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SEO, SERPS, Is There a Google Search Engine Fairy?

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“Google is not your friend
In fact, you are not even Google’s customer.
You are the PRODUCT Google sells to its customers.”
~ Adam Toporek in Google+ and the Illusion of Privacy

Credit for sharing this video @MicalJohnson in Don’t be Evil Google
Mical in turn credits @Ed_Dale who just published
*BOOM* Google Upends Search – I Warned You!

See also Google’s Real Name Policy: Why YOU are the product

Pete from Currency Exchange commented in my Google Monopoly post, writing,

“I must admit I have an implicit trust in Google to deliver authentic and trustworthy results. So long as the company adheres to clear principles and punishes those that manipulate the SERPS I won’t object its influence. Is there such a thing as a benevolent dictator?”

His comment is an excellent example of so many reasons why we are all losing our rights and freedoms every day. This short comment set off so many warning bells in my brain that this post is the result.

“Implicit trust in Google”

This is based on pure and simple PR from continuously being mentioned and written about in the mainstream media in everything from movies, prime-time television shows, soap operas, and major newspapers and news coverage both online and off.

Google’s “don’t be evil” is akin to
used car salesmen saying “trust me”.

Google Trustworthy? NO:

  • NEW: Google and Facebook accused of bypassing iPhone’s privacy settings to spy on owners to build advertising profiles
  • Google NSA Secret Relationship (Their relationship with both the NSA – U.S. National Security Agency – and NASA)
  • Google CEO Retracts Street View Privacy Joke – Google CEO told CNN reporter Parker that “if she didn’t want to be on Street View, she could just move.” How long are we going to allow companies to claim it was just a “computer glitch” or “innocent mistake” every time they get caught red-handed?
  • EU Google Antitrust Probe – European investigation into “Google stifling competition by juicing its search results to favor its services over its rivals”.
  • Google Lets People Block Your Domain – fair enough if you want to block a site for yourself – but those blocks are REPORTED TO GOOGLE. Have you read all my posts about the problems with Akismet blacklisting blogs – not junk blogs – the very best blogs we regularly read? Hello Google Search Akismet! See my CrowdSourcing Failure post for more details on this.
  • Invading children’s privacy by asking for their city of birth and last four digits of their Social Security numbers in order to submit a doodle drawing to a Google-sponsored contest. THAT is Google evil. << Read this <<
  • Google Privacy – they value THEIR OWN but not ours
  • Google pays income taxes of only 2.4% to the U.S. on their income; the average American company pays 28.3% – Does that sound like Google pays taxes fairly? The story mentions Facebook and Microsoft use the same tax loopholes Maybe they learned them from GE – a corporation long famous for paying next to no taxes.
  • Read the post on Tax Justice that includes this quote: “The $3 in my wallet is more than ExxonMobil, GE and Bank of America paid in taxes last year, combined,” said Carl Gibson, founder of US Uncut Mississippi. “There’s a direct connection between corporate tax dodging and what’s happening to real people’s lives. Because of overseas tax havens and other tax loopholes, US corporations are making profits in America but barely paying taxes here. If we close those loopholes, we wouldn’t have to be cutting back on firefighters, library hours and student loans.”
  • Google’s growing undisclosed “conflicts of interest” are baring their teeth
  • Googleopoly: The Google-DoubleClick Anti-Competitive Case

Clear principles? Which principles might that be?

How authentic and trustworthy are Google’s results?

Don’t take my word for it. Read these:

  • “Do No Evil?”
  • Stealing data including passwords with technology installed in Street View cars
  • Is Google Favoring Big Brands in local, organic and paid search?
  • Manipulating organic search listings or artificially inflating AdWords bid costs during the critical ecommerce shopping season?
  • Outright stealing from advertisers by substituting worthless traffic for converting traffic (what we refer to as distribution fraud) in a manner that makes detection unlikely by the average user or even major agencies?
  • Google CEO announces their intention to “clean up the Internet cesspool” by Favoring Big Brands.
  • Google has turned search results into a popularity contest among brands.
  • Google Censorship – How it works

Are those the principles Pete meant?Google Fairy

Manipulating the serps?

We need to get clear on what is meant by that and WHY Google does not want businesses to know how they can be found in the search engines. Is Google Playing Fair? To imply that if you proactively make your sites easy to find that they will Google slap you scares businesses into inaction.

