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Yesterday, I wrote about the really scummy thing Google Chrome did to boost its rankings: paying people to write posts about it, which is in direct violation of Google Webmaster Guidelines.
Google today responded by demoting the Chrome download site for 60 days.
I wasn’t quite sure if Google would take such a step. It could’ve easily brushed the issue aside with some PR mumble jumble. A 60 day ban is nearly not enough; I’ve seen lesser culprits fare far worse, but it is some action at least and is more than welcome.
Of course, as I’d predicted, Google didn’t quite own up to its sins. The blame was tossed around before it was settled firmly on Unruly Media (an ironic name in the context). According to Google’s email to Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land:
Google never agreed to anything more than online ads. We have consistently avoided paid sponsorships, including paying bloggers to promote our products, because these kind of promotions are not transparent or in the best interests of users. We’re now looking at what changes we need to make to ensure that this never happens again.
Unruly Media, on the other hand, denied the link spam allegations altogether, saying that they were only buying advertising, not links, according to this interview with AllThingsD.
No one has addressed the issue of garbage content, however. All the posts linking to Chrome were filled with what can only be defined as utter crap. Google hasn’t owned up to it, neither has Unruly Media. I guess when you get caught with your pants down, explaining your choice of underwear becomes less of a priority.
