Archive for the ‘Search Engines’ Category

More Link Spam Examples in Google

February 16th, 2011 by Ray "Catfish" Comstock

The New York Times published an article near and dear to my heart over the weekend about JCPenny manipulating Google results as a result of paid links. Apparently it’s news to many people that this kind of activity is taking place. But to those of us who optimize Web sites using “white hat” tactics it is certainly no surprise as we investigate why our competitors out rank us. I thought I would share some of the other common techniques that cheating sites are effectively using to game the system. Hopefully this article will help Google and Bing develop better algorithmic solutions to these problems and hopefully it will educate consumers about what types of activities their SEO firms should avoid.

For today’s example, I will be looking at the Hot Tub industry where one of my clients has a significant interest and ranks well for many of the most sought after terms including “hot tub”, “hot tubs”, “spa” and “spas” as well as many other related permutations. And while my client enjoys significant rankings across these terms, based on their link equity, it is dishearting to have to explain to them why a site like http://www.choosehottubsdirect.com is competing with them for listings given their back link profile. Unlike JC Penny, ChooseHotTubsDirect is using a number of other link spam tactics to artificially inflate their Google rankings. Let’s take a look at some of the methods they’re using including blog comment spam, blog spam (splogs), and forum spam. They may also be doing paid links but I won’t be focusing on those in this article.

*Note that some of these links may have a nofollow tag on them and therefore do not count for SEO purposes. However, the amount of link spam pointing to this site shows a clear and consistent intent to manipulate search results.

Blog Comment Spam:

This was supposed to die with the advent of the nofollow tag, but obviously it isn’t instituted on all blog platforms. Here is an example of some of the URLs where you can find links purposely created to establish keyword focused links back to ChooseHotTubsDirect even though most of these sites are completely unrelated.

  • http://www.startupnorth.ca/2010/09/30/xx-tech-founders/
  • http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/09/05/jim-clark-in-a-hot-tub-in-italy-somewhere/
  • http://community.adn.com/alaska/node/114236
  • http://www.adamia.com/about/world-of-adamia/the-city-in-the-sky
  • http://www.rvbuyersguide.com/Articles/post/Tips-for-towing-an-RV-safely.aspx
  • http://www.chinaexpat.com/2009/03/05/dont-get-married-in-hui-an.html/
  • http://magblog.audubon.org/node/339
  • http://www.slashfilm.com/chevy-chase-joins-hot-tub-time-machine-considering-fletch-rebootsequel/

I have no problem with getting links by adding value to a conversation happening on a blog. But when the comment exists solely for the purpose of SEO, its spam.

Blog Spam (splog):

These are blogs designed only to create links for the purposes of SEO. There is no value to the end user and most of the time the content is garbage:

  • http://homengardengoods.com/hottubs-spa-hot-tub.html (borderline content at best)
  • http://www.british-columbia-listings.com/
  • http://www.alouc.com/2010/08/
  • http://iniciativaacceso.org/
  • http://www.miramesanorth.com/
  • http://www.j-leaguefans.com/experience-the-best-of-hot-tub.html
  • http://www.condecon.net/daily-routine/
  • http://eviant.co.cc/2010/03/a-guide-to-buying-hot-tubs
  • http://kklocaladmin.org/2010/07
  • http://netflixkddworkshop2008.info/2010/07
  • http://www.groupe-loft.com/very-good-way/
  • http://www.triton-shop.com/2010/04/17/buy-spa-hot-tubs-on-internet/
  • http://www.e-redes.org/?p=78
  • http://www.ptvr.net/2010/07/
  • http://kiksmedia.com/hot-tubs/
  • http://www.ytbconsultants.com/like-hot-water-bathing-in-hot-water-baths.html
  • http://www.kukonlomamokit.net/
  • http://www.directtohomeappliances.com/
  • http://hmgf-ugm.org/?paged=2
  • http://www.ezprotocols.com/massage/

There are plenty more of these in their backlink profile but after 20 I figured I had made my point. The majority of their backlinks seem to be of this type.

Again, guest writing blog articles that provide useful information to users is a good way to get links. Writing garbage and posting it on sites filled with garbage is not.

Forum Spam:

Similar to blog commenting spam but takes place in a forum:

  • http://www.aeva.asn.au/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=892&PID=26104
  • http://www.hostingsindia.com/topic153.html
  • http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/376275
  • http://www.discussionsworld.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=23144
  • http://www.webmasterforumsonline.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=16223
  • http://forums.adobe.com/thread/594208
  • http://intgovforum.org/cms/discussionspace?func=view&catid=5&id=30
  • http://forums.zoho.com/topic/issue-with-zoho-mobile-on-nokia-e71
  • http://forums.registeredrep.com/forums/clients/google-boys
  • http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=564641
  • http://forum.bodybuildingpro.com/member.php?u=10761
  • http://www.honeymoonforums.com/showthread.php?t=6255
  • http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=113473
  • http://www.theopia.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2295&start=0
  • http://www.webdesignchat.org/link-exchange/928-good-i-heard.html
  • http://www.swordfishingcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13828
  • http://www.becomehealthynow.com/vblite/showthread.php?p=5252
  • http://www.mma-fighter.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28969
  • http://forums.joeuser.com/376275

Again, there is way more of this stuff in their profile but after 20 instances I think the point has been made.

