Just done that rarest of things and actually looked at the articles on the home page.

My eye was caught by the “Cycling to a healthier future” ADVERTORIAL.

In the hope that someone at the Sainsbury’s Finance marketing department is eagerly scouring the websites where they have placed this piece for reaction, here’s mine:

“Are you complete morons?”

It would be interesting to know whether ANYONE involved in the entire process of commissioning, writing and placing the article has any experience whatsoever of cycling. I would guess not, because otherwise they wouldn’t be wasting their time telling a bunch of cyclists that:

One possible way to incorporate exercise into your day is to take up cycling.

Or my personal favourite bit of patronising twaddle, that:

If you haven’t cycled in a while, it could be a good idea to start in your local park away from any traffic.

And finally, apparently:

investing in a decent new bike is likely to cost from at least £300.

But never fear, maybe one way to pay for a new bike would be with a 0% credit card?!

Actually I’m almost surprised that the people at SingleTrack Towers were prepared to accept the money for this, so utterly inept is it in both it’s content and the underlying idea.

It’s no wonder the country is in a bloody mess.

Or am I wrong? Anyone actually read it and then follow the link through to Sainsbury’s

Thankfully no. Adblock is my friend.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/advertorial-on-the-home-page

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/advertorials

My eye was caught by the “Cycling to a healthier future” ADVERTORIAL.

everyone knows what Advertorial means, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t them that got the country in “a bloody mess”

🙄

everyone knows what Advertorial means, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t them that got the country in “a bloody mess”

I think this is a perfect example of why the country (OK – western world) is in a mess.

We are constantly being bombarded with messages about “increasing productivity” and the importance of growth and increasing GDP.

This LITERALLY POINTLESS crap probably took someone a couple of days to put together, went backwards and forward between the creatives and the client a bunch of times. Needed negotiation between media buyers and media. Is likely currently being monitored for effectiveness and yet….

… all that could have been avoided, by someone with a scintilla of common sense pointing out early on in the process that it was sheer futile desperation on the point of all concerned to take it from a witless idea thrown out in a brainstorming session by a junior account exec who’s brother works at Halfords to the fully formed work of utter banality that currently graces the home page.

But…

… the several thousand pounds no doubt expended on the way all counts towards GDP (so hooray).

you do know this has only been placed on stw to get Sainsburys some high ranking links on Google if anyone searches for ‘bicycle’ and ‘credit’, don’t you?

you do know this has only been placed on stw to get Sainsburys some high ranking links on Google if anyone searches for ‘bicycle’ and ‘credit’, don’t you?

I’ve worked in marketing. They’re not that clever.

Or maybe they are that clever, which would actually be pretty stupid.

How much advertorial do you think Sainsbury’s would have to buy in order to get their links higher than all the companies that actually do have some legitimate reason to link the words “bicycle” and “credit”?

theyve got a fair way to go. Currenlty ranked on page 59 google.co.uk 😉

This thread is on Page 4 for “bicycle” and “credit”

I suspect this may also be a toe in the water exercise for both stw and sainsburys as far as link farming goes.

if it’s on page 4 after 24 hours it may well creep up with time.

This thread is on Page 4 for “bicycle” and “credit”

Possibly only for you, since these days Google upranks pages on websites it knows you use.

But if we say bicycle credit a few more times (in sentences) then we should get a bit more credit in the bicycle rankings 😉

Was that bicycle credit we had to say?

Is S**nsb*rys paying you lot (obfuscated to avoid contributing to Google rankings)?

Yes harry, bicycle credit.

OK, just to redress the balance.

Tesco, Netto, Waitrose, Lidl, Asda bicycle credit.

The problem with googling “cycle credit” is that you also get all the “credit cycle” results interfering with what you’re looking for, whereas “bicycle credit” makes it more clear that we’re looking for credit used for buying bicycles and not something to do with macro-economic shenanigans,

Pook – Member
Yes harry, bicycle credit.

Thought so.

bicycle credit

Anyone else getting an ad for Scala Anti Cellulite Shapewear on the right-> since this thread started?

You do realise those ads are targeted at you based on what you’ve been looking at? 😆

Anyone else getting an ad for Scala Anti Cellulite Shapewear on the right-> since this thread started?

Nope. Keep Pedalling bike shop in Manchester for me (owned by Shona & Richard who are very nice people), but I haven’t got rice pudding legs.

I do however have a Tesco Credit that I pay off every month (as instructed by The Prime Minister) because the club card deals are very good.

Google search rankings is the most likely reason for the advertorial.

SEO is a massive market, and companies will try any sneaky method possible.

I do however have a Tesco Credit that I pay off every month (as instructed by The Prime Minister)

Give him credit he does ride a bicycle.

Image: The Telegraph

It looks like he’s about to fall off it.

Give him credit

You can’t – he won’t take it.

Got a Tesco Cars advert now.