Paid Links Definition - When is a text link not a text link?

[glitterball]

So I was contacted directly by a marketing company working on behalf of a multinational seeking to advertise on my site. They asked about banners and the usual offer to write some articles with text links to their client's site. I said no to the text links, but yes to the banner.

However, the banner code that they wanted consisted of a div with a background image and a text link on top of that. I pointed out to them that Google has guidelines about paid links and that I can't put their code on my site without a "nofollow" tag.

They responded by saying that their banner is made up of an image and text and therefore not against any Google guidelines.

I'm presuming that it is against Google's guidelines, but if anyone can confirm this, I would be grateful.

Secondly, should I report this company to Google? They are big and, well, I reckon a very large part of their business is done via their website.

[tedster]

A paid, followed text link is against Google guidelines, even if it's displayed over a background image. Whether to report them or not is up to your personal code of behavior. I'm not personally a fan of reporting anything unless it gets into illegal territory - and paid advertising is certainly not illegal.

[rach251]

Yep, Ted's right. I don't know...if it were me I would insert a nofollow and just let the advertiser know it's the proper procedure for dealing with paid text links. If they give you trouble about it they can just move along.

[gn_wendy]

I would avoid it unless you *need* the revenue... and if you do it, then add the nofollow.

However, that said, it depends on where you are.

I have been looking at the "nordic" and mostly swedish market for some time; since a client is planning an entry there. 20-50% of backlinks from competitive sites are paid text links. almost every online newspaper will sell text links from their sites - and Google doesn't seem to care.
I am urging my client to stay away from those links, because it won't last forever and I do longterm SEO. I have no interest in jeopardizing future traffic, but that is just me.

[Tallon]

However, the banner code that they wanted consisted of a div with a background image and a text link on top of that. I pointed out to them that Google has guidelines about paid links and that I can't put their code on my site without a "nofollow" tag.

Huh, now that's pretty clever IMO...they'll likely find more takers (less experienced webmasters) thinking that they're following Google's guidelines.

If they're willing to be shifty like that at your expense (because it's likely to be your site that's dinged and not theirs), I'd tell them no thanks and don't contact me again for anything.