Do you believe in the Google search engine fairy?

NO? Well then you HAVE to actively seek out related links somehow – whether that is by commenting in blogs or using Twitter or Facebook or other Social Media or doing article marketing or asking related sites to link to your site.

If you DON’T take action to make your site easy to find
no one will be finding you in their search engine anyway.

  • Links and the words that are actually linked are one of the ways search engines “know” what is on a Web page.
  • If you build a site that has zero incoming links, how really do you believe anyone will ever find it – no matter how good it is – to give you a link out of the goodness of their heart? Most people are selfish and they do NOT seek out ways to give their valuable time (time IS far more valuable than money) to strangers by linking to them. Yes, some of us DO go out of our way to do that but most people do not.
  • Do you believe in the if you build it they will come school of Web design? Read my post on building traffic for why that will not work and what site owners MUST do to be found.

The best site for understanding search engines, serps and SEO is SEOBook and a good place to start is AaronWall’s excellent post Two Diametrically Opposed Google Editorial Policies.

If there has ever actually been a benevolent dictator it might be the stuff of fiction such as King Arthur and Camelot or possibly the kingdom of David, but finding an example in modern times may be impossible.

For 23 years I worked for IBM, arguably the most apparently paternalistic corporation in the world, who “took care of” their employees as though they were children – at least that is what we all thought until they converted our REAL pensions to illegal cash pensions, eliminated benefits that we had been promised IN WRITING and suddenly reduced salaries for some employees by 25% – all when they were making profits and before the economic declines.

What was our “loving” corporation really up to? Read IBM and the Holocaust and my readers may start to understand why I am such a champion for privacy rights. IBM’s technology was used to round up those sent to the death camps and technology today WILL be used in the same way in a not-too-distant future.

As luck would have it, the No Verichip Movement has a video that not only explains IBM’s connection to the Holocaust but also the IBM Verichip connection:

There are many other videos on that site and on YouTube and around the Internet. This is NOT a secret and you don’t need to be a prophet to know what is happening. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING THE OTHER RFID VIDEOS.

Did you read Aaron’s post highlighted in the box above? In it he wrote,

“Some bloggers who didn’t know any better got torched based on a single blog post” ~ Aaron Wall of SEOBook, #1 for SEO training ~

THAT is the power of Google. So you might want to start saving the URLs of your favorite sites and blogs somewhere YOU control – so you can find them should posts like this one or even innocent things they say that are not even controversial – get them booted from Google’s search engine.

If that happens, be brave and make noise about where your favorite sites have gone across Social Networks or we are all already oppressed beyond belief and any “freedom” we perceive is TRULY an illusion. July 26, 2010 I wrote in this comment that hyperinflation ends Fiat currencies and what to do to prepare. There is much good information in that post.

A final P.S. to everyone and especially Pete. Read my post What Caused the Great Depression is Now and the exceptional explanations it links to regarding currency, the sliding dollar, how the worldwide economy works and the real history of the United States. What is coming is unavoidable so you may was well know what you’re up against and be better prepared.

“The Google Webmaster Guidelines are an arbitrary device used to oppress the small and weak, but do not apply to large Google ad partners.” ~ Vancouver SEO Rob Woods ~

GOOGLE ALGO CHANGE REACTIONS:

Manipulating SERPS:

JUNK SERPS:

Related articles

Google funded people and groups fighting to preserve their ability to advertise sex trafficing of minors in the U.S. against children and their parents trying to stop it.

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Gail Gardner

Small Business Marketing Strategist at GrowMap
Gail Gardner is the founder of GrowMap.com. She is a Small Business Marketing Strategist who mentors small businesses, bloggers, and freelancers. After 23 years in the field with IBM and 5.5 years managing AdWords accounts, her focus shifted to small business marketing strategy. GrowMap.com is listed by Cision as a Top 100 Site for Marketers and has received three Small Business Influencer Awards from Small Business Trends. Named by D&B a Top 50 SMB Influencer on Twitter, you can follow Gail @GrowMap and on LinkedIn.
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Comments

  1. Hi Gail,

    I just read this post about Search Engine Optimization, however today is already 2014. Do you have recommended strategy for Local Optimization for 2014 specially for next year SEO strategy?

    hope you can help me some input.

    Thanks,

    James

    Reply

  2. Right now it seems like BlogEngine is the best blogging platform available right now.

    (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?

