WebWord.com


If you want to know when new content is added to the site,
subscribe to the WebWord.com Usability Newsletter!

WebWord Weblog Posting

Posting Date: October 22, 2002
 

Google sued by search optimism company -- "Google Inc has been sued by a search engine optimization company, which claims Google deliberately altered its ranking when it realized the SEO company was competing with it. Search King Inc, of Oklahoma City, wants an injunction and $75,000 damages for alleged loss of business." (MadMan comments: I have two things to say - a) Doesn't Google have the right to tweak their algorithm to their liking? b) I find it hilarious that The Register used "optimism" instead of "optimisation" in their headline.)

 

  

Reader Comments...
 

These so called "search optimisation" tricksters are the ones that started meta keyword spamming and are a search engine's worst enemy. It is not the quality of content in what the user sees, but what you can fool the search engine into seeing.. Why should a quality site get a worse ranking compared to an optimised and wholly useless site?

Posted by: Wild Bill on October 23, 2002 12:17 AM


 

They probably got hit particularly hard as the tweaks seem designed to reduce the effectiveness of 'link farms'. Although with all this publicity and linking I'm sure they'll shoot back up again.

In my day job we regularly have to try to keep clients away from SEO firms promising guaranteed improved placement, money back guarantees, etc. etc.. We tend to liken them to dodgy diet plans promising miracle weight loss pills and potions.

Want to know the 'secrets' of SEO for free?
1. Have well-written, useful content (including effective page titles)
2. Make the site fully accessible to non-visual browsers (use valid structural HTML, links that don't depend on JavaScript/Flash, etc.)
3. Use simple, human-readable URLs
4. Encourage inbound links (but don't compromise site quality by blindly giving reciprocal links, and always promote sites with care, don't become an irritant)

And that's about it. What's good for users generally looks good to search engines, and any tricks are just as likely to do harm as good.

Posted by: Matt Round on October 23, 2002 05:10 AM


 

Of course, the Slashcrap, er, Slashdot crowd have jumped all over this.

Posted by: MadMan on October 23, 2002 12:55 PM


 

Browsing the (Score:5, Funny) comments on Slashdot is always somewhat amusing (although not in the way the authors intended, of course).

Posted by: Matt Round on October 23, 2002 01:04 PM


 

Freud would have been proud of the headline.

Posted by: Lydia on October 23, 2002 03:10 PM


 

Home | Moving WebWord | Cool Books | Hot Web Sites
Newsletter Archive | Services | Interviews | About WebWord.com

Subscribe to Webword.com
Receive the best free usability newsletter on the Internet.

 


URL: http://webword.com/weblog/

©1998-2005 by WebWord.com. All rights reserved.
Do not reproduce or redistribute any material from this document,
in whole or in part, without explicit written permission from WebWord.com.