Should people be allowed to advertise their services on the FAQ?

idealmike Level X³

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June 27, 2016, 5:14 pm

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Should people be allowed to advertise their services on the FAQ?

Following on earlier from that guys thread asking how to advertise his service in the community discussion. Possibly because the forum has been removed now along with his thread that he used to advertise his service.

So would it be a good idea to let members get 1 cd post to advertise their services in the same way as they used to on the forum? They could have a new category for them not sure what you'd call it but it could have the same rules the old forum one did except it wouldn't get bumped and not sure what you'd call that category but yeah might make those users happy that had that option/benefit on the forum but don't anymore.

I know it's only really him and a couple other people that have asked about that now and possibly other people may ask in the future too. For those that used to use the member service advertisement category on the forum anyway.

- What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?
- Would it defeat the purpose have having a valuable bank of content on the FAQ?
- Do you think it would have to be policed more than any other category?
- Would people try to abuse it?
- What could be the pros and cons of it?
- What about yourself as a seller, would you like this appreciate it?
- Would you use it responsibly?

My thinking is that this could PROMOTE usage of the FAQ and encourage people to visit it more.

The flip side is it could result in distracting what the FAQ is about? But they would all be in their own category anyway so not really?

Anyway, I'm just "throwing this out there" see who catches it.

What do you think?

Thoughts?

Comments

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EliteWriter

I do not think it is such a good idea. Just a few minutes ago I removed a post consisting of about ten words where a member, rather than explaining how to resolve a problem, simply said it could be done, and he would be able to help if he were contacted. That is just advertising, not helpful tips or guidance as is the intention of community discussions. If you want to advertise a service you have the marketplace and you can make use of bumps etc to stand out a bit more. Let us leave community discussions clean and free of promotion.

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Lynne

Yes I totally agree here. I hate spam and I have been part of so many communities where thing suddenly go downhill. The rules have been set quite clearly already - this is a no spam discussion forum.

As soon as any sort of concession is made (like adding one thread for ads) then people will try and take the gap. It just makes it hard to know where to draw the line in future. Right now it is black and white, which leaves no room for any problems. No advertising or self promotion is allowed and this is great in my eyes.

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EliteWriter

Yes I totally agree with you Lynne. Even the tiniest concession could turn out to be a disaster as many people will start to flood in with comments that have a sales pitch and that will totally ruin the whole idea behind having a community discussion. A discussion calls for insightful tips, advice, and informative topics, and has nothing to do with people trying to sell whatever they sell. That is the role of the marketplace and not the Community discussions.

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Lynne

Yes exactly. I saw someone also suggested a classifieds section.. but isn't that exactly what the market place is anyway?

I do sympathize with buyers that are perhaps new and struggling to get themselves noticed... but as a buyer I want to spend time here in the discussion threads learning about SEO and discussing relevant topics. I will not find this area appealing at all if there are buyers trying to sell things to me. I will feel like a sheep being hunted by a pack of wolves LOL.

This space is amazing because there is no spam at all. Even if there was a classifieds thread I would never visit it. It would just become a place for all the buyers to send their ads to and I don't actually think buyers would bother with it... so what would be the point?

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EliteWriter

Yes I feel that community discussions is a one of a kind place that is unique just the way it is and it should not be changed in any way. What was suggested in another comment, if I understood correctly, was that possibly there could be a section where sellers made a post/tutorial/article, whereby they share their knowledge and at the same time advertise their service. So it is sort of an advertising space which is at the same time valuable from a discussion/informational point of view. It would need to be heavily monitored though so as to see that really good posts are made and not only ads.

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Lynne

That is different though because the seller is providing something of value to everyone and in return gaining exposure for that value.

At the same time though if a seller posted great tutorials here I would firstly make the assumption that they know a lot about the subject and most likely offer great services in that line. If I am interested in the tutorial I would most likely be interested in related services. Which would make me inclined to click through and have a look at the sellers profile and services anyway.

So maybe they should not be allowed to advertise there either. I can guarantee you that if they post good tutorials that sellers will check them out anyway.

I checked you out...

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Everett

So instead of posting on the community discussion, what about an area of the site that is not attached to the community discussions but rather called something like "Community Classifieds"? This could be a potential place to post ads, and make it use the user levels to indicate whom can post there.

