I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
links that I am affiliated with. However, I read that Google can places
penalities on a site that does this as it is considered a "doorway"
page. Is this correct?

"Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155772246.441335.215860@m79g2000cwm.googlegr oups.com...
>I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
> links that I am affiliated with. However, I read that Google can places
> penalities on a site that does this as it is considered a "doorway"
> page. Is this correct?


How are you using meta refresh to keep track of URL's? Meta refresh can be
deceiving, which is why you can be penalized.

Stacey
--
Crafts - Directory - Your Online Crafting Source
http://www.ecraftsonline.net/
A New Focus In Web Marketing - Search Engine Optimization
http://jezsta.com

"Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
> links that I am affiliated with.

You mean that you send a visitor to a page that refreshes the visitor to
the affiliate?

Don't do this.

Use mod_rewrite to make 301 redirects.

--
John Freelance Perl programmer: http://castleamber.com/

Quick Bookmarks:http://johnbokma.com/firefox/quick-l...bookmarks.html

"John Bokma" <john@castleamber.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9821C5A4B4FA6castleamber@130.133.1.4...
> "Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
>> links that I am affiliated with.
>
> You mean that you send a visitor to a page that refreshes the visitor to
> the affiliate?
>
> Don't do this.
>
> Use mod_rewrite to make 301 redirects.

John, I can't see why the person would want to do that anyway. If the page
is 301'ed or refreshed there doesn't seem to be a way to track right? With
affiliates you have to track.

Stacey
--
Crafts - Directory - Your Online Crafting Source
http://www.ecraftsonline.net/
A New Focus In Web Marketing - Search Engine Optimization
http://jezsta.com

"Jezsta Web Productions" <Please-use-our-contact-form@jezsta.com> wrote:

> "John Bokma" <john@castleamber.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns9821C5A4B4FA6castleamber@130.133.1.4...
>> "Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
>>> links that I am affiliated with.
>>
>> You mean that you send a visitor to a page that refreshes the visitor
>> to the affiliate?
>>
>> Don't do this.
>>
>> Use mod_rewrite to make 301 redirects.
>
> John, I can't see why the person would want to do that anyway. If the
> page is 301'ed or refreshed there doesn't seem to be a way to track
> right? With affiliates you have to track.

you can decide to 301 redirect

/affiliate/example.com/....

to http://example.com/....

since affiliate is on "your" site, you will see the request, even if
Apache redirects the visitor away to another site.

Example:

lj601042.inktomisearch.com "GET /messenger HTTP/1.0" 301 235 "-"
lj601042.inktomisearch.com "GET /messenger/ HTTP/1.0" 200 4488 "-"

slurp gets first /messenger which "doesn't exists", but Apache is
configured to 301 if it discovers a directory with that name to the
version with a trailing /.

Couldn't find a more exciting example in a few seconds.

Anyway, loading an access log in TextPad and marking all lines that have

" 301

is a way to find quite some bots :-)


--
John isa Perl programmer: http://johnbokma.com/perl/perlprogrammer.html

Fox G Bar: http://johnbokma.com/firefox/google-...stomizing.html

"John Bokma" <john@castleamber.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9821D2A61C28Ccastleamber@130.133.1.4...
> "Jezsta Web Productions" <Please-use-our-contact-form@jezsta.com> wrote:
>
>> "John Bokma" <john@castleamber.com> wrote in message
>> news:Xns9821C5A4B4FA6castleamber@130.133.1.4...
>>> "Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
>>>> links that I am affiliated with.
>>>
>>> You mean that you send a visitor to a page that refreshes the visitor
>>> to the affiliate?
>>>
>>> Don't do this.
>>>
>>> Use mod_rewrite to make 301 redirects.
>>
>> John, I can't see why the person would want to do that anyway. If the
>> page is 301'ed or refreshed there doesn't seem to be a way to track
>> right? With affiliates you have to track.
>
> you can decide to 301 redirect
>
> /affiliate/example.com/....
>
> to http://example.com/....
>
> since affiliate is on "your" site, you will see the request, even if
> Apache redirects the visitor away to another site.
>
> Example:
>
> lj601042.inktomisearch.com "GET /messenger HTTP/1.0" 301 235 "-"
> lj601042.inktomisearch.com "GET /messenger/ HTTP/1.0" 200 4488 "-"
>
> slurp gets first /messenger which "doesn't exists", but Apache is
> configured to 301 if it discovers a directory with that name to the
> version with a trailing /.
>
> Couldn't find a more exciting example in a few seconds.
>
> Anyway, loading an access log in TextPad and marking all lines that have
>
> " 301
>
> is a way to find quite some bots :-)

