Google Punishing Chrome Results For 60 Days

djl4570 writes "'Google is pushing its own Chrome browser down in search rankings for 60 days following reports that the company was involved in an ad campaign that paid for links to bolster search traffic. ... According to Sullivan, it appears that Google contracted its Web ads out to a firm called Essence Digital, which in turn asked a company called Unruly Media to implement the campaign.' I see this as an astute move on Google's part. Rather than circle the wagons they say 'oops' and correct the problem. Google understands that such link pimping is a cancer that undermines the integrity of their search engine. That's why it isn't allowed and now Google is saying we don't support a double standard either."

Comments

Wha?

[pinkj]

Feeling...positive...feelings...towards...billion dollar...corporation...must search for...negative...feelings...for another...corporation...!

Re:Wha?

[DCTech]

So evil is only evil when you're caught, I presume. On top of that they didn't even accept responsibility. They blamed someone else.

Google contracted its Web ads out to a firm called Essence Digital, which in turn asked a company called Unruly Media to implement the campaign.

Just the same way like JC Penney and others did, but back then people were outraged by the seo spam. But now that it's Google it's somehow holier than thou and Google is supposedly acting unlike any other company... by acting the same way those other companies acted!

Re:Wha?

[Shihar]

Somehow you have convinced yourself that you see hypocrisy. There isn't any. Google set down reasonable rules on how you can link. JC Penny, through another agency, violated those rules and got their rank hurt. Google, through another agency, violated those rules and go their rank hurt.

Google has responded consistently in both cases, even when it is responding to itself. Google isn't some monolith with perfect communication. The right hand did something stupid (hire a shady company and didn't oversee them) and the left hand smacked the right hand for it. This is a good thing.

The reason why people comment on it as being above and beyond kind of cool is that it is Google smacking themselves. It is one things for Google to smack JC Penny. Everyone expects that. It is another thing to smack themselves when one part of the company violates their own rules. This speaks of the quality of the firewall between the search folks and the rest of the company. If Google can confidently smack down its own internal divisions, it leaves you feeling confident that the results are truly as impartial as such a subjective thing can be. Can you honestly see Apple or Microsoft doing such a thing? They would just circle the wagons, justify their actions, and carry on. It is nice to see a touch of corporate integrity, even if it is for the obviously selfish reason of convincing people that Google's search is "fair".

Google considers its reputation to be an asset and guards it like one. It isn't infallible and its reasons for guarding their reputation are clearly selfish and profit motivated, but it is still a good thing. Doing good stuff for selfish reasons is better than acting like an asshole for selfish reasons.

Re:Good for Google

[JoeMerchant]

The article that I had read yesterday suggested that they were going to wash their hands of it and blame the bloggers.

Sorry, but with a name like "Unruly Media," wasn't someone keeping an eye on them?

Bing demoting Firefox?

[slthytove]

The article mentioned the results for Bing and Google, so I decided to do a little investigation. If you search for "browser" on Bing, the top 10 results are quite similar, with one notable absence - no Firefox or Mozilla pages appear. Does this seem fishy to anyone else?

Strange praise for Google

[GodfatherofSoul]

Like cheering a guy on when he stops beating his wife.

Re:Marketing

[Anonymous Coward]

Just hang on for a moment. What you're saying is that if Google does something bad they should take the blame but if they try to fix what they did wrong they don't get any credit?

Re:Marketing

[fallen1]

Isn't it amazing that by actually doing THE RIGHT THING and accepting responsibility, they gain more press than if they had just said "The bloggers did it." and washed their hands of the situation.

Maybe they, and other companies, can actually learn from this? You know, a) try not to fuck up in the first place and b) when you do, take responsibility and FIX IT.

Uncommon outbreak of good sense, perhaps?

Re:It's Called 'Plausible Deniablitiy'

[SJHillman]

Their revenue comes from displaying advertisements... I don't think that's the same as marketing or creating advertisements.