Sell Links That Google Will Like With ScratchBack

Posted by Hyder on October 27th, 2007

I’m testing out this new widget that lets me sell links that Google might actually like, it’s called ScratchBack. I discovered it while prowling the backdoor of the Internet. Too bad they don’t have an affiliate program…ah well.

So what does ScratchBack do?

Have a look at the sidebar of my blog, you see the green looking widget that says “Are you in my Top Spots?”. Go ahead click and see.

The links can be priced as you please, my introductory price is $5 for 1 week. You also have the choice of using images, I chose the text widget though. The best part is that Google will like these link sales as they are hard encoded with the “nofollow” tag, plus the code is in JavaScript! So TLA, see ya!

Why would you want to use it?

I’ll just quote what SratchBack said -

This is about allowing your readers to “give back” to you in a fun way. It’s about engaging your readers and letting them participate with you beyond just leaving comments. Sure, you’re going to earn tips from this, and that’s great, you should. Your readers should be happy they can do this for you, and get something back in return for their tip.

So lets see who of my readers loves me the most

Right now it’s in beta but I think they will be launching sooner than expected. You can see a video about it on 45n5.com. I’ll post more on it as I try it out.

Update: One link sold already to Jim Kukral! That was quick, like 5 mins. OK, so I think we get like 45% of the cut which is a little less than TLA’s 50% cut. My “tip jar” was for $5, my account shows $2.28 in earnings. Since I put my “tips” on approval before showing, an email was sent to me to approve the listing. Minimum payout is $25. PayPal is their official payment processor.

I’m not sure how some people will react to the percentage cut, but I always say something is better than nothing.

Subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Category: Web Income

~ 10 Comments so far...have your say ~

Sami

October 27th, 2007 at 5:15 pm

That kind of widget could have easily be created by a decent developer and all you have to do is take care of the payment process. Furthermore, you won’t need to share your tips.
Hugo Santos

October 27th, 2007 at 8:11 pm

hum… 45% they take to much in my honest opinion, i think companies should treat better their publishers and give them a considerable peace of the “cake”, because without someone to publish the ads they wouldn’t exist…

But if it works for you then good luck
45n5

October 27th, 2007 at 8:25 pm

yeah I think giving away 55% of the sale is pretty rough also. I remember though that it’s still in private beta so I’m waiting to see what percentage it launches at.
Ken - Hoobin.com

October 28th, 2007 at 11:05 am

It’s great idea, but 55% cut, that is really too much! I will definitely not putting one in my site.
Jim Kukral

October 28th, 2007 at 1:20 pm

Scratchback is a system meant for fun, not for “making a million bucks”. Remember, this is beta, things can change once out of beta when that time comes.

What do you think a fair cut is after paypal fees?
Iantrepreneur

October 28th, 2007 at 5:47 pm

yea I also notice the big percentage of cut I guess, I mean I sold 3 and I got a dollar of commission, still just playing around with it but it seems its almost fun until I saw that I didnt get the full dollar - paypal would have been better
Frank C

October 30th, 2007 at 1:59 pm

I’m going to give it a shot and see how it does. I’m starting off cheap, $1 for an auto-bump link. It won’t take much for it to beat Adsense.
Aahz

November 2nd, 2007 at 2:52 pm

Actually, you’re losing nearly 60% of your “tips” when using ScratchBack compared to what you could get by using any of the free tip systems out there.

http://www.philaahzophy.com/2007/11/02/whos-back-is-getting-scratched-here/
Dave

February 17th, 2008 at 6:46 pm

Scratchback is cool. You might be interested to know there is a similar widget available at www.bringabuddy.net. It allows for link sales as well as rewarding visitors for referrals…

Check it out..
tony

February 24th, 2008 at 6:31 am

TLA takes their cut because they are the ones who actually sell the links on your behalf. They do the work required to sell and in exchange, you share your profit with them. But what is the benefit of using scratchback? I understand that they provide a cool widget to make the whole link share easier, but why would anyone choose this option versus selling links on your own and keep all the profit when scratchback does not really take any effort to promote selling your links?