July 6, 2006 Comments
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It's bad enough to read the regular postings on discussion forums about webmasters that are upset that Google has destroyed their business due to a drop in rankings, but now the mainstream media is getting involved. An article over at the Guardian Unlimited today that talks about the need for Google to hire a third party reviewer to work with businesses that have been delisted. As if it's Google's JOB to either list you, or give you a good reason why you aren't listed.
This is ridiculous.
Google's organic search listings are completely free. They cost nothing to search and they cost nothing to be included. Yes, Google can put a company in a position to earn bazillions of dollars in sales, but guess what...so can a single mention from a celebrity in a tv interview. A good word of mouth viral campaign also costs nothing and can rocket your business toward record profits.
But guess what...companies and individuals that offer up free "promotion" of your business don't owe you a darn thing. Google has the right to list or not list any company that they want. Google owes no explanations to businesses when they delist a site or drop it in the rankings and until business owners get this through their heads, they'll continue to suffer the penalties of putting too much reliance on free advertising.
The Guardian Unlimited article shows a fundamental failure to understand this concept...
If your web site is delisted, Google won't tell you, and it won't tell you why. Also, it won't tell you what you need to change to get back in. Google acts as its own policeman, as prosecutor, and as judge and jury. It has absolute power. In so far as there is a court of appeal, that's also controlled by Google, and the whole operation runs in complete secrecy.
When Google was a couple of PhD students in a garage, none of this mattered. Now that it has close to life or death power over vast numbers of small companies, it does. Put it this way: Google is heading for a monopoly market share of search, and in the UK, 75% of us use it. If Google's management doesn't find a way to temper the company's power, legislators will eventually do it for them.
Why would legislators step in? Is Congress going to sign a new law stating that every business owner MUST be talked up at least once in their lifetime by Regis and Kelly or by Oprah? Umm...I don't think so. Even if legislators step in and require Google to list a company, what's to say that they have to be "findable." There are only ten "top ten" results...and all but the tiniest portion of searchers never make it past the top 30. Should Google also have to guarantee a business owner a top ten ranking? Should they have to divide up which business gets to rank for which phrase so that "everyone gets a chance."
Getting into the realm where Google "owes" a business owner anything is getting onto a slippery slope.
It's one thing to learn how to work the system to your advantage by using good, solid search engine marketing techniques...it's another thing to cry and pout about what you think someone "owes" you when the reality is that they don't owe you a darn thing.
A good rule of thumb for all business owners is this... Google "owes" you the exact equivalent of what you pay them for any organic rankings...absolutely nothing.
Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.
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