Google Wants YOU (to report paid links)
Remember that Uncle Sam poster where his finger points directly at you no matter where you are standing? Well it looks like Google is taking over for ol’ Sammy and pointing it’s omnipotent finger at every person on the net who is buying links. What am I talking about? This weekend Google engineer Matt Cutts, made a few posts (1, 2, 3 to be exact) about paid links. Aaron Wall started off a great discussion over at Threadwatch and grabbed some key parts from Matt’s posts:
Start with this:
As long as we’re talking about links, this seems like a pretty good opportunity to talk about a simple litmus test for paid links and how to tell if a paid link violates search engines’ quality guidelines. If you want to sell a link, you should at least provide machine-readable disclosure for paid links by making your link in a way that doesn’t affect search engines. … I wanted to give a heads-up because Google is going to be looking at paid links more closely in the future.
Then see here with Matt asking for help in ratting out paid link spammers:
As far as the details, it can be pretty short. Something like “Example.com is selling links; here’s a page on example.com that demonstrates that” or “www.shadyseo.com is buying links. You can see the paid links on example.com/path/page.html” is all you need to mention. That will be enough for Google to start testing out some new techniques we’ve got — thanks!
OK – let’s look at just a few of the ways this won’t work:
1) Supposing that they actually did take these link narcings seriously… You want to knock off your fiercest competitor and have been trying to find a clever, new way. So you buy a few links on a bunch of different sites for your competitor and then go on over and fill out the link spam report with all of the juicy details. Your competitor gets banned from Google and you move up a spot in the SERPs.
2) Again – let’s suppose this will really be in effect. You are a small business that doesn’t even know what a paid link is (in Matt’s sense of the term) but you do know a good advertising opportunity when you see one. You meet someone at a party who has a bunch of good forums, blogs and genuine resource sites all related to your niche. The two of you work out a great deal for you to advertise on her site with a mixture of banner ads and text links. These text links are actually driving qualified traffic to your website and converting sales. One of your competitors sees these links, reports you to Google and you are effectively banned from Google. After months and months of begging & pleading you still haven’t found out what you did “wrong”.
3) You make “paid link spam” reports everyday on every company that you can see. They are ignored. All of them.
Michael Gray summed it up perfectly:
Lastly if you’re one of those people who think Google is in to make the world better, let’s remember Google is a for profit company. Their interest in keeping the organic side clean and spam free, is really governed by their need to maintain a spot people are willing to visit for them to put paid advertisements on.
Well this was a really great post, and surely we cannot have people calling foul if there is no harm.
What’ll Google think of next ya’ll?
Matt-Cutts-Bashing and Other Blunders
Responses to what appeared to be an upfront disclosure and an honest solicitation of industry-input have quickly developed into a slew of Matt-Cutts-bashings. I’ve never met the man but, folks, he simply doesn’t deserve that from us.
That said, I do find horrendous problems for Matt Cutts in finding ways to define, to identify and to monitor paid links. I’ll just give you three examples here.
1. Define What is a Paid Link
At law, compensation doesn’t just mean cash. It also means goods, services and even love. What is a paid link? If I write a 750 word article and allow it to be posted on a Web site in exchange for a link, do you not realize that I have just paid between $220 and $750 in time and talent for that single link even though no money traded hands?
If a philanthropist donates $20,000 to a nonprofit and that nonprofit posts a thank you for the sponsorship on its Web site and provides a courtesy link to the donor’s Web site, is that not a paid link? If it isn’t, than all link farm sites can become nonprofits and give away links for a “donation.”
2. How Will Google Know For Certain How to Identify a Paid Link?
I just finished a backlink campaign for a client yesterday. I submitted 100 links. Not one was a paid link and not one was given a reciprocal link or a “no follow.” If my record holds, 90% of these links will be accepted. But here’s a problem. Five of these links were to directory sites (PR 6 or greater) that also post paid links and links that are paid for by reciprocal links. No one but the sites’ Webmasters and I know for certain which category of link I applied for. I’m certain that the Webmasters of these sites would not want to volunteer how many of their posted links are given for free. Like all of us, they have mouths to feed.
3. How Will Google Monitor and Mediate?
If a competitor of my client’s Website “reports” to Google that I have paid for links, will Google notify me so that I may initiate a slander or libel lawsuit? Will Google mediate so that I have an opportunity to refute the accusation? (How many new employees will Google have to hire to monitor and mediate the accusations and complaints?) Or, are we to be presumed guilty with no opportunity to prove innocence?
So Matt Cutts asked for a discussion, so let’s discuss. I am seriously pleased that he gave us this opportunity to participate. And for all the panicking Web site owners, may I just point out that it is possible to garner a Google Page Rank 7, place #4 on a Google search out of 256,000,000 Results for a 2 word Keyphrase, with a Home page that does NOT contain the Keyphrase and a Web site which has only 20 inbound links. If your SEO expert doesn’t know how this is possible, check http://www.WebSyndications.com next month.
Chris, this is an outstanding, highly-informative post. The points you bring up surely will counteract any concept of this working for Google. I just don’t see how it will work. Like Graywolf said, Google is in fact “a for profit company” and it’s important people don’t lose sight of this.
Great post!
seems to get right the point I think.
And im no google fan!
Thanks Damien – glad you enjoyed it!
It all smacks of hypocrisy on Google`s part. Another example of “Big Brother Is Watching” I reckon.
Great article, still topical now. These new Google guidelines will create more problems than they solve.
Maybe the term “paid link” that Google uses is very misleading and confusing. They should choose another term that describes the problem better. Many links are paid, directly or indirectly. BusinessWeek says “Buy a link here”, so it must be paid links then! Many advertising services are about paid links, including Google’s AdWords. Use another term or remove this altogether! I cannot believe Google didn’t think this through!
I don't sell links on my websites but I still have lots of usual non-paid links to other sites. Now I am worried what if some day Google decides that some of them are paid links? There is no way that I can prove them wrong… Should I start making all links as <a rel="nofollow">?
It’s very difficult being competitive without buying links, the competition have already bought loads. I also wonder why Google allows banned website to advertise with adwords, even link seller use adwords to advertise links for sale.
Selling link is bad and something has to done about it. Google does monitor link buyers but I don't think it can do it accurately. Definitely there would be mistakes in its judgment, which site owners will have to helplessly bear.
Yes I want to add that people are using their brain, time, resource to find good Link building startegy they should have an upper hand over these paid link builders. So we support each other as well google to find such sites.