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Just over a year ago Andy Beard almost broke our server with a Twitterstorm regarding our observation of Wordpress.com nofollowing their Tag links and thereby removing the high PR advantage it’s authors used to enjoy.
Today it was pointed out to us by an IE user (yes, they do still exist) that body text links from Wordpress.com are now redirected, striking another blow against the Spammers and Sploggers who plague free systems.
Outgoing body text links are now redirected through an intermediary subdomain http://go2.wordpress.com/ thereby removing any linkjuice / value that Wordpress.com bloggers may have thought they were sending.
This is a redirection service used by online publishers.
Please contact us if you have experienced problems with this redirection.
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There’s a forum post about it here saying if you pay for the Ads free version , then this isnt implemented, but we cant see too many “linkwheel” implementations (past or future) paying for their “web2.0″ properties, so this will likely achieve the desired effect against any “SEO users” who still haven’t gotten Wordpress’s message, and the rest, well they wont get any ranking benefits for any time spent spamming WP anymore.
We’re also expecting several sites we watch belonging to client competitors to take a rankings hit fairly soon, as these old links get re-cached and disappear off the linkmap.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
That looks a lot like Skimlinks has been implemented for all external links on wordpress hosted sites. So any external links are turned into affiliate links if possible, thereby negating any spammy affiliate blogs. I’m not 100% on whose cookie drops last though, the skimlinks one, or the original affiliate one.
Hi James.
will take your word for it, as have never heard of skimlinks up until now.
it doesnt appear to be on the blogroll links though.
maybe they’ve got that covered with Google devaluing them anyway.
These links are very different to running ads which are disclosed and which don’t interfer with what I publish. Now if I include a link to a retailer I’ve no choice, it gets hijacked by Skimlinks and run through an affiliate program. Not that anyone will now, the status bar doesn’t show you’re being redirected, it’s all hidden. Bad. Does that make me responsible to the FTC for disclosing affiliate links on my blog that I never put there in the first place?
Still worthwhile leaving links if you expect to get traffic. It means taking longer and putting more effort into it but hey, if you were only spamming, then you can’t be surprised at eventual reprisals.
BB