you are building backlinks for your own domains too! And can run exit consoles if you wish.

That particular domain might confuse the surfer a little though imho.. ie they think they are at the "real" paysite domain... but when they click through the domain changes. I can imagine some surfers being made suspicous by that.

[Head Boy]

What do you think I should do? I'll probably get a slap if I make it too much like the real site.

Actually Jayman is bringing RR over to England for a BBQ in a week or so, so I'll see what they think is the best thing to do. I know I should spend more time on my sites, but I seem to enjoy creating hundreds of crap ones.

The "galleries" on this site are an experiment of mine, and I'm trying to sort out a type of free site derivative for them. When I've got something sensible, I'd like to throw that at the board for comments.
http://www.foursup.com/

[Opti]

Originally Posted by Head Boy

What do you think I should do?



When I've got something sensible, I'd like to throw that at the board for comments.
http://www.foursup.com/

I don't think that issue about confusion is so bad I would worry headboy.. was just mentioning it really.

If Jayman has said it's OK, you would make the most money doing pretty much what you are doing honestly.. have loads of text links leading to the domain using the sponsor site name.. then add some links from exisitng well ranked sites and tweak the keywords on that page until it beats the sponsor site for a search on their name and domain.. kaching, kaching, easy money.

Some people don't seem to care if affiliates do that, but I have heard others say they consider it unreasonable for us to target that traffic too, as the paysite is already going to receive it anyway.

So, personally, I would make very sure the sponsor knows what you are doing before spending too much time on that domain.

I'm raving on too much really. it's not that big a deal most likely.. just go for it if jayman says it's fine, and a bunch of linklists here already said it was good to list.



Is foursup.com something like the TGP2 concept? I've had a couple of domains for years waiting for soemone to make that happen! :p (freesite2.com and .net)

[Head Boy]

It's not related to TGP2, it's not really related to anything I guess. It's initial form was a cluster of 4 interlinked SE pages with a picture on them. The index wasn't really part of the cluster but is there for the surfers that explore the directory content. The pretty net girl gallery was done by a tgp owner, and is a better design than mine. It's 3:30 am here atm, so I'm going to quit, but I'll try to put together a better description for you tomorrow. Freesite2 would be good as a name for the freesite variant if you're happy with it. The four pictures is a minimum as well, hence the fours up name.