Google is getting really greedy

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41
My feelings about Google defiantly changing, when people said they were all about making money, and that that they didn't care about the little guy, I thought it was people who had lost their sites just lashing out.

Now I'm starting to understand a little better, while searching for new keywords last night I noticed that google not only has the paid ads in the top of the serps, but right under those they have images. It seem like there using their own heat map design that they tell adsense publishers to use.

Google already places ads in the sidebar, at the top of serp listings, and now they have added images to the mix. Being a affiliate for physical products is going to get much harder for anyone who simply wants to rank at the top of Google.

Other methods may have to come in play because if your serps look like this:
your traffic may be cut in half. To me the image above is crazy, as a customer searching for a product you have all these ads just pushed in your face, organic listing can't even be seen. All of Google's talk about bring the best search results seems like bs when you see things like this.
#search engine optimization #google #greedy
  • Well, they control their own website so they can do anything they want with it. You are simply taking a share of their traffic. So why not create your own following and don't depend on Google that much or take a bite of Google's pie and make as much money as you can with it. Or better yet, join the crowd and advertise on Adwords.
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    • I agree with your views on Google is getting really greedy.....
    • I don't know, that sounds like to much work . Believe me I understand that it's there business and everything and they have a right to do whatever they want, it's just I don't like when they act like their saints, yet create serps listing that go against what they say they want to provide, which is the best serps results for visitors. The image above doesn't necessarily show the best results, just paid ones.

      Oh and this is not a I hate Google thread I actually was more interested in talking with other marketers to see if their traffic has gone down since Google started adding image ads.
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    • May be we have to think like another facebook ..
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  • I completely disagree that the Google Products listings is a bad thing. I think it is great for the user experience. If I am looking for a physical product, and then get hit with an image of exactly what I am looking for, a price, and in many cases a domain that I know and trust (newegg.com, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, etc), how is that a bad thing?

    I feel much more comfortable buying a product from a name that I know and trust (and one that can afford to pay for ads), than some little shitty affiliate Wordpress site.

    I think you are looking at it from the point of view of someone promoting physical products that is getting squeezed. For users that know nothing about internet marketing, affiliates, SERPs, etc., I do not think it is a bad thing at all.
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    • I mean sure when you when think about it like that, it does sound as if Google is looking out for the visitors, but what about me huh, I need to make money to lol. Google is not providing serps listing like the one in the image out of the goodness of their hearts, it's about that money.


      I do try to be as logical as possible and think about things with my personal feeling not being involved, and yes I feel as though their being greedy by taking up the whole pie, mean can I get a crumb, is it not enough to have ads on the side,organic listing with the product, that now they are using images to push affiliates sites off the map.


      If I ran a business as big as them I would make sure I get my share, but I wouldn't just run over the little guys in the process. I DO NOT HATE GOOGLE, in fact I'm grateful that they exist , they provide a way for many of us to make money online. It seems as if their war on marketers is a way for them to get us out of the way so that they can keep all the money for themselves.
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    • The image based ads alternate, sometimes in sidebar, sometimes at the top, and sometimes they don't show at all.
  • Its true only, other search engines and social media sites too trying this...
  • I don't think so that Google is making money through its product listing but it has always think about the convenience of its users and help them to easily access different product options and sort all things in category i.e. brand, store and category.
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    • Those product listings are ads for companies that has paid Google to list them.
  • Year 2013.........and the serps starts from page 2.
  • Banned
    When I search for [cheap subwoofers] I don't see the same SERPs as the screenshot in OP.

    Nest28, are you logged into a Google account? Your upper/right side of your screenshot looks like your logged into a Google account, might be messing up your search results (personalized SERPs).

    I'm not logged in when I did the search below.


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    • Yes when I took the pic I was logged in, but when I logged out I see it in the sidebar and at the top. I did a search for cheap sub woofers 10 times and it shows up in different places and sometimes not at all.
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  • I have to apologize for the thread title, I just don't like where this is going. I just wanted to know if anyone has seen a reduction in the amount of traffic due to the kind of serp listings in the image in the op.


    I don't want this to be a I hate Google thread, I don't have any hard feelings towards G, in fact I think the best marketers will always find a way to make money, Google or no Google, update or no update. I'm more interest in becoming that type of marketer vs hating google.
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    • Your second paragraph sums things up well.
  • Here is an article published just a few days ago that ties in with the theme of this thread - pay close attention to the 5th paragraph that begins with this -

    "Once the transition to Google Shopping completes, roughly two-thirds of the SERP real estate will be devoted to paid listings."

