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Is Google Playing Favorites w/Internet Marketers?!?! (screenshots)

by Hasan Barbary
7 replies
Okay, so I was doing some research for an ebook I'm working on, and I decided to visit some mainstream SEO sites that I hadn't seen in a while.

I surfed over to Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim website, started reading, glanced over to the sidebar, and saw this...





WTF?!?!? Oh, no, say it ain't so...

That's a PR6 domain, getting 4,000+ Unique Visitors a day, according to Compete.com. Andy Beal's a highly respected marketer & published author with over 15,000 Twitter followers... so you would think that somebody over at "Search Engine Central Command" would notice something so blatant.

I can't decide if I'm more amused or annoyed. But I suspect that if I or almost anyone else on this forum had a popular IM site where we were pushing text link sales on our home page, the Big G would de-index us in a heartbeat.

So why the double-standard? What gives? Who do you have to bribe or sleep with over at Mountain View to get a free pass like that?

If you have genuine inside info, shoot me a PM and we'll JV on the WSO.
#favorites #google #marketers #playing #screenshots #w or internet
  • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
    I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but what is this site doing that's wrong?

    What am I missing?
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    • Profile picture of the author LMC
      Are you positive that those aren't independent ads

      I can't tell on my phone
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      • Profile picture of the author Eric Lorence
        See that all the time.

        It seems if it's a big and popular enough site, and can't be "bullied" by any SE TOS anymore - yes they can do whatever they want.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hasan Barbary
      Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

      I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but what is this site doing that's wrong?

      What am I missing?
      Hi, Steven~

      One of Google's core tenets in their Terms Of Service is that you can't purchase links expressly for the purpose of manipulating the SERPs.

      But that's exactly what that ad is claiming to do. Every once in awhile, Google will make a press release about some site they penalized for this.

      Kinda like the IRS and audits.

      I know it's a 3rd party advertiser, but it's still pretty brazen, IMO.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        Originally Posted by Hasan Barbary View Post

        Hi, Steven~

        One of Google's core tenets in their Terms Of Service is that you can't purchase links expressly for the purpose of manipulating the SERPs.

        But that's exactly what that ad is claiming to do. Every once in awhile, Google will make a press release about some site they penalized for this.

        Kinda like the IRS and audits.

        I know it's a 3rd party advertiser, but it's still pretty brazen, IMO.
        Key words

        can't purchase links expressly for the purpose of manipulating the SERPs

        They're not doing this. They just have some ad running on their site.

        I don't think 3rd party ads fall under that TOS. As long as the site in
        question does not purchase links, no harm, no foul.

        Otherwise, now you've got Google playing ad police and when that
        happens, there is going to be revolt.

        You think if Amazon.com had an ad like this on their site they'd be
        deindexed?

        There'd be hell to pay.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dunder
    I've seen that exact same ad on lots of blogs that I have visited via search engine listsings. Many IM bloggers actually promote that product.
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    Don't worry, be happy.

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