Another interesting “black hat” tactic that I found is the use of clone sites which are essentially duplicate sites with different skins:

  • http://chooseportablespas.com/
  • http://chooseportablehottubs.com/

The funniest part about this whole thing is that one of the links that ChooseHotTubsDirect.com does have that is legitimate is their press release about the secret to their success. Apparently, it’s all thanks to their in-house, world class SEO Team:

  • http://www.prweb.com/releases/choose-direct/seo/prweb3199884.htm

Hopefully as search technology advances these techniques will become less effective. It’s really frustrating to explain to clients why their competitors are ranking well in the engines using cheap and underhanded link spam techniques. Especially when you are recommending much more costly link development campaigns that center on providing useful content to users and then marketing that content through relevant channels. I don’t envy Matt Cutts and his team at Google as they have an extraordinarily difficult job to do in hunting all of this stuff down. Hopefully this will help.

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Posted in SEO Observations, Search Engines, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Google Instant Doesn’t Change Much

September 9th, 2010 by Ray "Catfish" Comstock

Quick, there is a huge change at Google today!  Sound the sirens, the SEO sky is falling!  Er…wait, how exactly does this new Google Instant functionality change SEO?  That’s what I was asking myself today as this big to do from Google was announced.  Other than potentially decreasing the number of long tail searches as users may find something interesting as they type and don’t finish their initial thought before they click a result (and a potentially inflated number of PPC impressions), I don’t believe that Google’s new instant search changes much in the way of SEO best practices.  The recent increased effect of localization has a much stronger implication.  This is really a usability play by Google and probably after testing, resulted in a better user experience (and / or more ad revenue).

This article today from PC World seems to imply that somehow Google has changed the SEO landscape, and done so in dramatic fashion: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/205055/google_instant_will_save_you_seconds_but_not_for_seo.html?tk=hp_new#addyours .  But how do quicker search results change the need for authoritative content and links?  They don’t.   It’s like my friend Benj Arriola said yesterday, “it’s like auto suggest on steroids.” It may cause users to see more information before they click, which may mean that text snippets become that much more important in driving clicks, but this just reinforces current behavior.

The one thing I will say about the article in question is that no one does see the same results anymore.  But this is already been the case for a while now because of personalization and localization having such a strong influence on search results.  But the public is just now starting to understand this.  It doesn’t really affect how we optimize with the exception of paying a lot more attention to localization and localized content and link strategies for key markets.  However, that doesn’t have much to do with Google instant.

I think it’s exciting that Google keeps pushing the envelope for search.  And certainly the “May Day” update had an impact on what the SEO process looks like.  Not so much for Google Instant.  Google Instant isn’t an algorithm change, it just helps you find things faster (in theory).  And of course, that in itself is cool.  It just doesn’t have that much affect on what we do as SEO practitioners.

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Posted in Industry News, Local Search, SEO Observations, Search Engines | No Comments »

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Baidu

August 13th, 2010 by Alice Wansi Chen

by Alice Wansi Chen

Baidu is the dominant search engine in China. It provides users with a wide range of results and information, including multimedia content (MP3 music, movies, etc,), and displays it in a well written Chinese language. Baidu is also the first to offer WAP and PDA-based mobile search in China; however, there are a few things you may still be unaware of. Below I have listed five things you may or may not know about Baidu.

  1. Pin-yin. Pin-yin is the standard Romanization system for Mandarin, and the most dominant Chinese language used in China. Baidu provides “pin-yin” search that allows users to type in Chinese keywords using the English alphabet. This feature allows users to bypass the English, Chinese, and Pin-yin input options, because Baidu recognizes each of these formats already. Additionally, it helps those users who may not know the traditional written form of the Chinese word, and instead can type it in English or pin-yin. You don’t need to optimize your site in pin-yin. However, Baidu could figure out and rank your Chinese keywords for the pin-yin search.

  2. Chinese Handwriting Input Method.  Baidu recently started to provide a handwriting input method, which allows users to search the web via handwriting Chinese characters using their mouse.
  3. Quantity Over Quality. At this point, Baidu is not as sophisticated as Google when it comes to figuring out link relevance, therefore, Baidu heavily depends on the link quantity instead of quality to make a decision for ranking. Thus, there are still a lot of link farm issues existing.
  4. Linking is Not Always King. In Google, external linking is considered king. However, Baidu considers various elements in your site besides external links to decide your ranking; for example, internal linking, information architecture, keyword density, etc.
  5. Language. Most of the search queries inputted in Baidu are Chinese, while Google China has a higher percentage of English queries. This means that if you want to optimize for the Chinese market, the Google keyword tool is not localized enough. Actually, Baidu provides some useful tools for your Chinese keyword research. For example, Baidu Index is a tool that provides insight on the search queries in Chinese.

