Legal and ethical considerations

I have a plan, but, can webmasters do this?

[fearlessrick]

Here's my concept. I've been trying to sell ads or even full pages in a local (geo) directory in my city, but the resistance level is very high and business owners are difficult to convince. Besides, what I could charge for advertising is pretty low.

So, I came up with an idea. How about a site that is just my opinion of places in my city, surrounded by - you guessed it - Adsense ads. I have a catchy domain name and I've done some limited testing. Generally, the legal and ethical part comes down like this. I would grab the logo and some info from a local business, let's call it georgeshonda dot com, write a quick review, format it nicely and call the page mydomain / georgeshonda dot php. Of course, it would link to the target site.

The testing I've done shows that my page gets indexed by Google pretty quickly and on the first page of results, sometimes even ahead of the actual business in question's web site. Why? Well, simply because most business owners aren't paying much attention to their websites, they're sloppily written, with poor SEO technique. My simple "review" gives them more exposure, plus I should be able to earn a decent buck off the ads without having to schlep all over town trying to sell the ads to people who haven't gotten a clue about the web.

So, is this doable, ethical, do I cross some legal boundary? I think if it takes off, it would be an easy way for frustrated writers (like me) to sit home, write about things in their community they know about and make money.

My next question is whether I should become an AdWords rep?

The thoughts and opinions of this august body of intelligent webmasters will be greatly appreciated.

[LifeinAsia]

I got to the part about using their logo without permission and got too flooded with red flags to continue past that point. :)

[nomis5]

I'm from the UK and in my market I have done similar (I think) to your proposal. Let's say the subject is widgets, I have a site full of widget information. What I did was go out to some of those widget sellers, review their widget selling premises and write a review of them.

The eCPM on those pages is consistently above the average site eCPM. The other great thing about reveiwing widget sites in my case, is they involve me in expending car mileage. I make a profit on that. And at the widget site they often have a cafe which, of course, need to be reviewed (a tax free meal). And finally, I enjoy going to those widget premises, it's my hobby. No, it's not restaurants or pubs, but they are next in line!

Keep the focus local, and it's a winning idea.

[fearlessrick]

Thanks, nomis. I count that as a positive.

As for Lifein Asia's comment:

I got to the part about using their logo without permission and got too flooded with red flags to continue past that point. :)

I certainly understand, and have put myself in the business' shoes. Somebody, without my knowledge, reveiws my store, is generally favorable, supplies a link and uses my logo. Hmmm, well, the link is worthwhile and the review is OK, and my logo? I wish more people would put it on their sites and link to me.

If somebody complains, I'll gladly take down the logo and maybe rewrite the review a bit, not that I'm snarky or anythng, but hey, free is free.

[MyNewPC]

Using someone else's logo without their permission is a violation of AdSense Program Policies. Why wait until someone complains? By agreeing to the Terms & Conditions, you've said you won't do it.

[fearlessrick]

MyNewPC: Well, there you go. I suppose getting permission wouldn't be out of the eqaution, or, no logo. Thanks.

[buckworks]

Search engine spiders don't look at logos in any case, extra images slow down the page load, and doing without the logo would make your reviews appear less like paid ads (which they're not).

Feed spiders and users lots of intelligent commentary, but let the ads you want users to click have the most visual "pop" on your pages. Keep a light hand with the ads, don't get greedy and pack too many on the page.

[swa66]

Why not -once written- sen d the URL to the owner of the place
- offer him/her to give you permission to include their logo
- offer him/her to give you permission to let you take some pictures of their place
- offer him/her the opportunity to buy a premium sponsored link (they'll not want it perhaps at first, till they perhaps realize you could bring them more business than they can themselves)
- offer them a PPC deal on a contact form (with a max cap so they can feel comfy it'll not cost and arm and a leg)
- offer him/her a link to book a whatever-they-offer through your site

Also web2.0: Make it somewhat interactive with your visitors, you want them to come back. Put yourself in their shoes and think what they want!

[fearlessrick]

swa66, all that extra work is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I surely understand the marketing aspect, but I've found resistance to be very high and, working solo, time is a premium. My approach is to just write the reviews and let them contact me if they feel compelled.

[dibbern2]

I've had something of the sort for two years. That approach is a weak -but steady- 3rd in revenue of the three topics I do business in.

I agree with you 100% in that you can't go chasing every marketing opportunity when you have so many hours to invest; you have to choose the best paying routes that take the least amount of hours.

I found achieving a satisfactory AdSense eCPM was the biggest bugaboo... a few terms I thought would be great turned out to be real stinkers, but there are pleasant surprises that balanced things out a little.

If you'd like, I'd be happy to pm you and share the list from my experience of winner/loser terms associated with local directory possibilities.

I suppose its obvious, but restaurants/clubs/entertainment have great appeal to your search audience, but pathetic AS performance.