I wish that it were as simple as that, but with my cynic's hat on,
I see Florida simply as Google's sledgehammer way of forcing people
to switch over to Adwords.
Adwords boxes have never been well placed on the Google page and
I never particularly notice them when I surf. I always look at the
normal rankings which is full of free listings. Adwords advertisers
might well have complained about why they are paying for poorly
located boxes, when their rivals are better located, for free.
Google's response could simply be to say - OK, we'll get rid of
the free commercial sites and our advertisers will have the top
page commercial locations to themselves.
They know which phrases to kill off because they know what their
advertisers are already paying for via Adwords. Thousands of
commercial phrases now find only 'authority' sites returned on Google,
such as universities and .gov's, with shopping directories somehow
getting through the net (for now anyway).
In this way they -
a) please their advertisers
b) force people to by into Adwords
c) are able to answer criticism about no longer showing relevant content
because the panicky site owners may soon be back on Google albeit
having to pay for their placement now
Google has kept quiet about their motives. They say that adjustments
on rankings are normal fluctuations. They don't have the courage to
admit their strategy.
Will people notice?
Will Google's new reputation see them damaged?
Do Google care?
The problem will soon be one for their new shareholders to worry about
after the present owners gleefully point out to prospective investors
how Adwords has suddenly taken off, and they cash in.
I for one have lost sites from high Google rankings, many of my clients'
sites have disappeared, and business has been badly hit. I for one will
not be rewarding Google by buying into Adwords.
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Rob rpday_at_btinternet.com
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Received on Thu Dec 04 2003 - 06:56:40 CST