    Reply

  4. I just stumbled on this whole series of posts and couldn’t agree with you more…

    There’s a lot of power, money, and corruption underneath all the pretty PR packaging and incredibly useful “freebies” Google has thrown our way. Google is certainly not immune from the extensive “politico-corporate” greed and irresponsibility that is running so rampant these days.

    But what makes the case of Google even more more disconcerting is its reach. Even if you were to try to avoid All Things Google, if you use the Internet in any way you’ll still be affected by it’s tentacles.

    And the truth is that things probably won’t change for the better; the problems are too pervasive and the resistance too divided. Finger pointing can only work when all fingers are pointing in the same direction.

    The reality is further that in order to make a living, most small business owners will still need to use Google products in some way. Where that is the case, then get educated and at least know with whom you are working. And make sure that in your own business dealings, *you* “do no evil.”
    Adam Gottlieb would love you to read ..14 Free Tools & Resources to Make Your Business Website Mobile-FriendlyMy Profile

    Reply

    • Hi Adam,

      Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. My philosophy is identify, share and use alternatives as much as possible and when you use what I call collectively “Borg” sites like Facebook, Twitter, and anything Google to bring those you meet back to a domain you control.

      We don’t know how all this will play out. At some point we may need to get rid of all things Borg or we might not even be able to use the Internet as we know it today so we will either create our own or go our merry ways off the grid and offline too.

      The good news is many are waking up. The bad news is most small businesses still don’t have much of a clue and are passing on all the benefits they could be taking advantage of now that always end up declining over time.
      growmap would love you to read ..Top Small Business Books – My Picks for SmallBizTrends 2012 #BizBookAwardsMy Profile

      Reply

  6. google is so evil! but in the end Google it’s a business, and like in all businesses, the focus is on profit and this in understandable.
    but from the user’s point of view, things should be a little different

    Reply

  7. from my point of view, one of the biggest untrusted things about google is Adwords.. lots of times i’ve got fooled by intentionally wrong written ad texts.. i don’t really see the point if u think that i’m bouncing out as soon as i reach the desired page and google takes money on that..

    ~alex

    Reply

  10. Wow Gail,

    This post is really deep and so well researched. I can’t really comment on these points, however, in general I do feel like Google and I think any big brand in general end up manipulating everything they have power over, to suit their own financial interests, no matter how innocent or with good intentions these brands were made.

    Any way, you have linked a lot of posts here and I am going to need some time to read and take them all in. Very interesting post indeed.

    Reply

    • Hi Satrap,

      I spent about 5.5 years managing dozens of AdWords accounts for small businesses so I know more than most about how the ppc game is played. Since I stopped doing that I have spent all my time trying to find ways for small businesses to survive the continual drop in traffic they’re going to get because of search engine monopoly and their favoring of big brands.

      If you have any questions feel free to ask.
      growmap would love you to read ..Learn How to Get Noticed Online AND Get CommentLuv Premium, Too!My Profile

      Reply

  11. I don’t know how much Google is honest but only know that Google core focus is visitor. Google makes everything and advice to make everything with the central attention of users. Thanks for the reality content.

    Reply

  12. The Google fairy does not exist?!? *SHOCKED*

    The whole “Google trustworthy: No” part was a bit too much for me, I’m not saying I don’t believe it, but it makes the pill too disgusting and big too swallow.

    I do fully agree with the “Manipulating the SERPS” part.
    My father also has his own business and he has a website as well.
    Last month I visited him in the netherlands and we talked about his business. We ended up talking about visibility on the internet and he got really annoyed saying: I have a full life of experience in this business, I know exactly what to do in my business to deliver the best service to my clients. And then some nobody who can barely tie his own shoe laces but understands this “search engine manipulating” thing can steal so many customers from me because he can get the number one spot from me. That is outrageous!

    And I can understand why he gets so pissed off. He probably feels powerless. He is not very computer savvy and has a lot of difficulty grasping this whole Search engine thing.
    But times change, and if you don’t addapt then you get hurt.
    Danny would love you to read ..Black & Decker NPP2018 18-Volt Cordless Electric Pole Chain SawMy Profile

    Reply

  13. I also admit that Google is the best, fast and most reliable search engine. I think more than 80% people are using this search engine due to its great facility.