Yeah, but that isn't tracking all the way. The tracking code tracks the
purchase and places a to where it will keep track even sometimes up
to 90 days. I can't see how looking in the stats to watch is keeping good
tracking. A person can only see the visit, but doesn't see what the person
does after leaving the site.

Stacey
--
Crafts - Directory - Your Online Crafting Source
http://www.ecraftsonline.net/
A New Focus In Web Marketing - Search Engine Optimization
http://jezsta.com

On 16 Aug 2006 16:50:46 -0700, "Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
>links that I am affiliated with. However, I read that Google can places
>penalities on a site that does this as it is considered a "doorway"
>page. Is this correct?

Yes. You might want to seek out Matt Cutt's videos where he cheerfully
states that it's fine for a smaller site to be doing this in
moderation. You might want to believe him. Then again, you might not
want to risk being penalised and so think of a better way of
forwarding. For all we know, given that secret identity of yours, you
could be fibbing us bigtime and meta-refreshing all over the place.
Anyway, how does meta-refreshing you keep track of affiliate
links?

BB
--

http://www.kruse.co.uk/affordable-we...n-services.htm
http://www.kruse.co.uk/google-mountain.htm
http://www.kruse.co.uk/seo-home-page.htm

Hi guys, I really appreciate your responses... this is a good
discussion.

Let me explain a little more. I am an affiliate of a few merchants. I
want to keep a track of clicks that my visitors make to my merchants
site. This way I can compare visitor Click Through Rates to the actual
Conversion Rates.

I can set up server side redirects, but this is tiresome to manage with
my webhost as I have to log into my Control Panel every time and use
their GUI to do this...i.e. they won't allow me to modify the html
config file manually. Also, I want the page that is linked to to open
in a new browser, which a server side redirect won't do.

So, I use the http meta refresh like this:

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;URL=http://www.url.com" />

Then in my webstats it shows how many times these pages have been
viewed.

I changed some of these to php and use the header (location: URL)
command, but the files do not show up in my webstats, so I would prefer
to use html redirects but not if I am going to be penalised.

I will definitely do a search through Matt Cutts site for this and see
what he says about this. But do you guys think that meta refresh are
ok?

Pete.

"Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hi guys, I really appreciate your responses... this is a good
> discussion.
>
> Let me explain a little more. I am an affiliate of a few merchants. I
> want to keep a track of clicks that my visitors make to my merchants
> site. This way I can compare visitor Click Through Rates to the actual
> Conversion Rates.
>
> I can set up server side redirects, but this is tiresome to manage with
> my webhost as I have to log into my Control Panel every time and use
> their GUI to do this...i.e. they won't allow me to modify the html
> config file manually. Also, I want the page that is linked to to open
> in a new browser, which a server side redirect won't do.

Set the target attribute of the a element to open a (IMO annoying) new
window.

301 redirects can be added to .htaccess which you can upload to your
sever, no need for CPanel magic. If you do it right, one rule should be
enough :-D

--
John Experienced Perl programmer: http://castleamber.com/

Google Bar: http://johnbokma.com/firefox/google-...stomizing.html

"Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155795235.731547.111890@p79g2000cwp.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi guys, I really appreciate your responses... this is a good
> discussion.
>
> Let me explain a little more. I am an affiliate of a few merchants. I
> want to keep a track of clicks that my visitors make to my merchants
> site. This way I can compare visitor Click Through Rates to the actual
> Conversion Rates.
>
> I can set up server side redirects, but this is tiresome to manage with
> my webhost as I have to log into my Control Panel every time and use
> their GUI to do this...i.e. they won't allow me to modify the html
> config file manually. Also, I want the page that is linked to to open
> in a new browser, which a server side redirect won't do.
>
> So, I use the http meta refresh like this:
>
> <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;URL=http://www.url.com" />
>
> Then in my webstats it shows how many times these pages have been
> viewed.
>
> I changed some of these to php and use the header (location: URL)
> command, but the files do not show up in my webstats, so I would prefer
> to use html redirects but not if I am going to be penalised.
>
> I will definitely do a search through Matt Cutts site for this and see
> what he says about this. But do you guys think that meta refresh are
> ok?
>
> Pete.
>

I do the same as you but use a separate domain for doing it on.
I just set the links to the separate site and then meta refresh from there.

