Google helping Bill Gates?

[janeth]

Is Google going to help Bill Gates take over? As a matter of fact I think Googles biggest problem right now is Google.
They hire Eric Schmidt who has a record of 0 out of 2 against Microsoft. I guess there thinking is sooner or later he should win.
Google was sitting in the best seat for the fight. I think it was like 80% of all searches online where done on Google. A lot of people loved Google and was not about to leave. I was one of those people. But now a search on Goolge a lot of times returns information that has nothing to do with what your looking for.
I'm not the only one I have read post after post all over the internet about people having the same problem. I also herd that the NY Times was looking into it now so maybe Google can get a front page story about how crazy there searches are right now.
Yahoo is no better because there just a copy of Google.
I think Google may loose this fight before it ever starts if they stay on the path there on.

[cbp]

I read that NY Times story - its all about the spam when searching for gift baskets. It was a good bit of PR on behalf of the section of industry who are not happy with the way Google rank a particular very large network of gift basket sites.

New York Times story here

Given what I know about some things going on in that industry - this was an organised PR effort by the disgruntled webmasters - they did well.

Here is some insight into an explanation for the current alleged problems with Google search results:
(from: http://searchenginejournal.blogspot.com/ )

Google recently introduced a new keyword phrase filter during its most recent update. Some phrases were unchanged, but many highly optimized and highly competitive phrases were drastically altered. Some webmasters saw their sites drop from top listings to not being in the top 1,000 sites. Unlike other filters, this spam peanalty does not affect a page or sites overall perceived value. The end effect is lowered rankings for various specific searches for that page.

If you have a couple commonly paired words on your website such as "search" and "marketing", the new filter will check to see how the words are placed on your page (and possibly in incoming links). The new algorithm is looking for more naturally existing context to prevent search engine optimized websites from dominating search results. Essentially the goal of this filter is to get webmasters to adjust their content to be written for the users and not search engines. The problem with this logic is that good SEO typically falls in line with good site and page structure.

The filter is selective in that it is only enabled for some terms on certain searches. The filter can be overridden by placing a - character for the terms. If you search for search marketing you will find Commision Junction where my site was once listed. If you search for search-marketing you will see my site. If you search for search marketing info, you will see that the filter in not enabled for that search.

Off the start the filter was set rather corse, but it appears to be shifting more in line with reality. Some of the decent optimized sites are appearing back in the place where spam was just filling the results. Just this morning I saw a clients website pop up for two seperate phrases he was tripped for.

This filter marks the first time in search engine history where webmasters have not been able to reengineer exactly what the search engine did. Currently I do not recommend making any chages while Google is still fine tuning the filter.

Food for thought...

CBP

[AimeeC]

If this really is the case, and Google's going down, this is just sad. As a surfer, I favor Google over the others. As a website owner, it seems to be the quickest way to get indexed (if that's the right word). I hope they'll realize what they're doing and come to their senses, eh?

[rlrouse]

Google is constantly tweaking the algorithm in an attempt to keep the spammers at bay. The problem is they sometimes "turn the knob" a little too far and take out tons of innocent sites along with the black hats.

The good news is they usually recognize the problem and fix it with the next update. The bad news is they seem to be making these mistakes more often than in the past.

Let's face it, as long as Google ranks pages using a mathematical algorithm, the SERPS will never be perfect and we can't expect them to be. Users will accept good quality SERPS just as readily as they'll accept perfect SERPS.

But when they recognize a noticeable drop in quality they'll be unhappy. For a few years now Google has set the standard of quality by which all search engines are judged. To fail to meet their own high standards, especially at this particular point in time, is a mistake IMO.

With an IPO looming, it sees to me their interests would be better served if they refrained from rocking the boat so much after getting so close to the shore (the IPO).

[janeth]

Hi cbp,
I know where to find the NY Times story Guess you found that with out the help of Google. lol
I'm going to read it now.



I love rlrouse

"better served if they refrained from rocking the boat so much after getting so close to the shore"

That was great.

[alpine]

Re: New York Times story

I read the above article and it is unfortunate that the businesses who enjoyed great profits with the old algorithm, have fallen prey to the spammers.

However they are in the interim "Ms. Wiesel of Cesta Gift Baskets" is working with pay per click.

If they were smart enough to get to the top the first time, it will only be a matter of time that they will figure out how to get to the top again with the new algorithm.

Hopefully it will be soon enough for the retail boom this holiday season.

If she has the budget she may try a reseller program like CJ or LinkShare

[AlanMCSD]

Hey, I'm not partial, I hate them all. Nuff said.

[outkast]

Google was the place to go for so long, we forgot about all of the other guys. Alpine, I think that is the problem. They wont leave things alone long enough for us to figure it out again. So we just use high quality content and a clean interface and hope for the best. At least for now...

[Sualdam]

But now a search on Google a lot of times returns information that has nothing to do with what your looking for

But is that Microsoft's fault?

You look at some site review requests on these forums and find people with a couple of thousand (well, I saw that many once) keywords covering everything in World History from Adam & Eve onwards, even thought they are just trying to sell cute rocks or real estate.

Is it any wonder that search engines generally are in a mess?

As for it just being Google, it's the age old problem: abuse the most popular vendor. So that's what the scammers do.

Personally, I can realise rubbish when I see it (if I search for, say, a video camera and ANYTHING with Kelcoo in it appears it is ignored).

Google still works for me if I want anything.

[joseph909]

Good article...but I have a few comments from my experience, specifically with the gift basket industry.

Cesta has held top positions for "gift basket" and "gift baskets" for as long as I can remember. I know because they are my competition.

They play the same SEO game as everyone else and if they have not sold a fruit basket in two months it is because of their website, products or something else, not lack of rankings. They trade links, optimize their site and all the rest-they have a right to do that to keep their business on top.

I have not heard of "Gift Services" out of Seattle so I am not sure if they are Drop shipper or spammer who is creating hundreds of subdomains or mirror sites meant to deceive.

Personally, I don't think it is unethical for a person to start a business by selecting a drop shipper and creating an online store that features that wholesalers products. It doesn't matter if 1 person or 100 people decide to use the same drop shipper/wholesaler. Its just the way capitalism works. How many brick and mortar retailers sell the same products? Wal-mart, Target, Kmart...they all have essentially the same products at varying prices with occasional private label brands.

Do I have a problem with Spammers creating 100's of subdomains with the intent of tricking the engines and deceiving people - YES.

Doug of Ihelpyouservices forum frequently says if you are doing something to decive or trick the search engines, then don't do it. I totally agree with that and think its all about intention.

I didn't like the way Cesta was portrayed in this article, like the victim who has no rankings at all...quite the contrary. They play the same game as everyone else and just because you don't make every single gift basket does not mean your not a legitimate business.

If you are having a problem with sales, revamp you website and products.

Thank you for the discussion of this topic...I had to get that off my chest.