EZINE ARTICLS BLOG

14. 7. 2009

www.freeprivacypolicy.com/

Article Writing & Marketing Insights

Case Against Tracking CTR

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QUESTION: Should I include a URL tracking link in my Resource Box?

ANSWER: No, you should not include a tracking link in your resource box.

Here are 8 arguments against using tracking links in articles that you intend to put into distribution/syndication on EzineArticles.com:

It’s human nature to not want to be tracked. Most readers of your articles hover over your link and if they think they are being tracked or they can’t predict where your tracking URL is taking them, they may not click.
Your link may be mis-interpreted by your readership as being a “phishing link” and thus they won’t trust you.
If your tracking link is not the same brand URL as your business URL, you’ll lose a branding opportunity.
You lose search engine love by passing URL’s with tracking parameters.
Are you really going to track CTR for years, decades and beyond? What happens to the links in your articles if you discontinue in 2 years tracking CTR? If you think long-term, you’ll realize that tracking URL’s are not smart when it comes to article marketing.
Assuming you’re smart and know that you should include a valid http:// URL in your resource box (instead of just an anchored text link), a URL without a tracking parameter included would keep the URL shorter and easier to present in TEXT based newsletters and other short column width reprints of your article. Often times tracking link URL’s are very long…too long.
Ezine Publishers/Webmasters may overlook or reject your article as being not as good as one without a tracking URL… ie: They’re concerned about their users trusting your link as being valid.
Your article may be wrongly rejected due to newbie Editors of ours who can’t quickly discern a tracking URL from an affiliate URL. They often look the same. This adds unnecessary delay into your article review & acceptance process.

In conclusion, it’s best to only include your regular http://Your-Company-Name.com/ in your Resource Box and/or a simple anchored text link. Don’t be like “Bob” in the cartoon and leave the tracking links out of your articles. :)

Agree/Disagree? Your thoughts?

Posted by Christopher M. Knight on February 5, 2009 at 3:42 pm

Views 46 |

1 Comment »

Paul Lalley writes:

Man, talk about shooting yourself in the foot, Knight. Could you provide additional reasons NOT to submit to ezine?

I am consistently amazed at the bad information provided by this blog.

Go through the your 8 reasons:

“may not click” - wow, that’s scary

phishing using authority links? Phishers don’t use this technique. It doesn’t produce enough useful data. Much easier to blast an emal about my BA account than try to pass through the editorial process that is ezine. Get real.

where did you get “you lose a branding opportunity” that’s the whole point of sites like ezine. The value of your service sinks like a stone if it doesn’t deliver visitors to my site

I might lose the link in a PR or newsletter? True, but my articles are more likly to get picked up by sites or blogs based on my research

Ezine editors - ahh, now we’re getting somewhere. Yes, your contributors might send your readers to
another site, but again, you’ve qualified your warnings so much - might, may, etc. that again, the information is pure speculation on your part

Rejected by a newbie editor? Your response to my Twitter issues indicate that you value quality content so little that I suspect MOST of your human editors are noobs.

Yeah, I use ezine for its value in creating SERPs links but as a resource for content, you guys have a lot to learn from your contributors - and frankly, your responses on Twitter are just plain rude.

Paul Lalley
editor@webwordslinger.com

Comment provided February 5, 2009 at 4:37 pm

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