Baidu optimization is less standardized than Google, since it keeps improving its algorithm. Because of this, it’s extremely important to be aware of the latest updates, and constantly refine your site to meet Baidus ever-changing standards.

Posted in SEO Observations, Search Engines | No Comments »

Will Google Copy Bing with Categories on the Side Bar?

November 25th, 2009 by Benj Arriola

Google Starts Trends

The early days of search pre-Google days were all about crowded interfaces with tons of things going on the page. This was when the main players in the space were Yahoo and Altavista, and those trying to keep up with the page were Excite, Hotbot, Lycos and other. Many of them started with categories displayed since most of these search engines really started as directories.

January 1997 screenshot of Yahoo taken by Ice House Designs

Every other search engine seemed to go into that direction. Categories make sense that it should help guide you drill down into what you are looking for. Then when Google comes out, it take a totally different approach and keeps it clean. Removes all types of categorization and uses the power of search. Google from the very beginning was banking on the fact that their search is sooo powerful, it is easy to drill down into what you are looking for by simply typing in your search query and that their results are so relevant, you do not need to drill down that deep.

Google Beta in 1999 - Screenshot by Chron Tech Blog.

Yahoo and Microsoft Copy Google

The minimalist, clean, simple interface has always worked with Google. Showing the robustness of their search engine algorithm more than anything else that many people really liked which is responsible for all of Google initial boost to success. So if that is the proper formula, they are probably doing something good, so Yahoo and Microsoft have briefly tried it out. Yahoo still has their clean version still (more…)

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Posted in Search Engines | 2 Comments »

MSN Search Engine is out of Touch with Reality

March 20th, 2009 by Ray "Catfish" Comstock


Steve Ballmer, chief executive for Microsoft, said today that MSN is in an advantageous position in search because they have the freedom to experiment while Google has to “play it safe” based on the size of their organization and the success of their business model. (more…)

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Posted in Search Engines | 1 Comment »

Does Google Need SEO? You Might Be Suprised!

March 9th, 2009 by Ray "Catfish" Comstock

One of my colleagues today looked up the word Search Engine in Google. The results were very surprising. Google ranks #6 in Google for the word search engine. Does that mean that they really consider themselves the #6 best site for users for that term? How is Altavista considered #1? When is the last time you used Altavista? LOL.

Does Google Need SEO

So if your listening Matt Cutts, I thought I would help you guys out with a couple SEO tips: (more…)

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Posted in Search Engines | 5 Comments »

A Visual Comparison of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft

May 5th, 2008 by Ray "Catfish" Comstock

All the noise today about Microsoft dropping it’s bid for Yahoo (hopefully it stays that way) inspired me today to take another look at the differences between the search engines and why one (Google) is utterly dominating the competition (Yahoo and MSN). And suddenly as I looked around the office and noticed some of the “swag” that my fellow BOLers had picked up from the search engines at various conferences, I was immediately struck by the obvious. The bottom line is, company culture has everything to do with why one company is winning and the others are losing. And that culture ironically is perfectly illustrated in the following picture. Google uses sophisticated technology and spends the money to do things right, Yahoo has some clever ideas but they aren’t quite up to speed, and MSN is still lost in the past:

Visual Comparison of Google, Yahoo and MSN Search Engines

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Posted in Search Engines | 2 Comments »

Position 6 Penalty (Error) Confirmed by Matt Cutts of Google

January 29th, 2008 by Ray "Catfish" Comstock

Many Web masters have been noticing lately that their heretofore #1 or #2 listings had dropped to the #6 spot. This was reported consistently lately on blogs and forums by many Web masters. It’s always hard to tell which so called “penalties” or observations reported on these kinds of sites should be taken seriously or believed. Although when the level of outcry rises to what it has recently, it’s hard to not start investigating. Still, it took a lot of people a long time to understand that there was a Google sandbox…lol. (more…)

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Posted in Search Engines | 1 Comment »

Google Has a New Patent About Links and New Social Media Opportunities

December 17th, 2007 by Ray "Catfish" Comstock

I haven’t had a chance to read it today, but Google has a new patent about links, specifically anchor text. Guess I know what I am doing for the next couple days..lol.

I lost my flag football playoff game 7 – 6. That’s a tough one to lose. Especially when I had receivers drop 7 of my passes. You can’t drop 7 passes in a playoff game and expect to win.

However, my Chargers look pretty good in completely destroying the Lions 51 – 14. If we win the next two games, we get the three seed which seems WAY more favorable.

In more SEO news, Google is going crazy with social media. First they announced the creation of Open Social recently which promises to (more…)

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Posted in Search Engines | No Comments »