With text link networks under fire and causing angst among webmasters everywhere, there are still ways for publishers to sell text advertising without relying on networks and with little risk of ‘paid link detection’.

This method works especially web for bloggers, but can apply to content on any website.

The idea: Offer to hyperlink specific phrases within articles or content. Offer permanent content links for a one-time fee. For a small website, you could offer a bundle of links for a set price, such as 5 links for $25 or $50 dollars. For the publisher, it’s easy money with no further commitment. For the advertiser, it provides inexpensive permanent backlinks.

The publisher can offer particular pages or sections that they are willing to backlink, and the advertiser can select what phrases they want linked and where. Sometimes the content may need to be tweaked a bit to get the proper phrasing in place. This can be worked out during the negotiation process.

In many cases, it’s better to sell links from older content that is already backlinked from other outside sources.

The key is that the paid links should be contextual. If an article is about buying commercial real estate, paid link should be a related term, such as ‘commercial real estate’ that links to a website or web page about commercial real estate. It’s better to reject inappropriate advertising than potentially compromise your search engine standings for a few dollars.

Tips: Only sell one or two links per page. Do not repeat the link throughout every instance of the term on a page. Do not employ the same text link phrase sitewide. And most important, make sure the contextual links are in the body of the content.

There are many ways Google can spot paid links. And whether paid links are evil or not is up for debate. Done properly, offering links through the above method is virtually undetectable.

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