Internet metrics company Hitwise on Wednesday published a cautionary tale about the dangers of excessive search engine optimization. Search engine optimization (SEO) aims to make a Web site appear higher up on search results pages for keywords related to the Web site’s business.
GoCompare.com, a U.K.-based car insurance comparison site, apparently used SEO techniques to reach the number one position for the term "car insurance" on Google’s U.K. site. Then, according to Hitwise U.K. research director Robin Goad, the site got blacklisted by Google, presumably because the SEO techniques it used violated Google’s rules. Google has a lengthy list of rules for Web site owners about what is and isn’t acceptable. And Google makes the consequences clear: "If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or ‘throwaway’ domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index," Google explains. Fear The Google Blacklist — Search Engine Optimization — InformationWeek
Filed under Adsense, Google, SEO
Linked by adsensical on Sunday, February 17th, 2008