Are black hat SEO specialists getting better at outsmarting Google? And is Google Local Search particularly susceptible to gaming?
Earlier this year, JC Penny and Overstock.com had to be
manually demoted by Google because they were paying for inbound links to artificially inflate their rankings.
Last month a
Chinese start-up that uses illicit SEO tactics to outrank a number of major consumer brands for keywords like “summer dresses” secured a $15 million dollar investment from Sequoia Capital.
And credit card provider
Capital One piggy backs off an online car dealership’s display ad widget to rank number one for the phrase “auto loans.”
Most recently, lead gen companies have gotten so good at
gaming local search, it’s become exceedingly difficult, if not impossible for local locksmiths to get found by customers. Instead, the lead gen companies, or affiliate marketers, intercept the leads and sell them to the highest bidder, driving up the cost of service.
Online search expert Doug Pierce, available via
LinkedIn,
Twitter or
email, who is the co-founder of
Digital Due Diligence, which helps investors evaluate online business models, talks about the shady schemes of black hat SEOs, and whether or not they’ll ever gut Google search of its usefulness.
Topics Discussed:Since this podcast was recorded, Google made
significant changes to the Goolge Local search algorithm, promptomg Doug to write this
blog post detailing what's wrong and what more can be done.
Embed this Podcast:<embed width="400" height="27" src="http://www.google.com/reader/ui/3523697345-audio-player.swf" flashvars="audioUrl=
http://www.ontherecordpodcast.com/pr/otro/electronic/local-search.mp3" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
About the Podcaster:Eric Schwartzman (
@EricSchwartzman) provides
social marketing services,
social marketing research and
social media training to businesses, government agencies and nonprofits. He has over 15 years experience integrating emerging information technologies into organizational communications programs. He has served Boeing, BYU, City National Bank, Environmental Defense Fund, Government of Singapore, Johnson & Johnson, NORAD Northcomm, Southern California Edison, Toyota, UCLA, US Dept. of State, United States Army, US Embassy of Athens, US Embassy to Rome, United States Marine Corps and many other small to medium-sized companies and agencies. Eric is also the instructor behind top-rated social media training seminars and the
Social Media Boot Camp which are offered regularly in the US and abroad. Visit the
social media training calendar for upcoming dates.
