When Should You Report?
Don’t you hate it when you’re surfing along, minding your own business (no pun intended), when SNAP! You’re ripped right out of the traffic exchange where you’re surfing and taken to another page? Grrr. I hate when that happens.
So, what do you do?
I click my back button and go back a couple of pages. (The reason for the back tracking is so that the frame-breaker doesn’t sneak in again.) Then, I hit the report button and report the site that took me out of the frame.
Some of you may feel that this is an unnecessary waste of time, but what if you don’t do it? Are you willing to waste time backtracking day after day until someone else does? Tsk. Tsk. Now, you’ve wasted everyone’s time, including your own.
Always report frame-breaking sites. Other sites to report would be those that go against the exchange’s terms of service, and these will vary by traffic exchange. Usually, you can bet that adult sites are a no-no, but Pay to Promote sites or even lead capture pages are illegal at some traffic exchanges, while at others they are not. Be familiar with the exchange’s terms of service, not just to help you spot bad pages, but to be sure you’re not uploading links to pages that aren’t allowed, as well.
It’s helpful to copy the URL of the offending page, too. Sometimes you’ll see a blank report form where you can enter that information. Other times, you’ll get a list of URLs to pick from and at least you’ll know which one is the problem site. But if there’s no place to list or show the URL at all, you haven’t taken much time by clicking in the address bar of your browser and when it highlights, right-clicking to copy, eh?
Pages you definitely don’t want to report are those that come up 404 or “Page Not Found.” When these appear, usually the site is down for a while or perhaps, changes are being made there. Once these situations resolve, the pages will appear in the exchange again and all will be well with the world. Exchange owners don’t look at 404 reports, anyway, and you needn’t waste time reporting these.
And don’t worry if you’re not given the proper URL to report or only given the current site and the previous site to point out. Exchange owners will usually check a few pages before and after your report to see if they can find the offending site, and just that you have reported it is usually enough to get it gone!
Reporting sites is a service to yourself and others. Next time you see a terms- or frame-breaking site that doesn’t belong, be sure to click that report button! We’re all counting on you.
Find Pat Marcello and more great tips at any of her sites: OVMarketing, OVEditing, OVBlogger