    Reply

  14. Unfortunately Google, Apple, Microsoft have way too much power and blind trust from the average joe. What we all need is a good conspiracy! Unfortunately a competent, impartial search engine would still need massive resources to be competitive and its hard to be rich and also whiter than white.

    Reply

  16. Google we must admit is the most reliable search engine nowadays. As long as people can’t find a search engine as reliable as google people will always use it. I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for posting.

    Reply

    • That is your opinion which is most likely based on whatever you are exposed to rather than any research or thought. Many people do NOT always use Google. There are MANY alternative search engines.

      Reply

      • I agree there is Bing and Yahoo..though Google dominates these other search engines are definitely here and is a good alternative. Great post as usual!
        Mexican Drinks would love you to read ..A Simple Quesadilla RecipeMy Profile

        Reply

  17. Does Google promote malicious spammers using spam bots? I don’t think so it gave me good search results and lot of information and my site is now ranking in top position.

    Reply

    • vancouver DUI,
      “my site is now ranking in top position” but can you find by google searches your clients/customers/users feedbacks in 3d-party blog articles, blog comments, forum posts, etc.?

      I know thousands discussions of my online service KeyCAPTCHA.com that never appeared in google SERPs at all. And having such communication, 3d-party evidences are more important to business than ranking the website.
      Most google results on my service show impersonal very developed good-looking, well-SEO-ed but mechanically distorted to nonsenses (if not directly redirecting to malicious sites, unrelated downloads, unrelated advertisements or infect by viruses) senseless stolen content re-published every day in thousands RSS, blogs, Tweets.

      After all, what are you promoting?
      the website or brand/product/service?

      Why should someone continuously spend on website instead of quality of service – communication (online support of customers, adding new features according to feedbacks, helping to resolve problems, etc)
      Why did business follow the guessing and gambling SEO according to secret always-changing rules of google?
      Don’t you feel that SEO is oxymoron. It is google’s sole business to optimize search engines not of webmasters to trick without end the content.
      Who cares about content except google?
      Your customers?
      Customers do care about quality of service/product, its support, finding 3d-perty evidences before involvement.

      Sorry, but your comment is not only senseless for marketing a product or a service but directly harmful by promoting rotten, expensive and illogical practices

      Reply

      • I wonder how many businesses realize that what THEY see when they search on Google is often NOT what others see? I installed Google unpersonalized hoping to know what is really being shown, but even it seems to be personalizing results to me.

        I wonder how happy those businesses would be to know that their site ranks very well only when THEY search for it on their own computers?

        Reply

  18. Google scammed business in zillions dollar of senseless and nonproductive spendings on its own gambling according to secret-proprietory-unspecified-unclear and ever changing rules of the game, i.e. SEO.

    This term itself is itself scam oxymoron because it is not optimization of search engines, it is never-ending guessing game on how not to be kicked off of SERPs.

    My start-up has 2 persons we cannot participate in this.
    We develop, maintain, support users and promote antispam service keycaptcha.com

    Again, we do not SEO website, we are interested in any feedback on our KeyCAPTCHA on any website

    Now, why the hell has keycaptcha keyword zero stistics results in search engines while keycaptcha.com service has millions of daily uses?

    How does it come that Google promotes malicious spammers using spam bots with web farms (+blogs + social networks) re-publishing distorted-infected-poisoned original=human=manual=nonprogrammatic content and everybody swallows it ?

    It is trivially simple to determine who published what first, but Google’s criteria are quite different and they promote spamming and senseless expenses (on so-called SEO) if to avoid the fact that Google directly associates and cooperates with criminals, spammers and is unsurpassed spammer of all peoples, nations of all times itself

    Reply

    • LOL. Google, Yahoo,Bing = all part of the same Borg. If you want to use an alternative search engine it needs to be a REAL alternative and not just another part owned by the same multi-national global elite.

      Reply

    • Hi Alod,

      Alex who? I would probably have deleted your comment but it had already gone live and people had clicked on the link.

      The best way to improve your Alexa rank is to regular interact and collaborate with other bloggers who write about the same topics you do. All you have to do is link to each other using anchor text correctly and applying keyword best practices.

      I do NOT recommend buying links or most paid services because they are a very good way to end up banned from the search engines and dropped from sites like Alexa altogether.

      YES they DO often work in the short term but that success is usually short-lived and in the long term can really hurt you.

      I do NOT know anything about Alexage other than what is on their landing page. If anyone has more details please share them here.

