markd - 5:54 pm on Feb 27, 2013 (gmt 0)

Wow Martinbuster - I didn't expect get so much bile from a Moderator in response to my post! Sorry if it offended you or gave you the wrong impression on the points I was genuinely trying to make and the questions I was asking.

I get the picture about 'no follow' - as you say it's so simple even someone like me can understand it.

<< It's not a "win-win" situation where you get your link, the publisher gets a good article, and the readers get useful content... You can dress it up and call it a win-win situation for everybody but it's still a paid link.>>

Sorry, we'll have to disagree about this. I think it's entirely possible to pay to have your message brought in front of an audience via a media owners' website (or any other channel) AND in doing so provide useful content to the readership. Paying might be about getting the prominence, it's then about what you do with it. It would seem a waste of budget to me to get somebody's ear and not use this opportunity to their and your advantage. That's the win win. It's not all about 'the link', although I know some who may disagree that 'Google is not the internet' these days.

Clearly that's not the ethos behind the Interflora approach but it's certainly one we try to impress on our clients when they consider any kind of marketing and promotion - online or otherwise.