On Google: Rank 1st or Die Tryin’
Posted by Isabelle Chrun on septembre 30th, 2008
No, this is not 50 Cent’s new single, but the quest of many companies for the next decades. According to eMarketer, the US search advertising spending soar from $299 million in 2001 to a projected $16.6 billion in 2011. No need to say, that there is still much to do in the search industry. A leader like Google has a lot to gain from this potential, but a question should be raised here: will the public keep their trust towards the world’s top ranked brand?
Have you ever googled yourself (and found nothing)? What is this so called “PageRank“? Have you ever wondered how this algorithm works? Should we be frighten by their user data collection? One question that is hot nowadays concerns Google’s evilness. Now, if I may, I would like to point out that the ones who freak out extremely about the privacy issue just woke up to the reality. Although it is scary that Google knows so much about our persons, it is not the first time that a company collect user data. Back in the days, when you suscribed to your first Hotmail account, it was free because they could collect your personal data. Credit card companies have long compiled our purchases. To give you a good impact, let’s put it this way: Google knows what porn videos you MIGHT like to buy, but your credit card company DOES know what, when and where you bought your porn. OK, I must admit, the line between these 2 is thin, but my point here is that if we judge Google as evil, then we should not forget to judge many profits-oriented companies.
The Dark Side
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I’m in total agreement with Google’s user data collection. My goal today is to share with you one of the only reasons on how the public could lose their trust, and not because of Google’s evilness per say but because of some black hats.
- Are you on the dark side?
You certainly have heard of the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization). We could think that it is entirely normal for a company to use various techniques to seek a better placement organically for their website in the search results page. But of course, with the lack of legal control of the Internet, many “SEO experts” (oftenly self proclaimed) have gone to the dark side and are wearing black hats. Don’t you find it frustrating to find low quality websites in the top results page? Is it acceptable to find parked domain names on the SERPs and have them sue Google? Feel my pain.
Personally, I find it deceiving to stumble upon cheaters. I would say that I am among those who are not easily falling into their game of deceit. Nonetheless, I must confess that I have been caught into an outrageous linkbait. This summer, a smart *cough*cheater*cough* SEO wrote a untrue story about a 13 Year Old who Steals Dad’s Credit Card to Buy Hookers. It got on the homepage of Digg, media around the world was talking about it, even TV stations picked up the buzz. Obviously, we finally discovered that all this was a lie and a technique to attract backlinks, in order to rank well on the term “credit card”. Frustration? Sadness? I don’t know what emotion to choose, but one thing is sure, what happens on the other side is quite scary.
Google might not be Evil, but is not God neither
- Holy Google?
It is a fact that there are some villains trying to profit from the system. Fortunately, it is not the vast majority, not all SEO are black hats. It is logical that big agencies shouldn’t play with fire, because they would burn in hell if the sites of their clients get banned from the Google index. On a bright side, the existence of black hats could only help Google to never stop improving its algorithm.
In addition to that, I would like to drop a line about the censorship matter. It is known that in China, search engines work in a different way. Here is the differences between the search query “Tiananmen” on Google.cn vs Google.com.
Google.cn vs Google.com
What is your opinion?
Be comprehensive, Google is only 10 years old
Nevertheless, I think that the public will still embrace the search engine. Let’s face it, The Google brand was valued at $17,837 million in 2007. This shows how successful Larry Page and Sergey Brin have become. Indeed, the trust of the investors and the loyalty of the customers won’t fade tomorrow. And let’s not forget that Google is still young, there is still a bright future ahead.
On a funny note, I want to reassure you that if Google does evil (such as speeding), he’ll get punished like any other citizen :)
Google is still under the law
photo credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27782244@N05/2878686437/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/2372327933/
sources:
Dover, Danny. SEOmoz. http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-evil-side-of-google-exploring-googles-user-data-collection
market research firm Miillward Brown
Forrester Research, “U.S. Online Marketing Forecast 2007 To 2012,” October 2007
Advertising Age, “Search Marketing Fact Pack 2007,” November 2007
Search Marketing: Players and Problems, David Hallerman, eMarketer report, March 21, 2006
Search Engine Marketing: User and Spending Trends, David Hallerman, eMarketer report, January 2008
Google Inc. SWOT Analysis, Datamonitor, Aug2008, p1-11, 11p; (AN 34307051)