      There are NO SHORT CUTS to success that work in the long term. There is only consistently doing ethical things very well. I recommend Kristis’ new ebook on blog post promotion that contains advanced methods that are highly ethical.

      growmap would love you to read ..Kikolani Blog Post Promotion Ultimate Guide EbookMy Profile

      Reply

  21. A few years ago I would have trusted Google to give me the kind of info I was searching for; there was always more websites listed than on other search engines such as Yahoo. Now I think it’s gone a little barmy and can’t keep up with the number of websites, the amount of info, and how to index properly or distinguish. If it weren’t for web spam, Mr Google would not have to think of ways top combat web spam. I don’t think Mr Google’s got it right yet, and the additional problem is its expansionist ambitions – whio would have thought, for instance, that there’d be a Google mobile photographing the entire globe and sticking it on the net?! Google’s expansionist ambitions further complicate the issue, so SERPS are now cluttered with adwords, places, and the like, and a certain leaning that seems to favor the large corporations. I no longer trust Google to deliver the best results or results without bias.

    Reply

    • Hi Sean,

      We need to make sure that more people understand that Google CREATED the spam problem because most of the spam sites earn income through displaying Google AdSense ads.

      Google is THE ultimate expansionist company (although if the push-back got too hot they might divert attention by changing names or moving things around under other corporate entities).

      I am surprised they are not already giving away free Google cell phones with free messaging and talk time so that they can track almost anyone anywhere any time. Most cell phones can track you and have their microphones turned on as spying device – even when powered off. You have to unplug the batteries to prevent that and I wouldn’t put it past them to put additional batteries in them to enable that even with the batteries unplugged the same way additional batteries help your PC keep the time and date even when it is powered off.

      Google TV is coming or already available some places. If Google isn’t Big Brother they’re doing a very good imitation.

      More details in the many posts in my Privacy and Data Mining category and other posts about Google like the one in CommentLuv and one on Google is a Monopoly.
      growmap would love you to read ..Google Farmer Update Slaps Google Shopping and Google Maps CompetitorsMy Profile

      Reply

  22. Hi Gail.

    Well, no doubt Google is monopolistic and they have been trying to gain monopolistic footholds in the other markets too (for Example Android, Nexus, Chrome OS, Chrome Browser). What does that land us to, the Google dictated Internet and Technology world but what can we do? We do have alternatives but do they fit the bill? Bing and Yahoo (Infact Bing again) really do not give expected search results or is the fault of their algorithm. And even if the search results that Bing gives are relevant what about the Interface. Maybe my mind is adapted to looking at the minimal interface that Google has so Bing’s Interface I cannot stand it.

    Reply

    • What we can do is collectively recommend truly independent alternatives. That does NOT mean Bing or Yahoo because they are also controlled by the same global elite behind Google.

      True alternatives are not publicly traded and are created by brilliant individuals. They rarely get much visibility because the global elite control the major media too so that means WE – bloggers and Internet users collectively – must share what is important with each other.

      I also highly recommend you save the sites you use somewhere you control because it is obvious that Google, Bing, Yahoo and Blekko – which is either unwilling to lead or another pawn of the global elite since they are already censoring their results – plan to make many sites simply disappear.

      Write them down or save them in a program on your computer that you keep backed up in multiple locations because the next time you want to find them they may not show up in the search results anywhere or be buried so many dozens of pages deep you’ll get tired of paging through them before you find them again.

      See my post about Google Farmer update for more details.
      growmap would love you to read ..Google Farmer Update Slaps Google Shopping and Google Maps CompetitorsMy Profile

      Reply

    • Hi Pete,

      Thanks for motivating me to write this post. No, switching to Bing does nothing because Google Yahoo Bing are all part of the same Borg. I just added a new video in hopes that a few who think the IBM Holocaust connection is irrelevant will see the light. That video shows both that connection plus the IBM Verichip connection.

      I will definitely get a post up about alternative search engines. There are so many of them it will take time to complete, but I’ll see if I can get it up early this week.
      growmap would love you to read ..Why the Economy is In Decline and What We Can Do to Improve ItMy Profile

      Reply

  24. thanks for this information .i think this is not fair that Google are paying only 2.8%of their income and they also can,t have any more expenses ..according to me now a days online is reaching at its boom place now every search engine have to pay 28% tax ..thanks again for this great info ..keep on writing .waiting for some new posts like that

    Reply

  25. “Desire for nothing except desirelessness.
    Hope for nothing except to rise above all hopes.
    Get links with perfectly targeted anchor text and you shall have everything”

    – Avatar Meher Baba “O’Reilly”

    Muchas gracias.

