Earlier today I wrote up a post about advertiser reputations. I really didn’t like the outcome of the post so I canned it. After reading a few forum posts I have a better idea of what I want to say.

If you are in this game for the long term, don’t do dumb things today for easy money. The most obvious example are the people that click on their own Adsense ads. Easy money, right? Click, click, click, cha-ching.

Why would you want to exchange your status at Google for a few hundred dollars (if even that much)? A year from now your site could be making $100 a day and sending real people to advertisers.
Take bloggers who promote low-quality clickbank garbage, as an example. They are exchanging their name and reputation for some quick cash. Are a few thousand dollars this month really worth six figure opportunities next year?

If you are beginning your online journey it may difficult to see the road ahead of you. Along the way there will be short term, fast cash for you to chase after. Sometimes it will be the result of your hard work. Just pause and make sure that the money isn’t costing you, or your website, long term revenue.