This post was originally planned to be a list of suggestions to keep publishers from losing traffic or PageRank from selling advertising. I thought some of these recommendations would tend toward the paranoid side, but with the idea that search engines will only get smarter about discounting paid links.

Well, now it looks like the big G has already decided to crack down on Webmasters selling paid links.

And the suggestions I had planned to avoid penalty have already been nicely summarized.

Our personal take on the whole links debate is this: Do what you want with your website. If you want to sell advertising, go ahead. Google doesn’t control the Internet - though they happen to control the most influential website on the Internet. Google has made it clear that they do not look favorably on websites that apparently sell advertising — particularly the type that hypes an SEO benefit.

Regardless, text link advertising will continue to have significant value for both advertisers and publishers.

You can count on the fact that search engines will be able to better tell paid advertising (and likely devalue the links) in the future. This is where a lot of ad networks are getting into trouble.

Rather than a network, Web Ad Classifieds brings a bit of ‘old school’ back to link building and advertising. Publishers list their advertising opportunities, and advertisers can contact them directly and discreetly on the QT - without having to post on an ad network that could end up hurting either parties.

Why would anyone want to advertise on your website?

If you can’t easily answer that question, then you aren’t ready to sell advertising on it.

There are no set qualifications for selling ads on your site. Generally, if your website has a decent PageRank (4 or better, at least), has been in existence for a few years, and ranks well for specific keyword terms, then your site is probably attractive to advertisers.

Unfortunately, many advertising buyers place too much importance on PageRank. Even if you do not have a very high PR website, your advertising offerings can more than make up for it. Contextual links, fixed banners, ect., can be far more useful to an advertiser than a tiny footer link.

Consider what ad opportunities you will provide. The most common include:

Additional Tips:

Create a rate sheet for prospective advertisers that state what opportunities are available. Be sure to know your website stats (visitors, page views, ect) and have that information available.

When selling banner or button ads, make sure you specify you use standard ad sizes.

Even if your site does not have a large number of visitors, your rankings and niche may make the site an excellent candidate for direct linking.

Selling TOO much advertising on your site can be detrimental to your advertisers, and even your own website rankings. Moderation is key, and every site is different. Try several types of advertising over time, and discover what works best for you!

See also: Refusing An Online Advertising Opportunity

When building backlinks, there are good links, there are better links, and there are authority links. In some cases you can control where and how other websites link back to you. Properly implemented, you can build a stronger link network that will help your search engine rankings and provide more quality traffic.

Below are the basics in creating effective, authoritative backlinks:

Use Proper Anchor Text: The proper anchor text in a link is essential. Rather than linking using your site name as the text, use the desired keyword as the term. This helps build link relevancy between your term and the web page that it links to. And whatever you do, don’t do THIS:

“For more information, visit our website here.”

That gives your website credit for the word “here”. Ugh.

Target Correct Pages: In addition to the proper anchor text, make sure your backlink targets the correct page on your website. If your website sells “Widgets”, use widgets for any link that goes to your website homepage. If you are targeting “Red Widgets”, make sure your link points to the page on your site that focuses on Red Widgets. Generally speaking, make sure each page of your website is ‘thematic’. If you sell both Red and Blue Widgets, make sure you have a separate page for both, and that any links you can control point to those pages properly.

Link From Topical Neighborhoods: Similarly themed pages share backlinks. While you should certainly avoid bad neighborhoods, try to link to and get links from websites and pages that are topically similar. This helps build further link relevancy.

WebAdClassifieds.com categorizes publishers so advertisers can find online advertising opportunities* from thematically relevant sites. Using the tips above, you can make the most of your advertising investment.

* See? That’s an authoritative link! Proper anchor text to the correct page, from a properly topical website.

Update: Checkout deeplinkit.com to create a deep link business and social profile.