    Reply

  27. I know that Google being the master in it’s country (the search market and if I may say so in advertising too) they are starting to approach a business model way different from what their motto says.
    They are collecting enough personal data through gmail, my day to day searches, the actual urls I type in the url form (chrome even transmits that too google) to send me a courier with the already ordered product.
    I know I am using google because that is my business for now and I have to work with the devil because he pays me, but I definitely don’t agree with their policies and the way they started to treat advertisers, publishers and everyone in general that wants to disobey their strict orders.
    Alex would love you to read ..Elicoptere in luptaMy Profile

    Reply

  28. Yesterday i met with an old friend i haven’t seen in a long time, and among others we got talking about privacy on the internet. He said to me: “I visit forums all the time, and when someone has a problem or a question, the others tell him to go search on google. Why aren’t they telling him to search on Bing or other search engine?”. I was shocked by his question, because i also tell people to search on google all the time. Is google better than bing? I have no idea, i’ve never used it.

    Now, my example with Bing may not be very good, because we all know Microsoft and how well they cope with competition (what competition?), but it’s good to know we have other options. We should start abusing these options to force Google to rethink it’s policies.

    Reply

    • Hello Maria,

      That is exactly the point I made in a previous post about Google’s Monopoly.

      Most people never question why they automatically use Google or say “Google it”. The real reason is because they see and hear Google EVERYWHERE because the same people who control the major media in every country control Google. They can make any company THE company and they do.

      We must start a grass-roots movement to stop automatically shopping at and supporting big brands and instead use Word of Mouth to recommend small local and online, high quality businesses that offer good service and products.
      growmap would love you to read ..Support Small BusinessesMy Profile

      Reply

      • I agree with you, even many time i use to say this
        Search on Google………
        because i always hear in my school time also Google Google Google……
        at that time never know about other SE i think most of the people use this only…
        Bing and other SE we don’t use that much..that don’t mean they are not good…the reason is this only Google use every one.
        Gloriakat would love you to read ..CPR Infant- CPR ChildMy Profile

        Reply

      • Do you remember how Firefox got so well known? People just took its banner and posted it on their websites for free, because they knew they were promoting something good. Something similar should be done against google, but it’s hard to find something better to promote.
        Maria Pavel would love you to read ..CNA Training in ArizonaMy Profile

        Reply

  29. Google has a strategically very important monopoly on the internet, connecting all websites together, due to the fact that there are no and will not be any competitors in the foreseeable future, they can display any results they want and are relevant in their view, but it doesn’t mean that these results are the most relevant possible.

    Reply

    • Hi Andreas,

      They have a monopoly but the Internet users DO have choices. There ARE many other search engines – just none that are going to be mentioned regularly on the evening news, in the mainstream press, in movies and on television shows the way Google is.

      It is up to use to encourage our friends, family, readers and followers to use independent alternatives. Install them as their defaults for them and show them how to use them.
      growmap would love you to read ..Why the Economy is In Decline and What We Can Do to Improve ItMy Profile

      Reply

  30. i am interested in your posting about this :
    Google pays income taxes of only 2.4% to the U.S. on their income; the average American company pays 28.3% – Does that sound like Google pays taxes fairly

    i think google is fair enough to pay since it has a lot of publisher to pay. But i dont think about SERP which can make our site become difficult because we dont know exactly the rule which make our site be number one in the search engine
    atics would love you to read ..Apple iPad 2- Motorola Xoom- or Blackberry Playbook comparisonMy Profile

    Reply

    • Hi Deni,

      Google’s competitors also have many publishers to pay. That is not a reason why they should pay so little in taxes when the companies that must compete against them have to pay so much.

      If the person who sat next to you at work was paid the same as you and you had to pay 28.3% while they paid only 2.4% would that be fair? Multi-national corporations transfer many normal costs of doing business onto the public to increase the profits they pocket. That is unethical and they have been getting away with it for decades or longer.

      If we do not consciously change who we use to independent companies today, there will come a time when the ONLY option is Google. There will be Google TV, Google phones, Google everything. Oh, they may change the name but we will not have a choice any more than the miner can choose not to spend his script at the company store.

