Google Punishes PayPerPost Users

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The Google Strikes Back.

Jason Calacanis spotted this comment from Matt Cutts regarding Google’s detection and devaluation of paidperpost content in Google rankings…

“Google wants to do a good job of detecting paid links. Paid links that affect search engines (whether paid text links or a paid review) can cause a site to lose trust in Google.”

deathstar.jpgSo if you want to keep your prestige (and ranking / rating) with Google, you might want to re-evaluate the use of PayPerPost and ReviewMe type offers.

Some would argue about the issue of fairness, but in the free market economy of the WWW, Google can and should be able to set whatever policies it sees fit being in the dominant share of the market for user trustworthiness.

I suspect Yahoo and MSN do the same with regards to paid content such as PaidPerPost but have been waiting on word from Google to make their own declarations about these emerging platforms.

9 Replies to “Google Punishes PayPerPost Users”

  1. Ok, but how does Google know if the content is paid if PPP doesn’t require disclosure?

    I suppose they could just look at the list of PPP advertisers and flag them, otherwise, how else? Can you imagine getting your entire brand banned outta Google just because of your associate to PPP?

    What are you gonna do though? Fight Google? By then, it’s too late?

    Reply

  2. Ok, but how does Google know if the content is paid if PPP doesn’t require disclosure?

    I suppose they could just look at the list of PPP advertisers and flag them, otherwise, how else? Can you imagine getting your entire brand banned outta Google just because of your associate to PPP?

    What are you gonna do though? Fight Google? By then, it’s too late?

    Reply

  3. This basically sounds like Google trying to continue to increase their pressure to make as many advertising dollars as possible go in to their coffers. Pay per post is just the tip of the paid-linking iceberg, as can be seen by a quick glance at nearly any website marketplace featuring paid PR-ranking link placement. From Google’s standpoint it make sense – why allow people to buy links that will help their organic performance rather than make those companies buy links in Adwords.

    Reply

  4. This basically sounds like Google trying to continue to increase their pressure to make as many advertising dollars as possible go in to their coffers. Pay per post is just the tip of the paid-linking iceberg, as can be seen by a quick glance at nearly any website marketplace featuring paid PR-ranking link placement. From Google’s standpoint it make sense – why allow people to buy links that will help their organic performance rather than make those companies buy links in Adwords.

    Reply

  5. […] The Washington Post reports that the FTC is getting involved in the PayPerPost debacle… The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships. […]

    Reply

  6. This will all be very, very intersting to see unfold over the next year- even with the recent purchase of DoubleClick by Google, because they are now a SEO Company too- right?

    “Do as I say, not as I Do?”

    Matt- care to comment?

    Reply

  7. This will all be very, very intersting to see unfold over the next year- even with the recent purchase of DoubleClick by Google, because they are now a SEO Company too- right?

    “Do as I say, not as I Do?”

    Matt- care to comment?

    Reply

  8. Websites such as PayPerPost come about every few years then die out as major search engines change their algorithms in ways that reduce their effectiveness for marketers, it will die eventually.

    Reply

  9. Websites such as PayPerPost come about every few years then die out as major search engines change their algorithms in ways that reduce their effectiveness for marketers, it will die eventually.

    Reply

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