You know that you are not going to be in Google’s good graces if you are in the business of selling links and manipulating search engines. One of the pioneers of the text link selling industry is Text Link Ads (commonly referred to as TLA). I was surprised to see that they were still actively selling links, however it became clear that Google was not happy about this.
Matt Cutts tweeted at the end of May that thousands of websites that had been selling links through TLA had seen a huge drop in PageRank.
Overnight, Text Link Ads effectively became the leper that no one wanted to touch (though you could argue that they were already viewed that way by most website owners). I was not sure how the company would react to all of this. They certainly did not want to tell the world that using their service would result in your PageRank being destroyed.
There is no doubt that their profits have been decimated by all of this. Years ago, many of the top blogs and websites on the internet using Text Link Ads, but the Penquin and Panda updates discouraged most people from doing so. Was this punishment from Google the final nail in the coffin? Apparently, not so. To distance themselves from the Text Link Ads brand, the company has been branded as Media Whiz SEO. They have said that this is because of a new affiliation with Mediz Whiz, though it is clear that they want to move as far away from the Text Link Ads brand as possible.
It seems like it is a change in name only. Media Whiz SEO are still selling advertisers all the options they did before such as inlinks, infographics, and…of course…text links. Yes, it seems that they have not learned their lesson. The page that promotes the text link advertising service even advises advertisers that they can “Choose from a wide range of sites varying in low to high Link Popularity and Domain Authority”.
I am a little confused as to why they would continue to sell text links to people after receiving such a heavy punishment from Google. Perhaps there is still a big market for it, however it seems to be the wrong direction to go. It would make more sense for them to rebrand, admit that the industry has changed (i.e. you cannot sell/buy text links anymore) and then sell legitimate SEO services. They have a huge user base so they would be a position to become one of the largest SEO companies quite quickly.
I do not believe this saga is over yet. I would hope that “Media Whiz SEO” will change their ways and stop offering text link ads for sale, however I won’t be too surprised to see them receive a slap from Google in the future.
Kevin
That’s a good point Josh. You may be right…though Matt Cutts and many top SEO blogs have said that all TLA websites have been punished. You do bring up a good point about how Google would they know. I imagine they found a way to find the script that TLA publishers use.
Kevin
I really doubt that Google would do the work and search their complete database for offers, especially because it all has to be done manually (and there are a few safeguards). Sites that I know which sell links through (formerly) TLA haven’t received anything because they only accept topic relevant sites and have a few ground rules which they follow.
My opinion: Buying links is a partial necessity for specific keywords, as there is no other way to get an acceptable rank without it. Of course this has to be done the right way.
Kevin,
Thanks for writing about MediaWhiz SEO. Unfortunately, your post is riddled with errors and incorrect information. Please allow me to set the record straight. First, MediaWhi SEO (formerly TLA) has been affiliates with MediWhiz since 2006, after it was acquired MediaWhiz. This is not a “new affiliation” as you assert
Second, the rebrand of TLA to MediaWhiz SEO had nothing to do with Google. We don’t make business decisions in response to Google or any external party. the rebrand of TLA to MediaWhiz SEO is part of a comprehensive brand integration initiative at MediaWhiz, as this Search Engine Journal article explains: http://ow.ly/1YDwzr. In addition to creating the MediWhiz SEO brand, we also rebranded our affiliate network and email product under the MediaWhiz brand. This initiative is about strengthening the MediaWhiz brand and creating one distinct identify for all of MediaWhiz’s performance marketing and SEO products and devices.
While I’m sure your post was written with the best intentions, unfortunately, its several critical errors are its lasting impression. If you would like to have all the facts, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
Keith Trivitt
Director, Marketing and Communications
MediaWhiz
Yes, one of my websites earned more than $1k/Year for three years till 2011 when it was hit by Panda, Now I think If I would have given it time and taken the website it another direction, it would still be making 10x of what it used to. Lesson learned, I parted ways with TLA in 2012.
Google is sometimes really weird. :-(
Interesting article, thanks!