      That might not matter if the economy is so bad that we don’t have electricity anyway.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Support Small BusinessesMy Profile

      Reply

  31. Hey Gail. I don’t normally weigh-in on these kinds of posts because I need to do so much homework before I can comment intelligently. I’ll read through the material you linked to in the coming days.

    Honestly, my focus has been on Facebook over the last few weeks – more so than Google. I’m not a fan of Facebook but because of my responsibilities at work I’m spending hours there that I would much rather spend on other networks.
    So speaking as an uneducated person on this topic, all I can tell you is how I “feel” in terms of the products I use on a daily basis from Google vs. Facebook and my experience with them purely in terms of usability (not marketability):
    Facebook sucks.
    Google rocks.

    Hopefully, I’ll gain a deeper understanding so I can offer deeper insights soon. Thanks for taking the time to keep us informed.
    Ileane would love you to read ..How Facebook Stays On TopMy Profile

    Reply

    • Same feelings here, Facebook does suck. Some of the latest changes has made it a bit easier to promote my brand on Facebook but I am tired of the glitches and slow fixes over there. Not to mention Facebook collects a lot of advertising dollars from companies yet they do very little to let us promote our brands across Facebook.

      Reply

      • Hi App,

        While the original Google Adwords was a blessing for small businesses and advertisers (until they killed that Google Golden Goose), I am not convinced that Facebook advertising is likely to work for most businesses. It may work well for a select few.

        SEARCH ads convert very well, but while content type ads targeted at your audience may garner clicks only time will tell whether they actually increase sales or not.

        I would not expect Facebook to do much in the way of promoting brands. Their primary goals may be to rake in money while making it hard to actually create ROI from it and taking up as much of our time as possible.

        In the long run bloggers need to identify and collaborate with others in their niche so that even if Google bans us all and Facebook deletes our pages we can reach those interested in us through each other.
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    • Hi Ileane,

      Well, yes, compared to Facebook Google is far better. I have to force myself to use Facebook because it is so buggy and unusable that it just sucks up time – and time is my most precious resource.

      That said, both Facebook and Google are things we must use – because they are promoted so heavily they will have the masses and when we need to reach the masses we have to use them.

      We must use them wisely, knowing that we have no control over what they may do to us and all we do in them can disappear in the blink of an eye while we have a base WE can control and focus our efforts on bringing people FROM Google and Facebook into our environment.

      We must also encourage others to use independent alternatives and supoort small businesses by our actions and what we write. The post I will put in CommentLuv in this reply has tips on how we can promote small businesses.
      growmap would love you to read ..Support Small BusinessesMy Profile

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  32. Great article. I think we have to be careful when we give anyone or any company this much power. A lot of reading material here and I appreciate it. I really do enjoy this site.

    Reply

    • Hi App,

      Thank you for taking the time to comment and connect. There IS a lot of information here, but I am happy to make it faster to find content. Just let me know what you want to find and I’ll share the most relevant links here and elsewhere. I have thousands of pages of reference materials not yet published to draw from on top of what is here and whose other content I have read.
      growmap would love you to read ..Best of GrowMap – Our Most Important Posts All in One PlaceMy Profile

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  33. Bottom line: if you wait for Google to make your website or blog pop, you’ll be waiting a long time. Everything has a price…and the price to have your site achieve higher ratings on search engines is the same old adage that has been the key to success in all businesses: working hard and smart…and putting in the time.

    Reply

  34. I know several bloggers who were torched by Google AdSense being banned when they should not have been and without reason or any appeal process. But in the end isn’t this the same story with Microsoft and their dominance over the desktop operating system? People implicitly trust “brand” and the more popular or well known a brand the higher the trust unless some outrageous complaint is made, sure Toyota had some bad press lately, but overall the brand is still highly regarded and trusted.

    We know Google is a company and all companies are about profits and making money, so to some extend they will monetize to allow companies to buy higher positions on the SERP, even manipulate in favor of such networks, but they are also evolving their SERP to try and get around for each new blackhat SEO trick that is developed to temporarily circumvent their algorithms or artificially rank higher on the charts. The problem is nobody has been able to do better and more fairly at bringing “relevant” information at what you search for.

