The ReviewMe reviews just keep coming in for me. This time, it’s Text Link Ads (aff) ordering up a review. If you have been reading my blog for a while, then you already know about this company because I have written about them serveral times already. Text Link Ads accounted for $558.50 of the blog’s $2,790.05 income last month – good enough to be the blog’s second biggest moneymaker.
What is Text Link Ads
Text Link Ads (TLA) are those links you see under “Featured Sites” at the top of the right sidebar on this blog. They are simple little text ads that link a keyword or phase to an advertiser’s site.
Why Text Link Ads?
Advertisers like Text Link Ads because they get search engine love as well as traffic. Unlike other ad networks, the links served by Text Link Ads are full static links without a nofollow tag. TLA is as much a SEO tool as advertising tool.
Publishers like Text Link Ads because the links are non-intrusive and doesn’t look like advertising. If I didn’t add a “Get Featured Here” link, most readers would think they’re just like any other links on this blog.
Many publishers also like TLA’s flat rate monthly pricing. Advertisers buy links on a site for one flat monthly rate. The price is based on a site’s Alexa and Technorati ranking as well as Google PageRank and estimated number of RSS subscribers. The better the numbers, the higher the link price.
Flat rate pricing has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is you know how much you make each month and that offers better budgeting. You are also protected if your site experiences a traffic slowdown. The disadvantage would be you make the same amount if your site received a huge flood of traffic because of a Digg or Slashdot. This is why you should have a mix of ads on your site. While Text Link Ads made nothing extra during my Super Sunday, the other non-flat-priced ads help propel the blog to a $400+ day.
Text Link Ads is good for adding a stable element to your site or blog. It is something I can count on. In addition to offering text links, TLA offers advertising on RSS feeds. These ads are also sold on for flat monthly fee. Text Link Ads is also the owner of ReviewMe.
Payment & Acceptance
Text Link Ads offers much faster payments than other ad networks. Income made this month is paid at the start of next month. Payment can be sent by Check or PayPal. Text Link Ads take 50% of the link price as their fee for getting a link sale. A link on my blog cost $200 per month – $100 goes to me and $100 goes to Text Link Ads. I think the 50% is very high percentage and see it as Text Link Ads’ only downside.
Getting accepted into Text Link Ads maybe a problem for new blogs. You have to build up some traffic and get some decent Alexa and Technorati ranking before TLA will accept you. If TLA rejects your blog, you can still sign up for their affiliate program. Text Link Ads pays $25.00 for any referred visitor that results in a sale or is accepted into their publisher program. So if you do decide to sign up, either as a publisher or advertiser, please do so through my link.
Buy a Link on John Chow dot Com
If you are an advertiser and want to buy a link on my blog, you can do so here. A text ad cost $200 a month, but that link will give you a $100 coupon.