4 replies to this topic

[Tynan]

Hello all

I do a php/mysql generated site that brings advertisers ads up in resposnse to a user search, the ads then have a link to their website, all good

Some time ago I changed the links so that they went to a php page that recorded the click to mysql before sending the browser on to their link using header()

ie - 'http://www.mywebsite...site.com&Type=A'

All good until an advertiser cmplained that they were no longer getting 'their backlink'

I rather casually believed that google would follow anything the browser followed, ie it would go the php page and then pick up the ouward link from there

1. Am I wrong and have I effectively broke the backlinks to advertisers' sites by using the php page to record the click

2. If I'm wrong how should i tackle this, recording th click while preserving the link so google sees the link as a normal ouward link

I do want to record these clicks myself so I can display it for the sales types on some admin pages

Thank-you
Tynan

[cfreek]

I can't 100% answer if the links would still count. I would think they would, if you were performing a 301 redirect in your PHP script, but I have never tested to know for sure. I seem to recall seeing something similar discussed before, so you may want to try a forum search.

What I tend to do on outbound link tracking, is to use JavaScript (jQuery library, because it's easier) and modify the links for humans.
The HTML is coded with the link to the web site, as normal, and a CSS class added of something similar to outbound. jQuery then converts all links with a class of outbound to a tracked link (in my case, a Google Analytics event).

[Michael Martinez]

Yes. If Google and Bing see an HTML document that sends the right code, the advertiser "receives" their backlink. Of course, their backlink tracking methods are probably the typical primitive schlocky tools you find across the Web so it's doubtful you'll be able to give them the credit they think they are due.

[Tynan]

Yes. If Google and Bing see an HTML document that sends the right code, the advertiser "receives" their backlink. Of course, their backlink tracking methods are probably the typical primitive schlocky tools you find across the Web so it's doubtful you'll be able to give them the credit they think they are due.

Thanks for that, I tried some of those tools today, one of them was reporting backlinks form a page that stopped being live a year ago

[Michael Martinez]

SEO backlink tools generally suck wind big time. Nonetheless, they're all we have to work with and when people want backlink reports it's best to advise them that the data is not perfect.