The Paid Post Patrol
Lots of moms consider blogging a great way to earn some income. Blogging allows to you to take care of your children ánd make some money.
You can earn money blogging by writing:
- Advertorials
- Sponsored posts + follow link
- Paid product reviews
- As an affiliate
The Paid Post Patrol!
But, there are 3 important players to consider if you want to make money blogging. I like to call them the
Paid Post Patrol
Who is the Paid Post Patrol?
Who is the Paid Post Patrol you may be wondering! I'll tell you:
- Your visitors
- The FTC: Federal Trade Commission
Your visitors |
1. Your visitors
Google is watching you |
2. Google
It's the mighty Google! You can't get around Google. Because it's got the power. Google can actually make or break your blog. It has put companies out of business just by deciding not to list them in the Google search results anymore.
Use no-follow links
To stay on Google good site make sure you use no-follow links in advertorials and affiliate links. A no-follow link is like telling Google: 'Oh mighty Google! I bow before thee. This link means nothing to me! Don't follow it.'
A nofollow link tells Google you're not recommending that site or company.
Oh dear, the company paying wants a follow link
But what if a company pays you for a sponsored post only if you use a follow link? Because they want to improve their pagerank? Let me explain.
A follow link = like a recommendation. You're saying: this is a good company/website. And that's why I'm linking to it.
If your blog has a pagerank of 4. And you link to a company's website, that's a great recommendation for that website. And it will help that website score higher in Google's Search Results.
For example: who would you rather have vouch for you? President Obama or your next door neighbour? Consider President Obama a blog with a pagerank of 10 in this equation. And your next door neighbour a blog with a pagerank of 0.
But Google doesn't want you to post links for payment. They say that's cheating and trying to influence the search results. Which it kind of is. Google has even forbidden it in the Google Webmaster Guidelines.
Unnatural links
If you get caught by Google posting paid links, you can expect a message from your Google Webmaster Tools.The message might be that they've spotted 'unnatural links' on your blog. And they've taken manual action. This is bad!
Because it can mean your blog won't show up anymore in Google search results.
So be aware of the risks if you decide to post follow links.
The FTC |
3. FTC: Federal Trade Commission
The FTC requires that bloggers disclose paid posts. You have to put in a line like 'Sponsored post' or 'I got paid a hundred bucks to say this stuff.'
Summing up
It's fine to make money blogging. But don't forget the Paid Post Patrol!
How does the Paid Post Patrol influence you as a blogger?
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Good reminder. I just realized I forgot to use no follow links with an affiliate post that I published yesterday... I need to go fix!
Stopping by from Sharefest Saturday.
Love how you broke this down! Thanks for sharing. Stopping by from SITS.
Great reminders. I wish companies realized those "follow links" are bad news.
Oh - found you at #SITSblogging
These are all reasons I haven't pursued paid posts. Thanks for sharing your insights.
visiting from Say G'Day
Interesting. I knew that you could get in trouble with the FTC and I am usually good about putting my disclosures on, but not so much with the No Follow links. I've just never understood them and I honestly didn't know that it could get your blog blacklisted. I'll have to be more careful about that in the future! Thanks for the info. #SITSSharefest
I'm glad I could help!
I got that notice from Google about unnatural links. It really woke me up to how I was doing things on my blog - and maybe that's a good thing!
Hi Emma, thanks for leaving a comment! What actions did you take after Google's notice? And how did you resolve this issue?
Great post and <3 your photo for it!!!
My blog is connected to my business website, so I don't have ads or sponsored posts.
Thank you for sharing this with us at Mommy Monday! I have to admit, I forget to make links unfollow :-/ I need to fix that.
I'm with you, I would rather read more content versus ads. However, I totally understand bloggers need to get paid for their work.
XOXO