Working with news outlets to expose your brand is intolerable

Many people subscribe to the notion that your brand is only as good as the people it makes an impact on. As such, startup companies will go great lengths to generate exposure and gain traction. One presumed way of doing so is through sponsored posts.

Top dog names including Forbes, Huffington Post, and Odyssey have amassed a sustainable following. With that said, no-name brands flirt with the idea of working in cahoots with writers who contribute to these high traffic platforms. To the tune of anywhere between $50 - $175, writers are willing to produce content that �organically� mentions the brand.
Depending on the agreement, a backlink may also be incorporated. While this approach may seem innocuous in nature, it�s overall an unsavory and morally corrupt tactic. Moreover, should corporations become privy to such distasteful relationships, it can do your brand more harm than good.

In fact, when a similar situation surfaced, Huffington Post disclosed the following statement, �using the HuffPost Contributors Network to self-publish paid content violates our terms of use. Anyone we discover to be engaging in such abuse has their post removed from the site and is banned from future publication.�

Chris Chong, an ex-contributor for Forbes, underwent a similar debacle. When Forbes caught wind of Chong�s misuse of the platform, they issued the following announcement, �when it came to our attention that Mr. Chong violated these terms, we removed all of his posts from Forbes.com and ended our relationship with him.� Suffice it to say, news outlets address these matters with discernible concern and unbridled condemnation. Not only is this partnership ill-advised, it likely wouldn�t reap any positive benefits even if it did manage to fly under the radar.

Many believe that these sponsored posts don�t even get indexed to Google. In other words, the article wouldn�t display on a Google search. Savvy individuals have dubbed these �no-follow� links. Others operate under the assumption that the article would undoubtedly appear, but only if it touched on topical events. Overall, it�s best to come by your SEO results honorably.