Defeating Google and Proving the SEO (consultants) Wrong
Written: Mar 20, 2011 (Updated Mar 21, 2011)
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I was told it was a futile Quest by those who sympathized with me, the rest, including SEO's working with Google suggested I leave. However, in the end I was Victorious. Well my story about my fight with Google is only a small part of this review of Google, but it is my personal and unique experience among all Google reviews, and it is worth mentioning and I definitely took this into account when rating.
The http://www.google.com/ web site overview
The world's most visited web site is Google.com. It currently has nearly 5 billion visits per month and is visited by 155 million different people every month. The patented Google search engine is based on a revolutionary page ranking algorithm called PageRank.
The web site is fairly simple with a few link buttons for commonly used Google sites including searching the web (text), searching images, searching video, Google Maps, News, Shopping, and Gmail. Then you have a tab including more sites, including Google Translate, as well as an "even more" menu item. The Google Web Site has as many features as Yahoo.com but the sites are organized differently. The Google site makes the most used sites immediately available without cluttering up the landing page. In general I think the Google site is nice in that regard.
Searching using Google.com
My general impression is that searching using Google yields more relevant results than searching with Yahoo. Both sites tend to tailor their search result based on your history. However, I've done some experiments and paid special attention to their differences after clearing out all cookies or used a new computer for the first time. My somewhat un-scientific measurement tells me that Google indeed gives me more relevant results. When I search for a particular movie theater using Google I don't get a bunch of crap review sites like yelp.com or yahoo reviews at the top, but several pages which are part of the actual movie theater's web site, unlike yahoo.
In the past I've created several web sites and I've noticed that they are picked up by Google very quickly while yahoo may take several months and msn.com even longer. So with respect to search I say that Google is the winner.
Google sites and Google Toolbar
In my opinion Google maps are significantly better than yahoo maps, but not as a good as Bing maps. Just like yahoo maps and Bing maps you can get directions as well. Like Yahoo maps Google maps have tendency to put your route through toll roads even if it is a much longer and more time consuming route. However, it is a matter of degree. When Google maps give you a route through a toll road you can move your route off the toll road (with the mouse). With Yahoo maps you can change the route with the mouse but it will often stubbornly hang on to the toll road. Yahoo maps and Google maps are sometimes outdated or are missing streets, addresses, and points of interest. However, Yahoo maps are worse in that regard.
Google Translate is far from perfect. In fact you can get a good laughter out of it if you are bilingual. However, it is much more useful and than Yahoo's Babel Fish. I like gmail better than yahoo mail. In fact I have forgotten my yahoo mail account.
The Google Toolbar provides direct access to search, web sites you select, currency converter, calculator, Google translate, web page sharing, as well as sidewiki, which displays user comments for web sites. However, this is not extremely important functionality to me, it is easy find elsewhere, and I prefer to configure the regular browser toolbars my own way. What is worse, the Google Toolbar has prevented me from installing some applications, so in my opinion it is more in the way.
Google Search Marketing and Google Adwords
Google provides search marketing, specifically Google Adwords, which is their main source of revenue. The way it works is that whenever a user clicks on your ad you pay Google a sum of money that you determine. The catch is that if you set the amount too low your ad may never be shown because the highest paying ad for a specific key word is the one shown. This is a clever idea, which probably maximizes Google's profit at the same time as it provides a service to their advertisers. It also seems to be fairly effective. However, one day I discovered the dark side of Google Adwords.
Before advertising with Google you need to make sure that you are in compliance with the 70+ rules that they list. The list is there to decrease the probability of Google advertising useless, malfunctioning, deceptive web sites, or web sites featuring mal-ware. If you are found to be in violation of one of the rules you may be denied service and asked to fix the problem. That is unless that they believe the violation is severe and intentional, then you are not only denied service permanently but you as a person or business are banned from advertising from Google in the future. In addition you are not allowed to communicate with Google further, and the bizarre part, you cannot find out what the problem was. Most of this may be comforting to the Google user, but is poses an unexpected risk to the advertiser.
