Web War 2.0. Google paid links and webmasters.
On October 24th 2007 Google adjusted Pagerank for numerous websites. Many dropped from 1 to 4 points. Webmasters got outraged, however the SERPs did not change. People started talking, rumors spread, forums fired up, blogs written.
On December 1st 2007 Matt Cutts and Maile Ohye have officially announced on Google webmaster blog what many have already envisioned. Google will be taking steps to devaluate paid links.
It seemed the blogosphere got ignited by flammable chemicals. Everyone from young to old got to bloging and discussed the breaking news. Some got angry, some showed support, regardless – Google simply stated its strategy to the public.
Why SEOs are right. Why Googlers are right.
They are both right because it all comes down to profits. No matter the public relations(not that kind of PR) from both sides, everyone knows what they’re in for. Of course I wouldn’t argue that many simply enjoy what they do, but the bottom line is with dollars. If it didn’t pay, we’d be doing something else and enjoyed SEO and internet marketing in our spare time. A weird hobby that would be?
But people aren’t happy and that is understandable:
- Webmasters get paid for passing the link juice
- SEOs buy links to move their clients up the chain
- People get referrals both from search and from the links
Google is in the business of search and as much as webmasters and Bloggers talk about Google – we are not the biggest fans. People who go out once in a while to research their new house, look for raw paper or simply find a good site to kill some time are the biggest fans. Google is going to do its best to keep them happy. Competitors are a nanosecond away.
Many whine (sorry). Some take it like men (not to discredit women).:
“Firstly – I feel your pain
….The first time it happened to me my traffic (and income) plummeted to a third of what it was in December of 2004. It hit me hard and almost knocked me out of blogging for money. The second major hit that I’ve taken happened earlier this month when within the space of a couple of hours the traffic (and income) on my biggest blogs went to one tenth of normal levels and my blogs completely disappeared from Google’s index. Once again it was a fairly frightening experience (although I’d learnt a lot from last time it happened and have diversified my income quite a bit since).”
It is not a stable world. Dollar is nearing extinction, wars swallow Middle East and oil hits 100$ in the States. Cui bono? Don’t panic. As John Lenon Put it: “There are no problems, only solutions†and there will be. I guarantee. Solutions will surface, we just have to give it some time and listen to the silence.
Back to the Google vs. Webmasters.
I understand why people are angry and believe it goes deeper then the link war debate.
Danny is right in the recent comment:
“Hey, newsflash — Google’s an independent company that at least in the United States has a court-backed decision that says the First Amendment gives it a constitutionally protected right to do whatever the hell it wants with the PageRank meter. So you built your business around selling ads linked to PageRank, and now you’re upset when Google pulls the plug?â€
It’s simple as that.
Google is a corporation, owned by its shareholders. Google has a board of directors. Google has CEOs and a management chain. Google is in the business of search and its business is built around providing relevancy to the millions of Google search users. If that relevancy is threatened, Google’s shares and income are threatened as well. It is only logical to address that threat as effectively as possible. It is a business strategy, nothing more and nothing less.
We are in the middle of an endless debate where both sides are right. There aren’t any solutions to satisfy the two.
Link buying can be win-win-win, but it can be win-win-lose, where “lose†are Google users, hence Google is in the “loseâ€. It is going to get balder with time.
Why the linkwar will not be efficient.
Does anyone know how it works?
Search Engine Roundtable claims it’s not very efficient so far, which I believe is true. Other then by analyzing a website and other websites that mention the URL or the name of your site, how else does Google determine if link is paid or not? There is Gmail which gets scanned, but savvy users got their own domains. There is the Firefox which sends data to Google, so Firefox might report some of the forums you hang out at and send it to Google. Google bot might scan those posts and store it in his box(may not be true at all, just my guess).
Other than that? I believe there is no way for Google to know, unless pointed by someone. Googleplex team is in for quite a nifty task and it is going to be tough for both sides. I would not be suprised with people going under the radar(if not already) and forming underground black market link merchant chains – kidding =). SEOs going under the radar would be logical though, while Google will have to develop techniques to spot them.
Webmasters use paid links to boost their rankings. Google sees this as a threat. We can’t blame them for trying to get rid of that threat. After all, their image is on the line.
P.S.
Poor Matt Cutts =).
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Ask.com released its new feature today called “Ask Eraser†which disables the routine recording of search patterns and visited websites. Though it does not completely erase the data, it stops new information from being recoreded in Asks’ database. In world of increasingly Big Brother-like surveillance Ask.com is hoping to get bigger share of privacy wary users. 
The Questionnaire is done in the same style as 
