Questionable Marketing Tactics By Golf Social Network: Stracka.com
From time to time I like to comment on the internet and different services offered in the world of golf.
About a week ago I happened to notice an ad for a golf social network on PGATour.com. What was interesting was that it was the first golf social network advertising I had seen on the internet. This is smart because PGATour.com offers a targeted demographic to Stracka.com (people who enjoy golf and also use the internet). Note: I wasn’t the only one to notice this link.So, I clicked through to see what it was all about and it was a typical social network geared toward the golf niche. This isn’t too dissimilar to golflink.com and 19thhole.com.
After using some internet ninja techniques, I Google’d Stracka and found something interesting. They are paying bloggers to blog about their service.
Evidence:
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
Exhibit D
Exhibit E
So, you might ask, “how do you know these were all purchased blog posts?” Consider the source: all but one blog could be even related to golf, a sports agent blog. There is even a “BMX” blog that makes a post, a very odd choice for placement. Also, consider the link structure: each post has a link for “A Social Network For Golfers” with the text linked to Stracka. It seems like the authors were directed to post certain links for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes. Also, the obvious: most of the blogs have an advertisement somewhere on their blog stating how you can purchase blog posts.
Why are using services like PayPerPost and ReviewMe questionable? Marshall Kirpatrick writes in this TechCrunch article:
There does not appear to be any requirement that the payment for coverage be disclosed. There is a requirement that PayPerPost.com must approve your post before you are paid. Wow.
Robert Scoble, a prolific blogger and well known internet luminary writes:
Well, if I find out someone is getting compensated for what they are writing and doesn’t disclose that it will earn an immediate unsubscribe from me and will probably get a post questioning everything that blogger wrote.
Why is disclosure so important? Because I, as a reader, need to know about potential conflicts of interest.
None of the articles in the above mentioned exhibits of evidence disclosed that their post was sponsored. This is the biggest problem I have because those bloggers lose any sort of credibility. They shatter their own image. On Stracka’s part, they assume they can pay for branding and SEO. They want to be branded as a social network for golfers and SEO’d the same. Why will this come back to bite them? By participating in these schemes, Stracka loses credibility. Also, Google is cracking down on these link building schemes and their algorithms will adjust to remove any pagerank gained from these links.
So, it is smart for Stracka to use Adwords and PGATour.com for their advertising outlets, but using PayPerPost and ReviewMe is a mistake and my opinion of their organization has gone down.
Recommendation:
Why not get in touch with bloggers in your space and have a conversation with them about your service? Many would probably write about the site for free and you wouldn’t have to worry about future Google spider adjustments. Plus, your credibility increases and your brand grows.
Some people may not be as sensitive to these issues as I am, but I have marketed new web products in the past successfully without spending a dime and retaining all my credibility. Some basic web etiquette needs to be preserved for the consumer and for all the companies out there doing the right thing.
