If you want to game SEO, think again. I recently wrote about the growing importance of content and the constant SEO crackdown coming from major search engines like Google. Organic growth, viral links, and a natural progression are revered in today's SEO world. (See: The Changing Face of SEO.)
Major enterprises like JC Penney have failed miserably at gaming SEO in the past, so I thought it would be useful to showcase what's gotten several blue chip brands into trouble. After all, it's not just smaller companies that want to grow their businesses; large retailers covet a prime position on Google as well.
Last year, JC Penney committed a huge blunder when SearchDex, the contractor it hired to handle its SEO, committed a major error. As PC World wrote:
Thousands of links were placed on hundreds of sites across the Web - many of them completely unrelated to the keywords in question, some apparently abandoned, but all leading to JCPenney.com.
The retail chain claimed it didn't know anything about SearchDex's activities. But was that the case? Right after the holiday shopping rush, The New York Times wrote a story claiming that JC Penney bested its competition for an array of search terms, including "skinny jeans," "home decor," "comforter sets," and "furniture."
The JC Penney scheme included putting links on sites like Casino-Focus.com, BulgariaPropertyPortal.com, and even USCLetterman.org. Google struck back, sending JC Penney plummeting for a variety of keywords it once held the top spot for.
But was the scheme worthwhile? Remember, JC Penney reaped the rewards during the holiday season, so did it cash in?
The NYT cited a JC Penney spokeswoman:
While the collection of links surely brought in additional revenue, it was hardly a bonanza. Just 7% of JCPenney.com’s traffic comes from clicks on organic search results, she wrote. A far bigger source of profits this holiday season, she stated, came from partnerships with companies like Yahoo and Time Warner, from new mobile applications, and from in-store kiosks.
Ritzy auto manufacturer BMW also drove into some SEO trouble with Google, according to the NYT. The car-maker acknowledged it created "doorway pages" that only exist to attract search engines. BMY then redirected traffic to an alternative website. At the time, BMW said it had no intention of deceiving users, pleading ignorance: "If Google says all doorway pages are illegal, we have to take this into consideration."
MattCutts.com displayed an example of BMW's SEO approach. BMW's web pages would show different content to search engines -- namely, a lot of text. A JavaScript redirect would occur when a real human visited the site. Cutts admonished: "Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users."
It's not as if Google is innocent in all of this, either. The same New York Times report revealed that JC Penney spent nearly $2.5 million per month -- yes, per month -- on Google search ads. Other companies that spent a fortune on Google during that period included AT&T and eBay.
Overstock.com also found itself in the crosshairs for gaming SEO. The online retailing giant procured links from college websites specifically, according to The Wall Street Journal. Why? The news outlet explained:
Internet search experts say that sites associated with educational institutions, which come with .edu in their Web addresses, are often considered by Google's search algorithm to be more authoritative than commercial sites.
Overstock allegedly offered discounts on merchandise in return for the links. Keywords like "bunk beds" and "gift baskets" were among the ones mentioned.
What has been your experience with SEO? Do you have any horror -- or success -- stories to tell? Share them here.
How are SEO companies holding together? They should be reinventing themselves in order to provide companies with a legal way to optimize search results.
Also, how much is JC Penny spending on Facebook ads?
I agree with you. Bing is gaining ground. That will speed up during Win8 adaptions. I think we eventually see a shared market in search engine space. I would not be surprised if Facebook and Twitter and other social media platforms will start providing their own search engines.
When it comes to gaming SEO, the search engine that usually comes to mind is Google. In the thick of things, it's sometimes easy to forget that there are a number of other search engines that you should be thinking about. Rarely have I heard people talk about Yahoo Rankings or Bing Rankings; it's always about the Google Page Rank.
I agree, not only Google but there is Bing and other search engines, you are not able to keep up with all the changes. What is important is the content in your site, if you can make it relevant to what your business is doing and produce unique informative and helpful contents search engines will find it and stick with it regardless of all other things around it.
I think it's a good thing that they're making their algorithm a secret. IMO, people should just really concentrate on coming with good and relevant content, rather than try to game or cheat the system.
You might recall that when Google made a few updates, numerous people complained that their search rankings fell, which resulted in losses of revenue, etc. If you have solid content that doesn't depend on tactics and shortcuts to get ranked, then you should stay safe whenever Google decides to roll out their updates.
If you attempt to game SEO but don't really know what you're doing, then you'll fail. Google can strike back all they want but at the end of the day, these companies can walk away and try to get ranked again because as mhhfive has said, they can't remove these sites altogether.
I agree, search engine is just one avenue and competitive. When individuals start searching something there is high opportunity for sale, all you need your site being the ones showing up in the higher rank, that gives impression that it is the site that commonly used and it is safe to go with it.
@mhhfive... I agree with you here. It's much less of a negative for JCP to be penalized, especially considering how low their conversions seem to be from someone searching for a product.
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JC Penney may have been behind one of the biggest SEO snafus of the Internet, but it's certainly not alone in making search engine optimization errors.
Link building, link buying, and focusing obsessively on keywords were once ways to build your presence in the online world. Nowadays, Google and other search engines have wised up and the effectiveness of traditional SEO strategies has deteriorated. Today, interesting content is king.
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