When I wrote about Ditech using NOSCRIPT tags to put SEO’d content on their pages I used the word unethical a few times. In retrospect, unethical is probably not the best word for it. What a company decides to put on their webpages is not a matter of ethics unless it is breaking some law or something. Obviously, there is a little more water in that well, but I don’t want to get into it. Now, unwise or dumb may be a suitable moniker for what is happening on Ditech.com.
Well, a fellow named Chris commented on my blog asking the question:
Please explain this comment, “If nothing happens eventually the credibility of the organic results will erode.”
While I’m not for “spam” results in natural search please explain how this result, which is 100% relevant to the search term, in anyway hurts the user experience?
Well, Chris works for iCrossing. For those of you who don’t know, iCrossing is a very reputable and large SEO firm. It is also extremely likely that iCrossing is the SEO firm that put those NOSCRIPT tags on the Ditech.com website. (Since GM is a client of iCrossing, and Ditech is a GMAC subsidiary.)
So, what is my response:
I am not for spam in the natural results either Chris. My point was not one about the user experience. I fully believe that the user should have access to the Ditech.com website on page one for “home equity loan”. However, I do maintain that it is shortsighted to place NOSCRIPT tags with siginificant amounts of content on a website that could suffer a lot if Google changes their algorithm to ban methods like that which are clearly already in violation of the Google webmaster guidelines. I personally am not a Google abuse reporter. I don’t report stuff like that, but it is nice to get the attention of such wonderful people as iCrossing to help me promote my blog.
Post a Comment