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WordPress.com bans PayPerPost, et. al

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief March 16, 2007 · 1 min read

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This I didn’t know until I read a post over at Matt’s blog:

Perhaps rather than trying to find better ways to hide from Google, they should just stop the questionable behaviour in the first place. This is one of the reasons we took an early stance by banning PPP on WordPress.com, and other blog hosts should do the same.

Does this mean they’ll do the same with other similar ad markets like ReviewMe, Text Link Ads, etc? Think so?

But wait, check this trackback to my blog about the ReviewMe affiliate. The support guys from WordPress says “ReviewMe is okay, yes.”

However, an update on that post revealed that they’ve pulled back and disallow any participation with ReviewMe. Interesting twist and turn, huh?

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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41 Comments

Seo · 18 years ago

Google is very bad …

Vienna · 19 years ago

i have a blog at WP.com which have a PR of 6… after i learned that i can earn money from my blogs i realize that the one i have in WP.com is such a waste… i cannot use it to generate some sort of income.

philip · 19 years ago

Google Goes after the Everyday Blogger

http://community.izea.com/blog/2007/11/google-goes-aft.html

Edwin · 19 years ago

What a load of crock – who the hell is WP to decide that?

Probably they own their own network? its their own stuff and they can do what ever they want on it.

and if your a freeloader and whine about it then probably u should start spending at least 1 usd per month to get a decent host and do what ever you want with it.

carl · 19 years ago

Poor hosted blogs, they can’t earn anymore:(

Dexter · 19 years ago

At first this is good that I can post a Reviewme at WordPress Free hosting. But the WP Support group took it out immediately after seeing my post. Anyway they the right to do it since it is a free hosting.

Gwapito.com · 19 years ago

For sure Blogspot allows Google Ads on their users’ pages…

AhmedF · 19 years ago

I’m fully aware that legally it is A-OK – it is theirs to do as they see fit.

But in the grander scheme of things, it isn’t a forum. It isn’t a place to keep focused on one topic of what not. Its a hosting application that supposedly allows you to post whatever you want.

Don’t pull out the ‘scum’ argument – if I wanted your moral superiority, I would have asked for it. Just because you believe in something does not give you the ‘credibility’ to cite that as a reason.

Do I think PPP is crap? Sure.

Regardless, it is moot. Thanks to VC Dan we get the real point – it isn’t a PPP specific thing, it is a ‘no ads’ thing.

VC Dan · 19 years ago

Scoble covered this topic back in November. WordPress.com’s CEO Toni even commented to clarify this isn’t a PayPerPost-specific issue. WP.com doesn’t allow any advertising on their free hosting, unrelated to PPP or SEO. Although I understand their free hosting business model problem, there is a pretty easy solution: rev-share with WP.com bloggers who would like to do some sponsored blogging.

Scoble’s post and Toni’s comment can be found here: http://scobleizer.com/2006/11/10/wordpresscom-doesnt-allow-payperpost-and-other-seo-gaming/#comment-165876

k_e_i_k_u_n_1_7 · 19 years ago

i think its WP’s way of saying “get a real job”

benj · 19 years ago

jhay: but it seems like Google is poised to penalize everyone who uses PPP.

jhay · 19 years ago

Let’s make things clear here, they’re only banning PPP on their own WordPress.com network.

That’s fine as long as they stay off my own site even though I’m a WordPress fan myself. I love them for giving WP to the world, and I think they should stick to that.

benj · 19 years ago

Well if WP bans it due to fears of being banned/penalized by Google, then Google will probably crack down on other sites that has WP – even those outside the network….

*sigh*

Harsh · 19 years ago

@AhmedF – Your free hosts? Your blog platform makers? Who else. :|

Dusty · 19 years ago

I’m pretty sure it’s only the WordPress.com blog network.

benj · 19 years ago

waitaminute, does this only apply to the free WordPress hosted blogs (the name.wordpress.com types) or does it also apply to us?

marhgil · 19 years ago

Ok lang yan, huwag lang gagaya ang Blogspot. :D Sayang din yung kita sa mga yan eh.

Brendan · 19 years ago

WP can decide to do, whatever they want, for their own network.

And there’s a big difference between basic, upfront advertising such as google ads, test-link-ads and PPP type shady cash-for-comment practices that still, imho, have some dubiousness about their nature.