Me, Her, the Boy and a Dog
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I’ve been using Google News for quite some time and earlier this year, Google - the dominant search engine - began including ads on the right column of its news search results pages. But today, I noticed something new … at least it was new to me.
My girlfriend will be the first (of many) to tell you that I am not exactly the most observant person in the world when it comes to certain things. So, perhaps I simply overlooked the fact that Google is now including paid ads, or “sponsored links,” at the top of its news search results pages. Check out the screen capture below:
I’m not sure how I feel about this. My initial reaction is that it dilutes the credibility of the results being returned. Having worked in news (TV, radio and print) for more than 10 years, I cannot help but compare the new revenue strategy to a TV station leading a newscast with a story that was “sponsored” and produced by an advertiser.
Yes, TV is saturated with commercials, but the advertisers do not mandate, much less produce the content. They pay for ads based on the ratings of the newscast, but assuming the news director and station manager are standup news people, they won’t bend to the pressure from advertisers.
News is meant to be unbiased and while I can accept the unobtrusive ads in the right column, I think Google has crossed the line by adding ads to the top of the news search results pages. If I’m looking for news, I’m looking for trusted sources, not sources that paid to get their content at the top. If your news is relevant to my search parameters, it should show up in the results and if it isn’t, then call me and I’ll give you a quote for my SEO consulting services.
In the early 1990s, Website owners figured out the more traffic their sites got, the more advertising dollars became available. And from that “me make fire” leap in Internet evolution, the search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) profession was born.
In the beginning, the prime directive of optimizing your Website was to get it to appear as high in the search engine results pages (SERPs) as possible. Like many things in life, everyone wanted to be No. 1. Not much has changed in the last 10-15 years. The benchmark for successful SEO has been appearing on the first page of search results. The methods of successful SEO, however, are constantly evolving - but that’s a post for another day.
I work in SEO and I’m always looking for good “bad” examples of spammy content on sites. While searching for info on Jimmy Buffet’s Sept. 4, concert at the old Nissan Pavilion in Manassa, Va., I found a perfect example! Check it out…
When purchasing Concert tickets for Jimmy Buffett in Bristow you will find a wide variety of Jimmy Buffett Jiffy Lube Live (Formerly Nissan Pavilion) tickets including cheap tickets. All Jimmy Buffett Concert tickets are shipped through FedEx most of the time or are available at will call. At Tons of Tickets we buy and sell sold out Jimmy Buffett Jiffy Lube Live (Formerly Nissan Pavilion) tickets. We accept all major credit cards such as Visa and Master Card for Jimmy Buffett ticket orders.
Have you heard? The launch of Google Instant, the search giant’s real-time search function has left SEO professionals around the world without jobs! But, wait, there’s only one problem. Google Instant has had quite the opposite effect on the SEO industry.
Does your company’s name accurately describe what you sell or what services you offer? Chances are, probably not. And unless you’re a nationally recognized brand like Subway, Apple or Ikea, using your business name as your website domain may not be enough.
Click on the link to read more…
