The Organic SEO » Google

Is it dishonest to violate Google’s terms of service?

Joshua Steimle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:05:02 +0000

A little over a year ago I created this post, calling out anyone using Web CEO, SEOmoz’s Rank Checker, or SpyFu as being dishonest. My intent wasn’t to make anyone feel guilty or really call anyone out, my intent was that hopefully someone could convince me I was wrong, and that violating Google’s terms of service is, in fact, not dishonest. Some people have submitted interesting arguments, but so far the best one is that while any website can put up a terms of service agreement, this does not actually mean anyone using the website is dishonest if they violate it, it just means they open themselves up to whatever consequences Google cares to muster, the primary consequence being that Google might interfere with your activity. In other words, the purpose of the TOS is not so much to modify behavior of users, but to give Google the right to do whatever it sees fit if users do things they don’t like.

You might compare it to an “No Trespassing – Armed Response” sign on a fence bordering private property. Is the sign saying that if you trespass you’re a criminal? No, but it’s saying if you do trespass, the owner reserves the right to shoot at you with a gun, and you’ve been duly warned. Can Google’s TOS be taken in a similar light? That is, I can send automatic queries with a clear conscience, I just need to be aware that Google reserves the right to combat my activities in any way they see fit, and I’ve been duly warned of that fact? Or, when I visit their site, am I formally entering into a binding contract and giving my word to follow their TOS, any violation of which makes me a liar?

Google is Sorry That I May Be Sending Automatic Queries

Joshua Steimle — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:32:55 +0000

How ironic that after writing this post about automatic queries, I should be the one to get penalized for supposedly sending automatic queries.

All I was doing was manually typing in some keyword searches, and bam! I got the screenshot you see below. The restriction lasted for about 20 minutes and now it works again, but not after seriously interrupting my work and making me wonder if it was going to take hours, days, or weeks to sort out. I guess the way I was typing in my searches must have coincided perfectly with some algorithm they have for detecting automatic queries. Well Google, I guess you have a ways to go.

NPR, All Things Considered: Good Times For Google Advertising

Joshua Steimle — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:02:56 +0000

PPC in the news on NPR. A decent piece on the basics of using Google Adwords. Hopefully this will drive more and more advertisers to PPC and SEO. Maybe this is why some SEOs are seeing the growth of their businesses while traditional advertisers are hurting?

Wall Street Journal SEO & Domains Article

Eric Morgan — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 16:59:42 +0000

An article titled How Search-Engine Rules Cause Sites to Go Missing came out today in the Wall Street Journal. It addresses the issue of changing a domain name for an established website, even as simple as changing from a .net domain to a .com domain.

The article goes into detail about how topix.net is changing to topix.com and how the owners are worried about the potential effect on their revenues and traffic from search engines. They requested assistance from Google who responded by suggesting topix.net post comments on a Google engineer blog asking for help; no other suggestions were provided other than ‘moving one section over to see what happens’.

I can understand Google’s dilemma of catering to individuals based on requests; however if they modify their algorithms for one person where would it stop. Unforutunately they hold the power no matter how much website owners hate them at times.

I can also sympathize with topix.net; especially a larger commercial site that receives more than 10 million website visitors per day, most of which come from search engines. If they did lose traffic from the search engines it could result in a absolute depletion of their revenues and livelihood.

What do you think?

Google’s API Discontinued?

Eric Morgan — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:25:50 +0000

Google has discontinued its API, read more here.
Several days ago Google decided to discontinue its API, they do not appear to want to completely remove it, however they are no longer supporting it or developing it. Read more from an insider source here.

Conversion University

Joshua Steimle — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 04:55:34 +0000

Google has launched a microsite dubbed Conversion University. The site’s description reads “Learn about marketing and content optimization and read web analytics tips from industry experts at Conversion University, the Google Analytics companion site.”

The site is a rich resource for learning about the basics of search engine optimization relative to Google. Categories of resources include driving traffic, converting visitors, and tracking and testing.

Some of the specific resources that caught my eye include Monetizing Non-Ecommerce Sites, Five Objectives of Website Copy, and Design Your Website for Increased ROI.