NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Search engines are dying
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Search engines are dying
Dave Myers (dmyers_at_mountainvalley.com)
Wed, 12 Nov 1997 13:48:09 -0400
I've read this thread with interest, and have a few comments to add:
Although the "Big 7" search engines and directories seem to be firmly
entrenched at this stage of the game, it's apparent to me that the first of
them (or a new competitor) to develop anti-spam technology that is
workable, along with timely processing, quality customer service, and a
lowest-common-denominator friendly interface, should rule the genre...at
least theoretically.
You have to wonder how committed the engines are to cleaning up spamdexing-
paying "lip service" to it in press releases is one thing, taking concrete
action is another. I'm sure it's a gargantuan task, but I personally do not
feel it is as high a priority as they claim. This opinion is based on
several experiences I've had with engines while reporting instances of
blatant spamdexing in high-ranking listings in my keywords (as an aside, I
have absolutely no compunctions about reporting it, since I spend a great
deal of time optimizing my pages within the "rules", and am a firm believer
in level playing fields).
In one incident, I exchanged several e-mail messages with a tech, who
claimed to have checked a page I questionsed and "saw nothing out of line".
I wrote back with quoted code from the page in question, showing *7*
seperate title tags, EACH with a minimum of *19* iterations of the keywords
in question. You can do the math. Since we were talking title tags, we're
obviously looking at the beginning of the page code, so I can't even
rationalize that it was buried in the page and the tech was just busy.
After I took the time to report and illustrate this, the tech agreed that
this was decidedly improper, and stated that the page would be removed. 5
weeks later, it's still there.
This is not the first incident of this sort, which makes me wonder about
the engines' commitment to cleaning things up. Spamdexing is becoming the
norm, one could posit...as the natural reaction to seeing others place
above a well-thought-out page by "trained chimp typing contest" methods
might be the old "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach. I won't stoop
to that, but don't think it hadn't at least entered my mind.
In the current climate, I must concur with an earlier comment that the best
approach is to take some time choosing your METAs, submit your pages, and
then move on to some more productive means of promoting your page. Resubmit
every couple months to stay within the lead times some engines take to
update your page (in other words, if you submit every two months, they'll
update your *last* submission as you're making this one).
Sincerely,
Dave Myers
Mountain Valley Properties
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513 Wears Valley Rd. Ste. 2 finest chalets & cabins
Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
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