Anyone else getting these links on the forum?

Dj_Jestar said:
Is this actually generating clicks, or are you just trying to cheat your way up the search rankings for product names? :p
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Clicks? Nooo it's about generating sales :) Remember a lot of people (guests rather than members) will hit a forum thread while googling for information about products - if they then go off and google a place to buy it we're competing with everyone. Best to get our offer in before they leave.
 
I meant clicks to the shop site via the links in the posts, rather than clicks via Google because of your somewhat dubiously increased search ranking as a result of the countless "link backs" created by the forum links :) :p
 
Dj_Jestar said:
I meant clicks to the shop site via the links in the posts, rather than clicks via Google because of your somewhat dubiously increased search ranking as a result of the countless "link backs" created by the forum links :) :p
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I've no idea but being just one site (and the same domain at that) I'd expect not, no doubt it'll be monitored though as knowing Google it could even work against us!
 
Telescopi said:
Everything is always a work in progress ;)

For the record as per suggestions in this thread we've changed the link style (dotted underline) so it's different to normal links in your posts, disabled it for the life forums, and added the option for registered members to disable it completely (look in your user cp, edit options, thread display options).
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Transparent, common sense approach to ads? What is this? Fairy land?! :D

Seriously, this is exactly how things should be done, well done Tele!
 
Thanks for the addition of the option to disable it. I know that OcUK is a business and needs to make money, but at the end of the day I choose these forums to spend my time at because they don't have too much of the 'bloat/advertisement' that other forums do and I wouldn't want to see it go down hill. So thanks for that option.
 
Telescopi said:
Everything is always a work in progress ;)

For the record as per suggestions in this thread we've changed the link style (dotted underline) so it's different to normal links in your posts, disabled it for the life forums, and added the option for registered members to disable it completely (look in your user cp, edit options, thread display options).
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Yay, perfect, thanks dude. :)
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Telescopi said:
Everything is always a work in progress ;)

For the record as per suggestions in this thread we've changed the link style (dotted underline) so it's different to normal links in your posts, disabled it for the life forums, and added the option for registered members to disable it completely (look in your user cp, edit options, thread display options).
Click to expand...

Didn't expect that. A balanced and measured approach, excellent.
 
OldCoals said:
If they are traditional skimlinks they can generate revenue.
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I hate skimlinks with a vengeance, although what's happening here is nowhere near as bad (*yet*) as at some other forums.

What really annoys me is when they're indistiguishable from regular hyperlinks (take a bow AVForums for instance) - I rarely post at all, anywhere, unless I think (rightly or wrongly) that I might have something helpful to contribute, and if I choose to insert a hyperlink, it's because I want to direct the reader to something useful and relevant. When my posts are effectively hijacked to help third parties pimp their wares, without my having any say in the matter, I do feel like my goodwill has been abused, and it annoys me no end that casual readers might think I'm endorsing a particular product or vendor by deliberately linking to them. At least there's a clear distinction here between advertising links and normal hyperlinks, but it started off that way at AVForums (skimlinks were green, and regular hyperlinks were the normal blue), and now they're all the same.

/edit: somehow missed Telescopi's post and the replies above, so hopefully the above won't happen here in the future.

Needless to say, I'll be expecting a commission payment on any sales arising from people clicking on links in my posts... :p
 
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Spotted this earlier and wondered what was going on!

I absolutely hate having these types of links on forums (and in most cases, where I see them, I never visit again) - so thank you for putting an option in the User CP to disable them.
 
If you want to help people find the products we are talking about a better solution would be to develop a way to share (on social networks) and embed (on this and other forums) store baskets in a way that allows other users to "take" that basket as their own.


P.S I think the links are fine, would be better if it liked to exact products than brands but its a fine attempt.
 
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