--
T.J.
http://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk

Hi John, unfortunately I can't access the .htaccess file and my webhost
says the only way is to do it via CP.

TJ... do you think that this method is ok to redirect i.e. Google
friendly?

Pete.

"Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155797658.444191.280450@i42g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi John, unfortunately I can't access the .htaccess file and my webhost
> says the only way is to do it via CP.
>
> TJ... do you think that this method is ok to redirect i.e. Google
> friendly?
>
> Pete.
>

I use the separate site just in case.
It's also useful if you want to tell people where to go
over the phone, (especially if you have a long domain)
or if you want to email them a link.
I just use a snappy 4 letter domain and set the meta refreshes
up from there.
You can even nofollow any links to it from your main site if
you want to do it that way.

--
T.J.
http://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk

Peter wrote:

> I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
> links that I am affiliated with. However, I read that Google can places
> penalities on a site that does this as it is considered a "doorway"
> page. Is this correct?


I mentioned this recently in another group.

Look at #1 (of ~80m) on google for 'cv search' (with or without quotes), the
url displayed is /search which is just a 0 second meta refresh to the real
page. I am dis-inclined to change it while it is number 1, as it certainly
isn't being penalised and brings in paying customers.



--
Brian Wakem
Email: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/b.wakem/myemail.png

On 16 Aug 2006 23:13:55 -0700, "Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Hi guys, I really appreciate your responses... this is a good
>discussion.
>
>Let me explain a little more. I am an affiliate of a few merchants. I
>want to keep a track of clicks that my visitors make to my merchants
>site. This way I can compare visitor Click Through Rates to the actual
>Conversion Rates.
>
>I can set up server side redirects, but this is tiresome to manage with
>my webhost as I have to log into my Control Panel every time and use
>their GUI to do this...i.e. they won't allow me to modify the html
>config file manually. Also, I want the page that is linked to to open
>in a new browser, which a server side redirect won't do.
>
>So, I use the http meta refresh like this:
>
><meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;URL=http://www.url.com" />
>
>Then in my webstats it shows how many times these pages have been
>viewed.
>
>I changed some of these to php and use the header (location: URL)
>command, but the files do not show up in my webstats, so I would prefer
>to use html redirects but not if I am going to be penalised.
>
>I will definitely do a search through Matt Cutts site for this and see
>what he says about this. But do you guys think that meta refresh are
>ok?
>
>Pete.

From what you say it might be the only way of doing what you want. But
I still wouldn't do it, too risky. I'd reassess my whole situation,
ask on affiliate forums for people who've had the same problems and
solved them.

BB
--

http://www.kruse.co.uk/affordable-we...n-services.htm
http://www.kruse.co.uk/google-mountain.htm
http://www.kruse.co.uk/seo-home-page.htm

On 17 Aug 2006 06:25:28 GMT, John Bokma <john@castleamber.com> wrote:

>"Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi guys, I really appreciate your responses... this is a good
>> discussion.
>>
>> Let me explain a little more. I am an affiliate of a few merchants. I
>> want to keep a track of clicks that my visitors make to my merchants
>> site. This way I can compare visitor Click Through Rates to the actual
>> Conversion Rates.
>>
>> I can set up server side redirects, but this is tiresome to manage with
>> my webhost as I have to log into my Control Panel every time and use
>> their GUI to do this...i.e. they won't allow me to modify the html
>> config file manually. Also, I want the page that is linked to to open
>> in a new browser, which a server side redirect won't do.
>
>Set the target attribute of the a element to open a (IMO annoying) new
>window.
>
>301 redirects can be added to .htaccess which you can upload to your
>sever, no need for CPanel magic. If you do it right, one rule should be
>enough :-D

From what he was saying, he can't modify the .htaccess file. That's
odd.

