Why write a spam blog
Posted on July 23, 2010Simple plea to the blogosphere - do not make me read thoughtless rubbish, write for people.
I'm on BlogCatalog, which is kind of a strange place. I'm all for a bit of easy traffic, no problem, but it really amazes me just how many pure spam blogs there are out there.
I don't fall over backwards for SEO, I think with time it comes. But I am interested in the machine, how does it all work, how does Google's team think, how can I float to the top in search. I had my old website, frantic-naturalist.com ranking within the 'above the fold' of Google's first page for the term "Naturalist Tours". When I put off starting my own company, I created a kind of directory (in order to keep the SEO for those terms). It worked and I had learned a lot about what does and does not drive both traffic and SEO.
That website needs some help (I'll get around to it, but it requires MS FrontPage to work on it, and I don't even have a good working Windows computer at the moment).
Anyway, to get back on topic, I just got a friend request from a guy on Blogcatalog. He has six blogs (I hope he takes no offense if he reads this… somehow I doubt he looks at any of the blogs of people he friends). Anyway, what makes him the target of my little rant is that he isn't alone, just the latest. I get a friend request or six daily from Blogcatalog. It is a very active community. And so many of them are just like him. Their blogs are just a heap of targeted keywords; pilled in there in a jumbled mass.
Do they make money from blogs like that? I seriously doubt it.
Let me quote you a couple lines:
Land Cruiser is not only an important vector of all-wheel drive, but are very popular among users as well. There are several pests Land Cruiser, where you can get replacement parts for your car without unnecessary delay and anxiety. [ ref ]
Actually, right at the first post (currently) there is this wonderful line:
Always buy a helmet full of racing to protect your head and your face. [ ref ]
The site was called "My Hot Rides" and I just had to see how many cars someone had, who could write a blog about their cars. I think what he means by "mine" is; click enough of his ads, he'll go by himself a car… Okay, that's not so funny, sorry.
If I want to brush up on my SEO knowledge (or if my insomnia is just chronic) I like to visit Matt Cutts' Blog. I want to learn from the source. In this video, which he had on his blog recently, one thing he said jumped out at me. In reference to a site like this, the panel members in this video say "People don't get in love with a site like this, there's no loyalty" (Something like 20 minutes into the talk).
Now, spam is out there and I know it will always be there. I'll win the Nigerian Lottery in my email on a regular basis, people will sell Viagra from my comment section. But what I find amazing is that a site like this takes some work to put up. If you make the effort, and then go and write the content, why, oh why, the "helmet full of racing" or "pests Land Cruiser". Does the owner really think, when they go to Blogcatalog and leave you private messages "Please visit my blog" that you are going to become a loyal fan and create a link to their site if they just write crap???
The video is long, but you really should watch this if you want to participate in the world wide web!
There are how many blogs again - 100 millionish, I don't know what the stats say again. A lot, right?. Just how much of that is just a load of rubbish. I know it is the promise of an income for nothing down. Sit at home, open your Adsense dashboard and watch the dollars tick over as enthusiastic readers click on all your ads over and over.
No, go take a look at people like Ask Dave, people who apparently make a good living from Adsense. I am sure they put hours of work into their websites, probably buy their own domain, perhaps pay for some advertising, and really work hard for the loyalty they get. If a blog like that posted a post with a bunch of gibberish keyword packed nonsense, you would be really amazed. You know when you go to a site like that, you'll read something worth while. That's why he can make some money from it. He (those like him) didn't just sign up for Adsense and then watch their back account become full… Come on, wake up and smell the roses.
Come on, bloggers, write either something you have researched, something you love, something you do for a living, or, if you want to jabber on like I do, at least do it with integrity, be real.
If you are reading this for the first time, I promise, I am an infrequent-ranter. Tomorrow I'll write about kittens…
