Affbucks Links -Warning if you use forums

Guard Dog · #1 (**permalink**) 09-20-2007, 09:30 AM

AffBucks links (whether purposefully or not) are designed such that the definitely do NOT work in SMF (Simple Machines Forums). The problem is this:

They user: <a title="..." href="...

instead of: <a href="..." title="...

I can only assume that this was a purposeful thing because common html program is that the href is always first

Sad - but I just noticed that the links to Rushmore Casino on some of my sites were viewed a shit-load of times but I have no stats at AffBucks

Who knows how much free traffic I have sent them.

Engineer · #2 (**permalink**) 09-20-2007, 11:52 AM

Thanks for the heads up, Guard Dog.

Affiliate links with SEO'd title tags are counterproductive to the affiliate. Affiliate links with title tags only serve to help the casino rank higher in the serps, which can interfere with your own SEO efforts. The best thing to do is to NOT use title tags with your affiliate links -- just delete them and use only the "href" portion of the link.

Alternately, you could add rel="nofollow" to the link code.

Guard Dog · #3 (**permalink**) 09-20-2007, 11:58 AM

Thanks Engr! I'll definitely be removing any title tags and adding no follow from now on. What a pain!

I think this type of link, though, is a bit more insidious than most. The possibility of free advertisement is probably a lot larger than on SMF forums I would guess. It is a great way for Affibucks to get free advertisement whether or not that was it's intended purpose.