Post by Morreion on Feb 22, 2011 10:17:33 GMT -5
The Dirty Little Secrets of Search (New York Times)
Despite the cowboy outlaw connotations, black-hat services are not illegal, but trafficking in them risks the wrath of Google. The company draws a pretty thick line between techniques it considers deceptive and “white hat” approaches, which are offered by hundreds of consulting firms and are legitimate ways to increase a site’s visibility. Penney’s results were derived from methods on the wrong side of that line, says Mr. Pierce. He described the optimization as the most ambitious attempt to game Google’s search results that he has ever seen.
“Actually, it’s the most ambitious attempt I’ve ever heard of,” he said. “This whole thing just blew me away. Especially for such a major brand. You’d think they would have people around them that would know better.”
A fascinating article- there is a lot of money at stake getting near the top of a Google search result. Some companies that have been building up their Google page rank in a shady manner have been pushed back down the list or even temporarily banned from searches.
The question arises later in the article- does amount of advertising spent affect your treatment in a Google search? There are lots of factors that go into a simple internet search. Check out the interview with a black hat corporate search booster- they literally hide so that Google doesn't block them from their search results.
Despite the cowboy outlaw connotations, black-hat services are not illegal, but trafficking in them risks the wrath of Google. The company draws a pretty thick line between techniques it considers deceptive and “white hat” approaches, which are offered by hundreds of consulting firms and are legitimate ways to increase a site’s visibility. Penney’s results were derived from methods on the wrong side of that line, says Mr. Pierce. He described the optimization as the most ambitious attempt to game Google’s search results that he has ever seen.
“Actually, it’s the most ambitious attempt I’ve ever heard of,” he said. “This whole thing just blew me away. Especially for such a major brand. You’d think they would have people around them that would know better.”
A fascinating article- there is a lot of money at stake getting near the top of a Google search result. Some companies that have been building up their Google page rank in a shady manner have been pushed back down the list or even temporarily banned from searches.
The question arises later in the article- does amount of advertising spent affect your treatment in a Google search? There are lots of factors that go into a simple internet search. Check out the interview with a black hat corporate search booster- they literally hide so that Google doesn't block them from their search results.
