Comments on: How Mainstream Media Coverage May Have Affected SEO, Google

By: Terry Van Horne

Terry Van Horne — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:35:10 +0000

Agreed Ruud the FTC is a slippery slope but if you take the Google view
1. You assume when I buy advertising I care about it’s affect on ranks
2. The no follow is the site’s decision not mine… in fact I wouldn’t know cuz quite simply I don’t care and don’t look
3. Assumes the advertiser is aware of Google’s RULES for the internet
4. If Google said I had to have a white background to rank because users like that better should that rule stick too? where do we draw the line?

The HTML 5 spec outlines a better rel=”nofollow” policy for webmasters as it leaves it up to the webmasters discretion. Besides almost all links are paid with either sweat or $ no such thing as a free link.

By: Ruud Hein

Ruud Hein — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:27:41 +0000

In reply to Terry Van Horne.

Interesting point of view, Terry.

It’s true that link ads have been sold long before Google started making an issue about it — but isn’t Google’s stance nowadays that if it’s just a link ad that it should be marked as “rel=nofollow”?

I like your idea of letting the FTC decide but it could be a slippery slope too; first step towards government regulation for search. Not necessarily bad — but something many want to avoid, I guess.

By: Terry Van Horne

Terry Van Horne — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:08:04 +0000

Hmmm… putting Forbes in with JC Penney and Overstock is IMO, sensationalism. Forbes sell advertising… I have been around the net a long time and we were selling link as ads long before Google came along. Google could be arguably limiting competition.

Let’s let the FTC decide what is advertising and needs to be identified as such and for reasons beyond manipulating Google’s algo… do it because the users deserve to know not because Google can’t determine what is paid and steers webmasters to use an attribute that AFAIK is not part of the current HTML spec.

Of course if webmasters only purchased these ads for their value as advertising rather than a short term answer to a long term problem… we wouldn’t be having this discussion.