    How Google Shopping will Disrupt Online Retail
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    • This article basically summed up what I was trying to say, that Google will take over the serps with new eye catching ads, and for those of us who use amazon this may present a problem. I mean you could be at position 1 and not even get traffic, based on the image in op
  • Glad you're catching on. There is less and less real estate to go around. They're sending less traffic to everyone else and keeping more for themselves. The writing is on the wall for Google-traffic-only business models.

    BTW, install AdBlocker and you'll have a much better experience searching on Google.
  • Pretty soon we'll be aiming for the second page of Google if they continue filling up the top 10 results with their products.
  • I think anybody looking to buy something as in the example shown by the op, is generally given what they want by Google, annoying as it maybe to Amazon affiliates etc, but I've found that if I'm searching for information in particular then Google isn't so good anymore.

    To me, they don't generally seem to display up to date results. Most of the results are form 2009, 2010 etc so I've found myself using Bing a lot more lately instead of wasting time sifting through out of date or irrelevant results given by Google..
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  • Nest28

    The trend is there for all to see...and as they say: "The trend is your friend"

    Google is changing and it will continue to. It just reinforces to me that trying to pre-empt SEO cracks in the system or special tricks are short lived and not sustainable long term business models.

    Where does that leave me?

    Not thinking primarily about Google!

    I think we will start to see a trend away from Google...it may not amount to a lot, but human nature is such that it will start to question its power and dominance and move into other search engines and technolgies that support human values and personal control.

    Just my opinion of course
  • I would argue that Google may feel that AdWords not only brings them more income, but also the best results to their customers.

    I don't see many AdSense spammers on AdWords, do you?
  • I don't agree with your point.
    As Google is giving opportunity to the businesses who want to give there ads by paid methods and also to those who want to go for organic seo.
  • Banned
    It's kind of what Occupy is against, the large companies take over the whole word and the little man has to work for a hunger loan and gets less and less chances to start something profitable for himself.

    Same thing happens online, and the only way to separate yourself from the masses is by coming up with something truly unique.

    In my country they are a bit ahead of time with the internet and 6-8yrs ago it was already hard to run a profitable Adwords campaign for physical products, break-even was a good choice and then you hoped that the return business would make up for it, but nowadays that everyone has internet and always wants the cheapest deal possible there is not much repeat business as people switch just as easily so all money ends up at Google and the rest can be paid on tax. Exactly as they want it.
  • I have lost all respect for Google. Google penalizes webmasters who use offpage SEO to gain higher rankings and yet, trust me on this, Adwords paying websites are getting indexed in organic search results over websites that do not pay Google. It is easy to understand, in black and white, since Panda and Penguin. Websites that get more traffic, more social shares and appear on more indexible pages, will climb the rankings. So, although paid SEO is against Googles terms, you can pay Google Adwords, which in effect, is paying for SEO! Organic results are no longer real organic results, organic results are now slowly becoming the websites that have been paying Google Adwords over time. Do any search in any Google search engine and you will find most relevant results in the middle of page 3 and upwards. Google want their cake and they want to eat it and unfortunately, unless everyone stops using Google, they can be as greedy as they like! Googles motto should be "Do as we say and not as we do!"
  • Don't know why everyone is arguing about good and bad sites, penalties, etc, etc. The long and short is that Foogle is in it to make money, and they're doing everything possible to keep Wall street happy. If I was an investor, I'd also be chewing their @$$ every time they didn't meat earnings forecasts. Product placement ads are indeed paid (just in case anyone doesn't know yet), and they are all about increasing revenues and making you pay for your traffic.

    The model works for now, but I'm not sure what the long term ramifications are going to be in terms of user experience. As a consumer I'm on the fence about PPA's, and generally ignore them. However, at times I do click on them when looking for something.
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    Google is getting really greedy

    My feelings about Google defiantly changing, when people said they were all about making money, and that that they didn't care about the little guy, I thought it was people who had lost their sites just lashing out. Now I'm starting to understand a little better, while searching for new keywords last night I noticed that google not only has the paid ads in the top of the serps, but right under those they have images. It seem like there using their own heat map design that they tell adsense publishers to use.