    Even Bing is using the same algorithms if not Google itself as the backend to display results before filtering and amending its results. As is the nature with any David vs Goliath situation others will rise and cast down Goliath if they develop a better system/software. If Google is widely accused and proven to abuse SERP results and deliberately exclude without justification or basis, then it will eventually get out and once it is proven I imagine it will be hard to recover from.

    In the meantime all that information collected about users, location, browsing history, everything. It is all used for the end goal of targeted marketing, and it won’t just be Google. No doubt targeted marketing will reach unprecedented levels in the next 10 years where information about your kids and found online will cause ads to appear like “Your son Billy is seven year sold next month, according to his FB profile he likes X games, so maybe you should pick up this?” Watch, you will see how incredibly creepy this targeted marketing will be. (A little off topic I realize)
    Justin Germino would love you to read ..Amazon Streaming Competes with NetflixMy Profile

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    • How much more “evidence” do we need before we finally understand that we are handing our freedoms over? Do you REALLY believe the ONLY purpose for tracking our every move is to target advertising?

      If creepy targeted advertising were the worst to fear that would be a walk in the park compared to what it will really be used for. This is not about the best search engine or the most money – it is about control.

      What is IBM’s reputation? They knowingly helped send millions to their deaths and are still a “good” brand. Imagine how much more efficiently we can now be “targeted for efficient asset confiscation, ghettoization, deportation, enslaved labor, and, ultimately, annihilation” (Quote from IBM and the Holocaust – link in this post.)

      What is wrong with us? How far down this same path do you suppose the Jews were before they finally admitted to themselves where the trains were going? That IS where we are today. I am not kidding here. We already live in a Police State and children going to public schools have been conditioned to turn in their friends, neighbors, strangers and even their own parents.

      The number of law enforcement and military ready “troops” has already been dramatically increased. The American detainment camps are already built and waiting.
      growmap would love you to read ..Why the Economy is In Decline and What We Can Do to Improve ItMy Profile

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      • Same could be said about big brother and the government, corporations own the government. Others saying China owns the US now (which they are starting too). Ultimately though I look at the uprisings in the Middle East as a basis for reality, when governments or corporations oppress, the people will rise and the people will always win if they stand together.
        Justin Germino would love you to read ..Amazon Streaming Competes with NetflixMy Profile

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        • The big picture is that the few wealthy elite control every government and their pet Corporations and can control any other companies that are publicly traded any time they wish.

          Can you cite one example of how the people have ever won? Even if they rise up and overthrow one fascist government or dictator the global elite always have others ready to take their place.

          I know that even those who claim to be Christian are not truly ready to understand that this physical reality is controlled by evil. Those who “live by the sword die by the sword” so armed aggression is pointless and only makes you one of the evil ones.

          IMHO, the only escape is through choosing to surrender to God. There is ample evidence that God has protected individuals and countries in our lifetime. I can see no other explanation for Israel surviving the six day war and I have personally seen companies that thrive when they should not and family ranches that stay green and produce normally during droughts.

          As it was in Roman days it still is today. We are all still slaves to the Roman Empire (unless we choose to opt out by following Jesus), being distracted by games (just as they were in the days of the Roman Colosseum) and the plan for three world wars that has existed throughout “modern” times is identical to what is written in Revelation and throughout The Bible.
          growmap would love you to read ..Small Business Internet MarketingMy Profile

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    • Hi Ivin,

      Search results will be far more volatile than they have ever been because of adding live results from social media that will be ranked strongly for a very short period of time and then disregarded.

      That is yet another aspect to search engine rankings that is going to have a very negative impact on small businesses that rely on search engine traffic. Constant churn of results on the first page of Google is just as bad as having big brands dominate the first page. Either way no business can count on traffic from what is today the single largest and irreplaceable source of traffic available.

      We must CREATE alternative ways of reaching buyers for small businesses and support them when we shop – that is truly the only solution to the coming economic collapse.

      When it takes a wheel barrow full of dollars to buy a loaf of bread, those who can trade something of value for essentials like food, water and shelter will have it much easier than those who ignore where this is all heading.

      I do hope those who do not believe me will ASK someone they trust how it was in their country or during their time. Ask elderly relatives who lived through the Great Depression or friends in countries that have experienced hyper-inflation and the collapse of their currency. There are many.

      Do not take my word for it if you don’t believe me. FIND OUT for yourself!
      growmap would love you to read ..Why the Economy is In Decline and What We Can Do to Improve ItMy Profile

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