To stop hotlinking

In your .Htaccess file enter the:

RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$ RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.domain.com/.*$ [NC] RewriteRule .*.(gif|GIF|jpg|JPG|png|PNG|doc|DOC|pdf|PDF|txt|TXT|pl|PL|ico|ICO|css|CSS|js|JS)$ – [F]

By modifying the "RewriteCond" you can allow hotlinking from certain domains. You want to make sure you allow linking from your domain. The method above allows links from only the domain listed. "www.domain.com" should be changed to the url you would link for the files to appear. I block access to all files in my site that I do not want linked in other domains.

Reasons to be hotlinked

There is a certain school of thought that believes that some SEO "link Juice" will be passed from using links to these files. I have not found this to be true. Also, blocking images in this way is supposed to block files from appearing in search indexes and databases. Just the inverse of this it can help you get exposure via Image search or files if they are indexed. If you are an artist or graphic designer you may want your images to appear in search. That decision has to be made by you. I have seen some pretty nifty javascript and php code that will allow the files to be indexed in google/yahoo/live/ask image results and when clicked on it directs you to the page where usage requirements are shared and the images held for purchase.

Hosting Hotlinked Images

If you plan to host hotlinked images you need to be prepared for the extra bandwidth usage. Don’t forget to check with your host to make sure you have a proper plan for your planned usage. I have found 1and1.com to have adequate hosting plans that are inexpensive and very reliable. But if you post a video I recommend using a streaming video service such as YouTube or Google Video. A couple downloads and you have already depleted your bandwidth usage. In addition to using a lot of bandwidth it can also use a lot of system resources if the video will be streaming.

Bonus Information and video

Matt Cutts, a Star Google employee, talks about proper usage of image ALT attributes. If you are going to allow hotlinking it is best that you meet standards for inclusion. Whether you allow hotlinking or not it is a great idea to use the alt attribute as it makes it more accessible for screen readers and is simply an overall usability standard.

I do not want to share my bandwidth without consent. If someone contacted me with a request to share images it wouldn’t be a problem. What do you think hotlinking? To let others hotlink or to block hotlinking?

The point is to explain the advertising. Google Ad Sense pays a commission to post content specific ads on websites. It is a great service they offer to help aspiring Internet marketers. There are several problems with advertising this way. On my page you can see ads for other SEO companies, search marketing, hosting providers, and all kinds of other goods and services. It is obvious to most people why this is a bad idea… I am advertising for other people. A flashy ad as opposed to my long-winded articles? Isn’t it obvious why this could be a bad idea? That still doesn’t take away the fees I have to pay every month. So until this blog can become profitable without the sponsored ads I will have to let others advertise.

If you asked me if you should put advertisements on your website, I would recommend not doing it.