Google and reporting sites for paid links

[Peter]

Hi

I was recently reading an article and it pointed to a blog entry that Matt Cutts wrote. Matt Cutts is the head of google's web spam team.

The blog entry in question is located HERE

Matt is encouraging people to report (with proof) sites that are charging for links on their web page.

Do you think it is right that google seem to be taking the opinion that these constitute as spam? What other thoughts do you have on the matter?

I personally can see arguments on both sides. On 1 side a site owner should not be penalised for what is effectively just trying to make money from their project. On the other hand it is not necessarily right for sites to try and buy their way into top rankings (although this of course is not something new).

Another worry is how exactly are google going to effectively police this? In my opinion it will be a very arduous task.

 

[iNod]

I see nothing wrong with buying into the top pages? If you read the comments they are all bashing them.

Cool! I will quickly buy some links for my competitors on text link ads and then denounce him. Good idea, thanks Matt.

How can I tell if a link is “paid”? What if it’s just a helper for a friend (paid in form of a beer)? Are links on a web-designer’s homepage to their clients paid? Are general links to your clients paid (eg “buy my service/product and I’ll link to you - your site will be better off”)?

What will happen to the person with the links on their page? Are we getting the publisher penalized or are the links just going to be ignored (”penalty” for the advertiser)? There’s a big difference and I’m sure it will matter. If the publisher is going to get penalized many people (especially those reading your blog ) will think twice about reporting such a link. If the link is just discounted then it’s a whole different story.

I’m kinda worried about this move …

I don’t think this is a smart idea for a second.

Why? Well simply put online businesses will now be able to knock out the competition just by making some false reports.

There needs to be a better way for this. Selling links isn’t necessarily spam, either. =\

Your own company does it through it’s advertising network! :o

These are just some of the hundreds of comments.. I agree with them all.. How can google tell if it is a paid link? Why is google banning sites for "spamming" of offering paid links? When there own advertising network does it? This MAKES no sense.

- Steve

 

[RogueWriter]

Actually, I would reply that it is perfectly acceptable for sites to attempt to purchase their way into top rankings. This is done all the time via Google's own adwords program: the more you pay, the higher you rank in their advertising columns.

This goes against common sense, which is that companies wanting to promote their site are of course going to purchase advertising, or inbound links. A company would be foolish to NOT do their best to get inbound links and claw their way to the top.

I would suspect that Google is more interested in straight linking farms rather than some mom and pop business that buys advertising from other legitimate sites. However, it does make one uncomfortable not knowing precisely what Google is looking for, and what subjectivity is going to be introduced into those results.

 

[iNod]

I agree with you there. But does a Google Bot which probably decides if the site is spamming or not know this? Google probably gets a few billion spam submissions a day.. Don't you think they might accidentally delete one site who could bankrupt a family? Asking people to report people who "sell links" is pretty much saying "Report anyone who has links on there site or is trying to sell off links to help pay for advertising and the cost to review there site and put up the link." So Google wants us (the only search engine to ever say this) to stop having links to other sites or offering it for money (Nobody works for free in this world) or add the stupid nofollow rule to it?

What does that help Google achieve? Besides the more slanted results towards people who pay more? You can already pay your way into #1 spot even if there is no buying links.. Just setup a bunch of minisites and include a link.. Type-in traffic is a great source.. Or better yet.. LETS ALL GO BUY ADSENSE!

- Steve