BB
--

http://www.kruse.co.uk/affordable-we...n-services.htm
http://www.kruse.co.uk/google-mountain.htm
http://www.kruse.co.uk/seo-home-page.htm

Big Bill <kruse@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:

> From what he was saying, he can't modify the .htaccess file. That's
> odd.

If that's the same as "they won't allow me to modify the html config file
manually", yup. I had no idea if that was http.conf or .htaccess, so I
ignored it :-D.

--
John Experienced Perl programmer: http://castleamber.com/

Fart Free Firefox: http://johnbokma.com/firefox/find-in-page-sound.html

"Brian Wakem" <no@email.com> wrote in message
news:4kim3dFcd11gU1@individual.net...
> Peter wrote:
>
>> I am using the Meta Refresh attribute so I can keep a track of a few
>> links that I am affiliated with. However, I read that Google can places
>> penalities on a site that does this as it is considered a "doorway"
>> page. Is this correct?
>
>
> I mentioned this recently in another group.
>
> Look at #1 (of ~80m) on google for 'cv search' (with or without quotes),
> the
> url displayed is /search which is just a 0 second meta refresh to the real
> page. I am dis-inclined to change it while it is number 1, as it
> certainly
> isn't being penalised and brings in paying customers.
>
>
>
> --
> Brian Wakem
> Email: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/b.wakem/myemail.png

I have seen a method described to track when people leave a particular page
to go to another site by using the method below:-

Set up a Google Analytics account and put the normal urchin tracker code at
the bottom of the page just before </body>

At the outgoing link use this form:
<a href="http://www.example.com/" onClick="javascript:urchinTracker
('/outgoing/examplecom')"> http://www.example.com/ </a>

In the Analytics stats you are supposed to then see a count for clicks out
to /outgoing/examplecom

Best regards, Eric.

On Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:16:04 +0100, "T.J." <no1@home.invalid> wrote:

>
>"Peter" <petermcphee@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:1155797658.444191.280450@i42g2000cwa.googleg roups.com...
>> Hi John, unfortunately I can't access the .htaccess file and my webhost
>> says the only way is to do it via CP.
>>
>> TJ... do you think that this method is ok to redirect i.e. Google
>> friendly?
>>
>> Pete.
>>
>
>I use the separate site just in case.
>It's also useful if you want to tell people where to go
>over the phone, (especially if you have a long domain)
>or if you want to email them a link.
>I just use a snappy 4 letter domain and set the meta refreshes
>up from there.
>You can even nofollow any links to it from your main site if
>you want to do it that way.

That's an interesting way of doing this TJ. Might use that with some
of my stuff as I have a gut feeling linking to the actual affiliates
is causing long term problems with Google.

Did you think of this yourself or pick it up somewhere else?

I really need to put more time into researching affiliate tools etc...
I tend to put most of my time into SEO and site generation. Any must
read sites for affiliate tools/concepts you'd recommend?

David
--
Free Search Engine Optimization Tutorial
http://www.seo-gold.com/tutorial/

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:49:59 GMT, David
<seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:

>Any must read sites for affiliate tools/concepts you'd recommend?

I think BB has one
--
Handmade Jewelry
http://www.houstoncrafts.com/beaded/chokers-103.html
http://www.houstoncrafts.com/turquoi...klace-111.html
http://www.houstoncrafts.com/turquoi...klace-110.html

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:04:50 +0100, Paul
<lamewolf2004[REMOVE]@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:49:59 GMT, David
><seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>Any must read sites for affiliate tools/concepts you'd recommend?
>
>I think BB has one

LOL

I'm after affiliate tools, not fairy tales about magical PR apples and
oranges :-)

David
--
Totally Duh! http://www.totallyduh.com/
SEO Services http://www.seo-gold.com/expert-seo-consultant.php

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:15:16 GMT, David
<seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:

