Google Spanked Non-Erotically.

Way back in the days of yore, I had a Google page-rank of five, based on posts, links and traffic that I'd damn well earned. Then I tried to monetize that traffic using PayPerPost.

Now, I'd tried using Google AdWords, but after a few tries and a few unexplained account cancellations that seemed to revolve around newsworthy nippleage and/or the odd f-bomb I drop to gain attention, I decided that Google AdWords were incompatible with the blog you see here. You see, I don't write in order to optimize for money and traffic. I write what I write, based on my sources. And PayPerPost is one of my better sources for ideas.

I've found that generally if people are willing to pay you to blog about something - and willing to accept an honest response (the little +/- icon) - then generally if my site qualifies given the keywords I've set up, it might just be the idea I don't have for the day.

That's why my PPP assignments tend to be sporadic. It's this blogger's way of dealing with writer's block.

Well, I was one of many people who's blogs were "spanked" by Google with a drastic, arbitrary and of course economically devastating drop in page-rank, for the sin, apparently of taking money to write particular posts. You know, as opposed for taking a salary or a sponsorship to write entire blogs.

Somehow, apparently, that's more ethical? Or perhaps it's due to the fact that such blogs tend to be entirely acceptable to Google Adwords, since they are already hewing to some form of company line or theme that makes it easy for them to assign keywords. Well, whatever - but while my content may not be all that predictable, it did earn that PR5 honestly.

And of course, Google Pagerank has been a critical number when seeking out sponsorships and putting a value on your display advertising space.

Well, Izea.com has struck back with Izea Page Rank. Here's mine.




The idea, of course, is to compete with Google and Alexa, neither of which are seemingly all that friendly to the individual, entrepreneurial blogger.

It doesn't particularly bother me about Alexa not being all that great for me. It has always favored really high-traffic sites. Google, though, is supposed to go by the ethos of "first, do no evil."

Now having said that, I have not said anything before this because it was absolutely clear why some action of this sort was probably required. Google's search engine was getting cluttered by crappy pages from crappy blogs that exist only to exploit engine traffic.

Of course, the same could be said of AdWords blogs. And it should be. You see, there's little point in buying AdWords if it's going to give you crap traffic. Well, it's hard to know what criteria went into the "spanking," other than the obvious - those of us who were spanked know that we aren't considered suitable for Google.

But just as obviously, there were definitely "civilian casualties," people who take occasional posts, for whatever reason.

And personally, I think that a well-written, contextually appropriate paid post of mine stacks up against an unpaid piece of crap by someone wanting to churn out keyword-filled entries for their AdWords blog.

Yes, Google, Yes; I KNOW there has to be a way to filter out the Make Money Fast people. I also know that it's likely to be imperfect. I'm even willing to take something of a personal hit in order to improve search results. I use the damn things too. But in point of fact, people use Google to find stuff to buy all the freaking time - and posts like mine really do add value to that end of the business.

You, Google, need to get on board, and take a look at the ethical and practical rethinking that Izea is doing over at SocialSpark. The idea kicks ass. Maybe you should, I dunno, share data or something?

Feeding the Beast - making blogging pay without selling your soul.

On the off chance that you noticed at all, it's possible you saw a three month trial of an ad network come and go, followed by the appearance of PayPerPost blogging as an alternate. The practicalities of various revenue schemes - like keyword advertising - require that I focus a great deal of time "optimizing" my content to maximize the exposure of lucrative keywords, or in the case of Google Adwords, agreeing to never talk about Certain Things Which May Scantalize Our Traffic. Then there are the various BlogAd networks - which in practice require an invitation from other boggers and therefore, the implied pressure to conform to a general editorial slant IRT various issues.

And of course, there's the whole traffic thing. In order to make any decent money with any of these schemes, you must have a GREAT deal of traffic. Now, I want a great deal of traffic, but it would be nice if the traffic found something other than a tourist trap, nich wahr? Worse yet, SEO and traffic can become a full time job in themselves, leaving little room for doing what you intended to do in the first place.

That's why I decided to leap on board with PayPerPost, which - oddly enough - pays me to post. And that means I can pick opportunities that appeal to me as a blogger and which will not clash with my blog or conflict with my personal ethics. (You will not see me talking up Payday Loans on this blog... I'm not a big fan of either wholesale or retail usury. )

But I have no problem selling my wordsmithing services when it doesn't require suspension of editorial discretion.

But WAIT! There's MORE!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. There really is more, and this "more" is something that will appeal to a lot of bloggers who might feel iffy about the original issue.

Between application and validation, they came up with a whole new way for me to make money - by creating a simple system where I can negotiate directly with potential advertisers to write about something they feel I would be suited perfectly to speak about.

Now, it's not a unique idea - there are other such firms out this, but PayPerPost does this with lower margins and in a way that ensures the security and satisfaction of both parties.

Where competitors like ReviewMe charge 50-100% markup and keep up to half your money, PPP Direct only charges a 10% fee, 5% of which goes to transaction fees for PayPal and credit card processing.

PPP Direct is in many ways even less of a threat to your journalistic integrity than the ordinary PPP "menu" of opportunities, which is a whole range of offers conditional upon blog rating, google rank, blog platform and so much more. It's quite possible that there will be no opportunity that moves you that will be available to you - though probably there will be tomorrow.

PPP Direct is more - well - direct. It allows your readers the opportunity to get you to talk about the things they KNOW you for. And the PayPerPost code of conduct requires that I clearly label my post as an Advertisement. With other "Adword Optimized" sites, you really cannot be sure how much of the text is there solely to get you to read the advertisement and how much compromise has been made to a blogger's standards in order to keep the dollars rollng in. I doubt that the bloggers themselves know - but the effect is pretty clear in some areas; consider how consistant the voices are from members of "Pajamas Media."

Check out the details here:

Watch the overview video:
One of the best tutorial vids I've seen in some time, with particular emphasis on the negotiation process.

See it live in action
As Andy Beard and a client use the system to work together on the client's SEO needs, and "showing the work" as valuable content while disclosing that he was, indeed, paid. Rather a lot, I hope. Certainly more than the ten bucks I'm getting for writing this.

This is a great opportunity for bloggers with powerful expertise in a niche area to actually be paid for using that expertise while having the safety and security of an escrow-like service that ensures performance and satisfaction. In regard to this, I cannot help but think of the number of times Echidne of the Snakes has performed powerful and insightful rituals dismissing and debunking the fraudulent usages of the Holy Knowledge of Statistics by various Right Wing talking heads, and I will be sending this to her.

Why don't you pass this on to the various bloggers you know who might just benefit, in lieu of hitting that "tip jar" that you (as a statistical entity) almost never fill in any case. And if you'd like to benefit - well just hit that red bar just below this post and the enlightenment will unfold in front of you.

This New Media cannot long sustain it's refreshing independence without some means of paying the rent. This is ethical, transparent, and I think less annoying than blinking context-driven advertisements. Comments are open, please let me know your opinion on the matter.