Mistakes will happen. For example, an honest small business which does not violate any of the 70+ rules may get a permanent life time ban by mistake. Because Google keeps the reason for the ban a secret and refuse all further communication, mistakes and misunderstandings are made unfixable. Apparently mistakes happen quite often. The second problem is that when small business owners who are unjustly banned see other bigger competitors breaking rules (this definitely happens), they may conclude that this is just a scam, or a conspiracy, to protect bigger and preferred businesses. The secrecy and refusal to communicate makes the Adwords operation look justifiably suspicious.
Is Google Anti Small Business? Is Google Corrupt?
My wife and I have created a web site that we are trying to promote. It is a small operation, but I tried to use Google Adwords to promote it (among other venues). Everything seemed fine for a while and then I got an email from Google that I had been banned from Google and that all communication with Google from now on was futile. It was not a request for taking care of a problem with my web site before I could continue advertising. It was not just that they banned our web site. They banned the web site and me for life. No explanation was given. As mentioned, Google allegedly does that when they find a severe violation that they believe was intentional, like phishing or spamming, or other trickery. However, there was absolutely nothing deceptive or any trickery associated our web site and it also complied with all of their rules.
I was furious, not because I could not advertise with Google but because it was an attack on my persona. It was an insult at the same time as tarnished me and my web site. If someone asks or finds out how am I going to explain it? In fact it is much worse when you are totally innocent because you cannot come up with any reason at all. At least I should have the right to find out what they thought the problem was. That's how I started a war against Google, a war I would ultimately win. As it turned out, the whole ban thing was just nonsense.
Not being able to communicate with Google I used their forums instead to confront them and demanding and explanation. The reaction on the Google forums was negative and very cold. The moderators did not like it, and a couple of SEO's (SEO consultants) got involved and told me that there was absolutely nothing I could do and suggested that I leave. I also got a few sympathizers but they but they also thought my quest was futile and they got criticized just for supporting cause. The Google forums were definitely hostile territory and I realized I was wasting my time there.
Next I started a discussion on the topic on WebMaster.com where I got a lot more sympathy. Web Developers claimed that they too had been mysteriously banned after doing absolutely nothing wrong. A former Google employee who had been a web site reviewer at Google and working with approving or rejecting Adwords clients joined the fray and offered to do a Google review of my web site. I gave him total access. At first he thought he had found some red flags but nothing that would be cause for a ban. However, he had to take back even those concerns after a second look. My web site was perfectly compliant and just fine.
After a couple of days I got an email from Google. They said that my ban had been in error. Not only was the ban lifted but my web site was declared not to violate any rules and completely fit for immediate advertising and I got my account back the same day.
I mentioned this on both the Google Forums and the Web Master pages. On the Web Master pages people congratulated me. However, the SEO's and moderators I had communicated with on the Google forums seemed doubtful. I suggested they go click on my Google Ad.
Two allegedly impossible things had just happened.
(1) Google had been wrong.
(2) My quest was not totally futile. I won.
Some people suggested that Google used this as a dirty trick to keep small business out whenever a larger client felt threatened by a smaller client. It is plausible. I mean Google prefers $100,000 over $100 like anyone else. That may not be the case. Maybe a Google employee just checked the wrong check box and mistake was found?
However, this story opens up a lot of questions. Whether Google and/or SEO's are engaging in shady practices or not, it is obvious that Google will make mistakes. Why do they refuse communication with their condemned clients? Why does Google disallow the appeal of wrongful decisions? Why do they refuse to give a reason for their bans? Why does Google intentionally prevent errors from being corrected? Why were the Google SEO consultants completely wrong? Why the hostility on the Google forums? Why does Google fight the bad guys by tarnishing the reputation of both the bad and random or selected good guys? What ever is going on it smells bad and Google is without question engaging in devious business practices.
Concluding Thoughts
Google has some advantages over Yahoo in terms of search functionality, site usability, and they have better sites (Google maps, Google Translate etc). All that is far from perfect but if I rated only that I would give them at least three maybe four stars. However, what I discovered have left me with a bad taste, and I do not trust Google as a company, or the SEO's associated with Google. I may have been unusually unlucky but I have to rate according to how I feel and take my personal experiences into account as well. Therefore I give Google two stars.
Recommended:
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About the Author
Member: Thomas Wikman
Location: Dallas, TX, USA
Reviews written: 1223
Trusted by: 217 members
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