This post doesn't include any referral links - if you find it useful and would like to try the Text Link Ads experience yourself please use our referral banner on the sidebar to tell them that AdSense4Dummies sent you.
I haven't talked much about Text Link Ads (TLA) so far other than to announce their recent compatibility with Blogger hosted blogs. TLA works by allowing advertisers to directly purchase link space on websites and blogs. Every site involved in the program is listed in the TLA directory and if an advertiser finds it suits their needs they can purchase a link. Links are priced automatically by TLA based on the traffic, link popularity, Alexa ranking and PageRank of the site. The publisher receives a 50% share of advertising revenue, which is quite a generous amount at TLA prices. Payment is made by either PayPal, where there is no minimum payout, or check, where there is a $25 minimum payout. You can play around with a link price calculator on the TLA site to see what each of your links is worth - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
The actual links are very discreet, looking very similar to any other sidebar link. To receive ads the site needs to be accepted on the TLA program and have a small piece of HTML/feed inserted in the template. The bonus of this is that, unlike other sidebar links, these 'outbounds' can't have a detrimental affect on the site PageRank. Another bonus of TLA is that payment is received simply for displaying ads - the number of clicks, if any, is irrelevant. As a publisher, every time an ad appears in your TLA space you can be confident it's money in the bank already. Any advertising slots unsold remain empty so you aren't giving away free advertising as is the case with most other advertising services.
Click here for proof of Text Link Ads earnings.
TLA also offer a 'feedvertiser' service, whereby ads appear when the site is displayed in feed readers. The payment rates for feedvertising are comparable to those of normal links. Another attractive proposition is the referral program, which most webmasters can participate in even if their site isn't accepted for the main program. If you successfully refer a new publisher or advertiser to the TLA program you receive a $25 bonus.
The main downside to TLA is that it's difficult to attract advertisers amid the vast array of sites to choose from. It's also quite difficult to get accepted into the main program too - you really need a decent amount of traffic (200+ uniques per day), a reasonable Alexa (less than 1 million) and a fair PageRank (PR3 at least). If you don't get accepted they will keep your site on record and review it every month until it does eventually meet the criteria. As I mentioned above, even if you don't make it to the main program the referral program is a very attractive package and will probably make you some cash in the meantime.
If you're not using TLA and have a site that you think is up to scratch, I recommend you give it a go. You really have nothing to loose because ads only appear if they've been paid for. If you've found this article useful and would like to try the TLA experience yourself please use our referral link to tell them that AdSense4Dummies sent you -> Sign up to TLA now
6 comments:
I wish I met the minimum. :(
I heard Google penalizes sites that sell text links and the result your Google Pagerank drops and traffic decreases. What do you think?
Google aren't keen on people selling links because it artificially tips the SERPs in their favour. So you're right.
However, more often than not they are unable to tell just by looking whether a site is selling links or not. Even my banner advertising TLA isn't proof that I actually sell links, is it?
Furthermore, I know sites that are blatantly selling links (by openly advertising) but Google hasn't taken any action against them. I think you have to be really exploiting the system before they hit you hard.
Matt Cutts wrote about this a couple of months back and he confirmed that Google are struggling to automatically detect paid links. They are therefore asking webmasters to report paid links via Google Webmaster Tools.
I'm almost certain this blog's loss of PR was nothing to do with link sales. I think it was because of the name AdSense4Dummies. I have another blog with YouTube in the title that suffered the same fate.
Thanks Tom, Maybe I'll give this a try soon.
I was looking for a review.. thanxx for the review.. i just started my blog some days back and i guess i wont be accepted so soon..
btw nice blog.. first time am adding comments here
Another similar program is Etology. I've been using this service for a few months now and so far I'm quite happy with the results. I haven't had a chance to advertise with this system yet, but as a publisher I love the freedom to sell ad space based on my own prices. Check out this review that I wrote for more info.
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