Oct
15
Google Is Not Your Friend!
Filed Under Google Updates
I know that is quite a statement - Google is not your friend. In fact while they forge the perception that they are this hip and cool bunch of guys and gals that got started in their garage, the fact is, they run their business with the same imperialistic techniques as the evil empire Microsoft. Google can be very convincing in how they operate, not as an empire out to rule the world, but as a lovable group out to make the world and the Internet a better place for all.
Google’s business tactics are down right scary, as is the amount of private data they are gathering about us and our websites. I am highly concerned that they are applying the data they are gathering through the toolbar, analytics, iGoogle, Gmail and the Webmaster Center and using it against site owners. Their so-called “war on paid links” is a perfect example of how Google is weeding out the competition. Anybody who owns a site and is selling links on it, is a competitor of Google, which is why they are devoting so much energy to stopping paid links. It has nothing to do with the watering down of the index or spoofing the index. Rather, it’s all about money - their money and our money.
If they are so concerned with the nature of things on the web, why don’t they stop allowing sites that have no viable content to place Google Ads on them? There is nothing worse than wasting time searching for something and getting caught in a loop of paid advertising sites that just link to other paid sites through Google Ads. You all know what I am talking about. More and more of these phony websites are getting into the index. What’s worse is that they are allowed to compete for ad space with legitimate companies and drive the cost per click up without delivering any actual content. We’ve all wasted a lot of time searching for products and weeding through the tangle of ad only sites.
So what are we to do about it? Google accounts for 65% of my referrer traffic. Even though I have no ads on this site and my revenue comes from providing services and not from my website, how would I be able to feed my kids if I lost my traffic from Google? Like Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984, Google is an all-seeing, all powerful overseer of the Internet and it’s either their way or the highway. My biggest problem with Google is the single-mindedness over paid links.
I agree that links to online gambling or casinos on a site about cat food is bad, but who are they to penalize both the advertiser and the publisher when a legitimate on-topic paid link deal is done? What’s worse is the manner in which they police paid links, by having other webmasters nark out their competitors in Google Webmaster Center. What stops a low placed website owner from snitching on a higher placed competitor just to hurt their placement?
Google’s so-called “war on paid links” is just another way for black-hat SEO to win over the hard working guys that optimize their sites, write solid content and use aggressive link strategies. It’s harder than ever to pick up links. In fact, reciprocal linking has also lost weight in the Google algorithm. So what are we supposed to do to earn links? Unless you post articles about Britney Spears, it’s unlikely that a website about network topology is going to generate lots of “buzz”.
I am a firm believer in paid links from relevant sites as well as on-topic paid posts by bloggers. Google should not take on the role as the Internet police. People like me that use paid linking should not be punished for making a content exchange that involves money. As long as the content is relevant, Google should back off. It’s time that we see Google for what they are - the enemy. The only way we can strike back is to stop paying them. If everyone took down their ads, stopped clicking on ads, and didn’t buy ads for just one day, Google would get a very strong message to back off! Just one day of lost revenue would certainly wake them up to the fact that their “paid link war” is bogus and we aren’t going to take it!
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Comments
15 Responses to “Google Is Not Your Friend!”
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How would you boycott Google?
There is no such thing as a “legitmate paid link” if the idea is to artifically hijack the search engine results. This is what anyone who buys or sells a link is doing.
Of course, I have no problem with this. In fact, I’ve been working on TLC for months now trying to build a system for buying and selling text links that Google can not detect.
So, I’m all for manipulating Google for my own agenda. Anyone in the SEO biz is. Of course, a person could easily rank well in Google and play by the rules. Just buy a Super Bowl commercial.
For those of use with less than a $4 million budget this year, SEO is a cost effective way of getting exposure.
While Google’s power is definitely scary, I don’t think they are playing “internet police”. At least not yet. They are simply protecting their business model.
If you want to continue to sell text links and keep Google happy, you can. Just use no-follow tags. Of course, most people are trying to play dirty (myself included) and want the SEO benefit.
“As long as the content is relevant, Google should back off.” That seems to make sense on the surface, but….. A link is a vote. If you sell a link on your site, you are in the same league as the Senator who gives his brother a zillion dollar defense contract…just on a smaller scale. Okay, a MUCH smaller scale. You are being brided. If the site was that good, you would have already wrote a blog about it with a vote cast (link pointing to that site).
Brandon
Hey! Nice blog posting about war on paid links makes them the enemy, Google is not your friend. I would have to agree with you on this one.
[...] Michael Stankard wrote an interesting post today on Google Is Not Your Friend!Here’s a quick excerptEven though I have no ads on this site and my revenue comes from providing services, not from my website, how would I be able to feed my kids if I lost my traffic from Google? Like Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984 Google is an all-seeing, … [...]
[...] Michael Stankard wrote an interesting post today on Google Is Not Your Friend!Here’s a quick excerptIn fact while they forge the perception that they are this hip and cool bunch of guys and gals that got started in their garage, the fact is, they run their business with the same imperialistic techniques as the evil empire Microsoft. … [...]
[...] Source [Get Found Now] [...]
Fantastic view pertaining to war on paid links makes them the enemy, Google is not your friend! I enjoy this point of view.
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
[...] Michael Stankard wrote an interesting post today on Google Is Not Your Friend!Here’s a quick excerptEven though I have no ads on this site and my revenue comes from providing services, not from my website, how would I be able to feed my kids if I lost my traffic from Google? Like Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984 Google is an all-seeing, … [...]
Brandon, thanks for your point of view. I agree that Google is protecting their business model, but so was Microsoft with Windows 98, and they got hammered. Google is a monopoly and it is getting bigger. By penalizing sites that sell relevant links and still allowing them to post AdWords, they are being hypocritical. Either the site is worthy or not. Passing on link juice is the only reason anyone buys links. Once that is gone we will have to find a new way to build our site’s reputations. I am interested to see how your program works.
[...] advertiser and the publisher when a legitimate o n-topic paid link deal is done?… source: Google Is Not Your Friend!, Social Network Marketing Experts Get Found [...]
Well said that man, you make some excellent points. I posted a related post on the same subject.
Rob,
Thanks, I liked your post as well. I saw your poll about the Google boycott. It seams we are not the only one’s who would boycott Google for a day!
[...] The wait for Google’s Page Rank update is finally over, but the results are not what many expected. Staying true to their threat that they will be penalizing websites that sell links, they have knocked some pretty heavy sites on the head. This is one more example of Google eliminating competition in online paid advertising. While this doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone that follows Matt Cutt’s blog, it still is more evidence that Google Is Not Your Friend. [...]
[...] Michael Gray - TechCrunch Scared of Google and caves in like a Schoolgirl GetFoundNow.com - Google is Not your Friend And to [...]