Outing Spammers in the “SEO Company” Search Results
SEOmoz has a controversial post today about a company that is apparently using some questionable SEO practices to gain top rankings for the term “seo company” in Google.com
I agree with Rand that Google should make sure SEO companies don’t manipulate the search results. Quite simply if spammy SEO companies all get top rankings then they get the business and spam becomes more widespread.
However when it comes to using the already controversial Linkscape tool to systematically reveal the “manipulative” practices used by a competitor I think Rand has crossed a line.
If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, you know I don’t lightly call out manipulative activities in the search results very often(even though I love ID’ing gamers almost as much as these guys). In fact, I usually do it only when it really raises my ire, and this is one of those cases for two big reasons. First, I think that the SEO-related results, particularly those on page 1 for popular queries need to be among the most carefully monitored. Otherwise, you’re treating the symptoms instead of curing the disease – allow manipulation in these results and you encourage it everywhere else. Second, I find Google’s endorsement of this site via sitelinks (and make no mistake, sitelinks send a definitive message to a searcher that this singular site is not “a” result, but “THE” result for this query) especially egregious.
Manipulation is in the eye of the beholder and to me having lots of links from links pages isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Should they be ranking number 1? Probably not. Is it an “Embarrassment” to Google having them rank number 1? I’m not so sure.
Post category: Search Engine Optimisation Tweet
Patrick Altoft is Director of Search at Branded3, a Leeds SEO & Digital Agency specialising in SEO, Web Design, Development & Social Media.
Comments
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I’d be ticked off if this company was ranking above me in my niche but I would never “expose” them. If you’re super fired up…submit the site to Google’s spam team. It’s funny because in the article, Rand himself says that he has no problem with that they’re doing.
I personally don’t see the issue, because they are an SEO company!
Link building for me is one of the trickiest (in terms of good qual parts of SEO, we’d all like to get good quality high PR links to our sites, but it’s not always possible. If someone has the time and patience to submit to numerous directories, so long as the links are honest links, in the right categories and are generally just an advert for the company, then why not rank them higher than a company who has not done this? (of course they should take other factors into account first).
I personally think the only one who takes any notice of these directories are search engines anyway, I don’t know of that many people who would use a directory to find a company of a specific type, they would just use a search engine. So until Google et al start to ignore directory listings completely, then they are fair game.
Take note Patrick: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or when the doer of deeds could of done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly….who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst if he fails whilst daring greatly – so that his place shall never be with those cold and TIMID souls who know neither victory or defeat.