>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:04:50 +0100, Paul
><lamewolf2004[REMOVE]@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:49:59 GMT, David
>><seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>>Any must read sites for affiliate tools/concepts you'd recommend?
>>
>>I think BB has one
>
>LOL
>
>I'm after affiliate tools, not fairy tales about magical PR apples and
>oranges :-)
>
>David

Dave writes his own fairy tales...
http://www.morearnings.com/2006/07/1...ltant-ranking/

and look what I saw just recently;

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...e+Search&meta=

ho hum :-)

BB

--
http://www.crystal-liaison.com/comfo...joy-peace.html
http://www.kruse.co.uk/search-engine...n-firms-uk.htm
http://www.crystal-liaison.com/comfo...andmother.html

"Big Bill" <kruse@cityscape.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ii6re2t66eu981ap2dqa93neggnc7u7tig@4ax.com...

> http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...e+Search&meta=
>
> ho hum :-)

Nice! But it isn't what I see.
http://www.google.com/search?q=seo+c...&start=10&sa=N

> BB

Stacey

--
Crafts - Directory - Your Online Crafting Source
http://www.ecraftsonline.net/
A New Focus In Web Marketing - Search Engine Optimization
http://jezsta.com

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:31:42 GMT, Big Bill <kruse@cityscape.co.uk>
wrote:

>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:15:16 GMT, David
><seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:04:50 +0100, Paul
>><lamewolf2004[REMOVE]@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:49:59 GMT, David
>>><seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Any must read sites for affiliate tools/concepts you'd recommend?
>>>
>>>I think BB has one
>>
>>LOL
>>
>>I'm after affiliate tools, not fairy tales about magical PR apples and
>>oranges :-)
>>
>>David
>
>Dave writes his own fairy tales...
>http://www.morearnings.com/2006/07/1...ltant-ranking/
>
>and look what I saw just recently;
>
>http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...e+Search&meta=
>
>ho hum :-)
>
>BB

What makes me laugh - apart from you two bickering - are the amount of
SEO paid adverts on the side. Obviously the ones to avoid.
--
Handmade Jewelry
http://www.houstoncrafts.com/beaded/chokers-103.html
http://www.houstoncrafts.com/turquoi...klace-111.html
http://www.houstoncrafts.com/turquoi...klace-110.html

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:41:34 +0200, "Jezsta Web Productions"
<Please-use-our-contact-form@jezsta.com> wrote:

>"Big Bill" <kruse@cityscape.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:ii6re2t66eu981ap2dqa93neggnc7u7tig@4ax.com.. .
>
>> http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...e+Search&meta=
>>
>> ho hum :-)
>
>Nice! But it isn't what I see.
>http://www.google.com/search?q=seo+c...&start=10&sa=N
>
>> BB
>
>Stacey

No doubt. I tried the datacentres at Tippy and I'm popping in and out
of the top five.

BB
--
http://www.crystal-liaison.com/comfo...joy-peace.html
http://www.kruse.co.uk/search-engine...n-firms-uk.htm
http://www.crystal-liaison.com/comfo...andmother.html

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:50:18 +0100, Paul
<lamewolf2004[REMOVE]@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:31:42 GMT, Big Bill <kruse@cityscape.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:15:16 GMT, David
>><seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:04:50 +0100, Paul
>>><lamewolf2004[REMOVE]@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:49:59 GMT, David
>>>><seodave@search-engine-optimization-services.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Any must read sites for affiliate tools/concepts you'd recommend?
>>>>
>>>>I think BB has one
>>>
>>>LOL
>>>
>>>I'm after affiliate tools, not fairy tales about magical PR apples and
>>>oranges :-)
>>>
>>>David
>>
>>Dave writes his own fairy tales...
>>http://www.morearnings.com/2006/07/1...ltant-ranking/
>>
>>and look what I saw just recently;
>>
>>http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...e+Search&meta=
>>
>>ho hum :-)
>>
>>BB
>
>What makes me laugh - apart from you two bickering - are the amount of
>SEO paid adverts on the side. Obviously the ones to avoid.

On mine, you mean? I haven't looked for a while.

BB
--
http://www.crystal-liaison.com/comfo...joy-peace.html
http://www.kruse.co.uk/search-engine...n-firms-uk.htm
http://www.crystal-liaison.com/comfo...andmother.html