It's interesting to note the variance in website value tools, and that many of them promote known scams and malware. (Example Google Sniper 2.0)

We are heavily endorsing Alexa, which does not promote a lot of uneeded garbage and has well documented methods for tracking.  Also, the one time there appeared to possibly be indication of a problem in the site links, an actual C Level executive took the issue and had a competent technician address the concern within one business hour.

So, the challenge of promoting ideas without degrading the security settings of our readers continues.  What we see is a range of good companies and bottom feeders.  It would not be fair to say that any advertisement on a site is the responsibility of the promoter, because so many people just give a blank spot to companies like Google and permission to promote at will.  How can we stop bad companies from appearing in random advertisements based on keywords?

We, EnterpriseGRC Solutions, are currently choosing to lose anywhere from one thousand to three thousand dollars a month is advertising.  We know we can promote and charge for it, but the determination of risk is just not clear.  Google and Facebook continue to respond to changes in EU Data Privacy Law, but risk in using advertising widegets is, to us at least, still open.  "Everyone's doing it" kind of feels like what I told my parents when I wanted to get drunk at a beach party and stay out all night.

Monitoring the site valuation tools is still a worthwhile endeavor.  When our site began jumping at a rate of ten thousand dollars a month in value, it was obvious that usage was strange at best, and we quickly identified a set of scripts that Trend Micro currently lists as potentially inviting traffic redirects.  No actual redirect events appear to have happened, but the exposure was mitigated.  We know that our feedburner is pulling from a controlled environment.  We know our content is not manipulated.

Here's a tip.  DON'T buy SEO toolkits.  We have not, and will not.  Generally, an SEO kit is part of a two part or three part exploit.  Remember that every time a script is fired, actions are taking place somewhere.  The larger the number of third party tools, the greater the likelyhood that one of your pretty widgets will be used for no good.  Take care to never ask readers to post information to or from a server that is entirely outside your control. If you must, be sure the value is aligned with your own business, and not the evil intent of someone you can't even identify.

Do a simple nslookup on the third party.  If they are outside of your country, don't use them.  When you use a widget that's outside your country borders, you can't rely on your own laws in legal defense.  Take small risks and monitor their consequence.  If you use a free tool and suddenly your results are too good to be true, you are a patsy. Fix it.

If your content and actual reach do not align with your results, they are not YOUR results.  Nothing is free.  The more flattering or insulting these feedback mechanisms get, the more likely you are being played.  Just because you see it in a scripted widget doesn't make it true.  Some details are verifiable and others are purely designed to make you do something.

I do trust stuffgate, because they still are not selling me anything and the widget goes directly back to their site.  In fact, let's really look at that widget

<!-- StuffGate widget --><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s.stuffgate.com/widgets/website.js?url=enterprisegrc.com&amp;width=180&amp;height=105"></script><a href="http://stuffgate.com/enterprisegrc.com" target="_blank" id="stuffgate_widget_website">Enterprisegrc.com - pagerank and Alexa</a>

Enterprisegrc.com - pagerank and Alexa

Registered through: Go Daddy

Domain Name: STUFFGATE.COM

Created on: 06-Nov-10

Expires on: 06-Nov-12

Last Updated on: 07-Feb-12

United States

(480) 624-2599      Fax -- (480) 624-2598

Domain servers in listed order:

ISLA.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM

Daily Unique Visitors 778

Daily Ad Revenue $16

USD Alexa Rank 200,888

Google Page Rank 1 (PR is Genuine)

Google Indexed Pages 316

Yahoo Indexed Pages 54

Dmoz Listing Yes

Domain Name enterprisegrc.com

Owner Robin Basham

Registrar WILD WEST DOMAINS, LLC

Created 2011-08-27

Expires 2016-08-27

Domain Age 0 years, 5 months

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1/14/2012