The Great Google Fakeout Patent: Let’s Hoodwink The Spammers and SEO’s Too!

Toy panda and penguin standing on Google screenshotsWith the Penguin update, Google has waged war on spammers. And like in every war there are the inevitable civilian casualties. If you are not paying attention, there is a significant chance that you will be one of those casualties, whether you are an intentional spammer or not.

Google patented a process designed to identify a suspected web spammer.

For example, a recent patent granted to Google describes the way a search engine might respond when a site is identified as one that possibly engages in “rank-modifying spamming techniques” which “include a set of techniques by which information providers attempt to fool a search engine into ranking their information (or their customers' information) at or near the top of the list of search results.”

The patent lists some examples:

  • keyword stuffing
  • invisible text
  • tiny text page
  • redirects
  • META tags stuffing
  • link-based manipulation

In a nutshell, the patent outlines a process where, if a site is identified as engaging in “rank-modifying spamming techniques,” a search engine may react in ways designed to confuse the spammer.

So Google aims to trick the spammer into showing his hand, convincing Google that they are indeed purposefully attempting to manipulate the search results in a nefarious manner. The result may even be that the faked out spammer removes the spammy elements that raised Google’s awareness:

“When a spammer tries to positively influence a document's rank through rank-modifying spamming, the spammer may be perplexed by the rank assigned by a rank transition function consistent with the principles of the invention, such as the ones described above.

For example, the initial response to the spammer's changes may cause the document's rank to be negatively influenced rather than positively influenced. Unexpected results are bound to elicit a response from a spammer, particularly if their client is upset with the results. In response to negative results, the spammer may remove the changes and, thereby render the long-term impact on the document's rank zero.

Alternatively or additionally, it may take an unknown (possibly variable) amount of time to see positive (or expected) results in response to the spammer's changes. In response to delayed results, the spammer may perform additional changes in an attempt to positively (or more positively) influence the document's rank. In either event, these further spammer-initiated changes may assist in identifying signs of rank-modifying spamming.“

Difficult to Measure SEO Effects

What this also means is that it may become more difficult to measure the effects of SEO. In fact it is possible that any SEO efforts can be ultimately advantageous, but initially your rankings go down.

SEO professionals may have a difficult time explaining to their clients why their rankings have gone down once SEO efforts are made, and that it is possible that their rankings will go up in a couple months.

At i7 Marketing, we feel strongly that any SEO technique considered spam is not acceptable, and we take great pains to ensure that everything we do is acceptable to Google.

What do you think about this?

                                           

Eric Wagner

While Eric now focuses on internet marketing, he also has a background in web development. He loves being among the first to find out about new tech—and better yet, being a part of making that tech succeed. Eric is known to be a good listener, seeking to understand how each individual sees the world. He is a harmonizer in group settings, cultivating unity while constructing the overall goal and strategy. When he’s not busy helping i7 clients dominate the online marketplace, Eric enjoys drone videography (he’s got a UAV pilot’s license), woodworking, community service, and all things outdoors.

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