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I write blogspam. It's definitely a problem but I don't know what Google is going to do about it. Basically google can't trust backlinks anymore because people
by throwayedidqo 10y ago
I write blogspam. It's definitely a problem but I don't know what Google is going to do about it.
Basically google can't trust backlinks anymore because people game them and competitors try to destroy each other's sites by buying scummy links to their stuff.
So they mainly attempt to measure quality in a vacuum. This is using their machine learning stuff to look at the quality, confidence, and reading level of the writing style.
They do the same quality checks for the site. Checking for EV certs, clean markup, real email volume through Gmail, reputable DNS provider, physical address in G maps. A lot of their hundreds of quality metrics don't measure the site itself, but use Google's pervasive data trove from their other services. Most scammers don't bother doing any of this right.
The problem becomes people like me. I setup sites with all measures of quality for legitimate businesses. Have articles written by good writers with knowledge in the subject. Sounds great right?
The problem is that these articles are still done for money and quite biased sometimes. Google is slowly running into a need for a strong AI because all measures of quality can be emulated if enough money is on the line. It doesn't matter if something seems truthful in every way except the fact that it isn't.
This is the same reason "fake news" is invading google and Facebook. Smart spammers have upped their game to the point that it's impossible to know what's real anymore.
Need a wikipedia article changed? Good reviews on Yelp? A nice piece on a popular tech website? All of this can be openly bought with zero consequences.
- tajen 10y ago> pervasive data trove from other services I would believe that, although there has to be several alternate ways to measure a site popularity, Google Analytics are a huge part of a site ranking. Do users stay long on your website? Do they come back to the search results after that? Do they click through to "Pricing", then back to "Features"? If so, that must be the right answer. Alternate example: I would bet that shops where Google Maps geolocalises a lot of customers have a higher-ranked website than similar websites where their physical venues are empty.
- throwayedidqo 10y agoEven creepier... If Google knows all your physical locations they know how many employees you have at work on a given day