Googles latest review site slap...Ouch

Read the post, went and checked my review sites with affiliate links, and so far everything is checking out just fine, QS remains strong on all the keywords on all the sites I've checked so far. I'm not seeing any impact of any alleged "Google slap" so far.

I'm not sure what there is to say, I agree completely with all of Perry's broad points.

Anyone whose business model relies on manipulating Google results without truly adding value had better understand that they're playing a short-term game. Not all Product Review sites do that, of course... But a lot of them do.

No new news here.

Adwords has been slappin' stuff for a while now. That is why I moved my PPC elsewhere.

I just finished checking my emails and read the one from Perry, plus his blog post... then I came here to let the WF members know about it - but you guys were faster

Not having review sites I am not affected.

I don't do PPC much, so I can't really say for sure, but as a consumer, if I were searching to buy a product and I found an ad for a review instead - particularly a shitty non-review advertorial, I'd be pissed, and I'd stop clicking on ads.

That's what Google is cheesed about right there. For the long term, that model is very corrosive to THEIR business model, and they WILL eventually punish EVERYTHING that has that same effect.

The same thing happens in organic listings too. The fact is, you should build a web presence (not just a site, but your whole visible, interlinked PRESENCE online) as if Google or SEO didn't even exist.

Get links from places that make sense, hang out where your audience hangs out, collect, sort and classify USEFUL information for your niche and you'll win slowly over time.

Even though you don't start getting paid fast, you WILL build a massive collection of small but secure traffic and income streams.

If you're like me, I couldn't even tell you exactly how many products I'm currently promoting, or even how many sites and pages on various properties I even really have. By that same token, several of my methods and income sources would have to fail simultaneously for it to make a dent.

I guess Google's behaviour here makes sense - if they say "don't be evil" how long do you think they will let you weaken their reputation with middle-man, pump-and-dump type of sites.

It's why they don't like arbitrage much either. If they figure out a way to stop that too, they will.

The chilling effect is G lost their ad-agnostic "it's not our job to police advertisers" stance and is gradually imposing policy standards under the guise of quality standards, and implementing their policies cleverly with the "slap" mechanism, essentially a form of economic censorship. Those who've been doing this stuff for a while are aware of Amazon and eBay prohibitions based on political motivation, and Google is a huge target for that type of manipulation.

There are plenty of other ways to get traffic other than Google - Don't panic.

Aside from that it would be insane to build a business with only one profit technique or without building a list by adding value....

I think the blog post is just a link bait pre-sell for his cheat sheet.. which is a much smarter business model by the way

All I can wonder is 'what took them so long'. Search engine results are a laugh when it comes to products nowadays - the bext results are often on page 5 or even further back because of the 'me too' rubbish out there.

Affiliates share a big pie in google revenue, its not that easy to ignoring or hurting affiliates. Its all about adding value to the page or site. If reader found that page useful then google will like it eventually.
Comparing 3/4 products and gathering most of the information from sales page will not work further for sure. We need to add more value by adding insider facts about product.

Seen this? Perry Marshall alerted me to it. Seems not only are the FTC targeting affiliate review sites but Google is going after them too - even ones that are pretty good review sites. From Perry (quoting Glenn Livingston) -

"Seems pretty clear they've added code which screens for affiliate links on the landing pages". Presumably they can't pick up cloaked affiliate links - which is what you should be doing anyway. Don't know about you but I've long felt the affiliate review site model was way too used and abused. Glenn Livingston is right, don't you think, when he says "time to stop building on sand"? Goodbye fast buck...hello long-term sustainable business model - which doesn't include bullshitting your readers with bogus review sites. What do you think?

Full report Google Slap for Product Review Sites