For instance, we need to comment, or get orders, etc to get free bumps to bump our services, what would be a way we could get like "advertising slots" for a community classifieds? What would make users want to post their services to this classified?

Another thing is, is that it doesn't have to be an article, it can be a way to advertise their service in a hard to "get in" area, an area where only a select few, if they meet requirements. What is your opinions on this type of system? I'm not too entirely sure, it's just an idea branched off of the posts here.

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EliteWriter

That might not be a bad idea at all. Sometimes you find people who are looking for a particular service and they do not really filter through the marketplace to find a seller that they feel they can trust. Maybe in a community classifieds or something along those lines, you can get buyers recommending particular sellers too. It could be an area where sort of word of mouth advertising could work well for the benefit of all concerned.

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Lynne

I'm not sure I agree with that. As a buyer I wouldn't be interested in a Community Classifieds section at all. The market place already has all the buyers and services listed... I get that buyers want to be noticed but I think the market place is sufficient. I wouldn't visit another section with services on offer when there is the market place.

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Everett

I don't think sellers should be allowed to advertise their services on the community discussion. This part of the website is separate from the marketplace, and doesn't need users to go crazy with spam and post their service link in every post they create.

Having a new area within the community discussion to post service ads, to me, doesn't sound very great. It will eventually turn the community discussions into community classifieds, and this is what we don't want. The discussions are suppose to be a place where users, both sellers, and buyers have a place to communicate within the website. Having services advertised would result negatively because people would be more focused on the advertisements and spam than on actual quality content.

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hitmeasap

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?
I personally think it's a bad idea, but I wouldn't mind if users were allowed one advertising thread. And I bet some people would appreciate this a billion times, as they lost their option to advertise their services in a way like this when the old forum disappeared.

Would it defeat the purpose having a valuable bank of content on the FAQ?
No, not really, as these threads would be valuable too. At least for some people. (potential clients etc.)

Do you think it would have to be policed more than any other category?
I'm certain of it. I remember the old forum. People made 2-3 and even 4 or 5 new threads in the advertising section each day, as some people tend to believe they'll make more sales by having more advertising threads, within the same section....? Well, I don't know what kind of things circling around in peoples heads, but it's just.. Meh. I don't like the thought of 50 new topics each day.

Would people try to abuse it?
Most likely. (See Above).

What could be the pros and cons of it?
People might advertise their advertising threads too, and not just their services, which could bring more people to SEOClerks. That would be great and benefit us all, but I don't think they will. It seems that the majority of users on SEOClerks rely on SEOClerks traffic alone, and most of them doesn't do any kind of promotions at all, so I can't see why they would do it now.

What about yourself as a seller, would you appreciate it?
I actually wouldn't mind having such a category or such a topic myself, but I would be able to live without it too.

Would you use it responsibly?
Yes I would, but that's what 99% of the users would say too.


Best Regards,
hitmeasap

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anwebservices

We had that option on old forum and it was badly misused by many member, so i would simply vote: NO

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MasterA

I also think this is a bad idea because it defeats the purpose of removing the forum and focusing on the FAQ. The FAQ should only provide high quality questions and resources. There are many other ways to advertise your services here such as bumping your service and buying featured services.

Allowing people to do this will result in people abusing it and this will create a lot of spam. As a seller, I would love the feature but I think it isn't worth it overall because in the past people have abused it in the forum. I think the costs would outweight the benefits.

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ajlancer

Hi idealmike thanks raise a sensitive issue. I personally do not believe, it will not good for community discussion. And you know all user are not working on same attention, and some of may make spam this section, they they got chance here like old forum. And service advisement not need alternate option in same SEOclerks, they can use into profile. We know that community discussion has became this new mode and sprit for SEO. And mostly we are discussing for several question and answer and for tutirial. So, it should be more helpful if, we are using only these intent. So, I do not appreciate any abuse activity on Community discussion which more possible, if your question will apply on CD.

Regards by Ajlancer

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Lynne

I wouldn't want to visit the forum if it is just spammed full of people trying to promote their services. I am loving the way it is right now. I am meeting new people and I am learning a lot. There are honestly so few spam free places online now and it was lovely to find this spam free space.

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