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Violation Of Googles Websmaster Guidelines - doh!

by BarryOnline
7 replies
Buying links for SEO purposes is a violation of Googles websmaster guidelines.

But Google openly advertises websites that sell back links.

If you type into Google “buy backlinks” for example you'll see lots of sites through Google Adwords advertising back link services.

Google says... “ Google works hard to ensure that it fully discounts links intended to manipulate search engine results, such excessive link exchanges and purchased links that pass PageRank”

Yet it advertises hundreds of sites that offer back linking services that help sites “manipulate search engine results”

Here's another statement from Google...

“If you see a site that is buying or selling links that pass PageRank, let us know. We'll use your information to improve our algorithmic detection of such links.”

I clicked on an Adwords add when I searched for “buy backlinks” & the first sentence on the site I was directed to says this...

“Boost the Page Rank of your website by getting backlinks from Actual Page Rank 6 Webpages.” & goes on to offer the sale of back link packages.

Ehh...

Am I missing something here?

So buying backlinks is a violation of Googles guidelines & we've to contact them if we find a site that's selling them but essentially Google are selling them.

As Homer Simpson would say – doh!
#doh #googles #guidelines #violation #websmaster
  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by Barry$ View Post

    Buying links for SEO purposes is a violation of Googles websmaster guidelines.
    It may be instructive to consider that SELLING them is apparently not.
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    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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    • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      It may be instructive to consider that SELLING them is apparently not.
      LMAO.

      Welcome to the world, Barry.


      Ken
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      • Profile picture of the author inter123
        It is the usual way of the world, hypocrisy and double standards go well together.
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        • Profile picture of the author homeworkin
          Effectively there is no way Google can tell if someone is buying links. Sure, if someone is advertising it is obvious - but there are many, many ways to buy links that Google would really never be able to detect.

          Also, what is the difference between buying a link and having outsourced workers building links for you? Link exchanges (which are encouraged by Google)? Feeder sites? Or article marketing, for that matter? Realistically all of these things are manipulating links at a price. Whether that price is content, your time, paying wages, or buying links, it is all designed to do the same thing.

          What about about gurus who are paying 20-30 workers to create sites and develop links for them? Big brand names who are paying workers to spend time on social media? It is a tangled web....

          Psst, wanna buy a link?
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    Google says a lot of things especially when it comes to activities that are used to manipulate your SE rankings. If they enforced all of them there would probably be no websites in their index!

    Lee
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    Gone Fishing
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    • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
      Banned
      Google says... " Google works hard to ensure that it fully discounts links intended to manipulate search engine results, such as excessive link exchanges and purchased links that pass PageRank"
      Why would Google care about links that pass PageRank? Don't they know PageRank is meaningless?
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  • Profile picture of the author rickfrazier1
    The big problem between what Google says they don't allow/like and what they seem to "promote" has mostly to do with money.

    On one hand, because 99.9999% of the actions are automated and performed by their various database applications, it would cost them a fortune to implement blocking for the things they don't like.

    On the other hand, by providing what they currently do, they make a chunk of money on Adwords and Adsense, so they can't be too choosy about what niches they aren't going to allow, because it could affect their revenues.

    Their business, like all other businesses, is a balance between the money they spend and the money they make. The last thing they want to do is kill the golden goose, or even maim it a little. Google is currently the largest search engine in the world, and if they restrict too much, they leave the door open for someone else to start taking their traffic... Guidelines are one thing, enforcement is entirely a different matter. [sigh]
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