Google Searchwiki – blackhat SEOs rejoice

Published by ndixon on December 10th, 2008 Leave a comment »

The recent release of Google's Searchwiki offering the ability for individuals with a Google account to directly manipulate their personal search results for a particular term, created much speculation as to whether (or when) Google might start using such data outside the realm of the individual searcher. We now seem to be a step closer to confirmation of Searchwiki data influencing SERPs.

In Techcrunch’s report today regarding the planned inclusion of an “off button” for Serchwiki – I really don’t know why so many people got so hot under the collar over this point – they also mentioned a direct quote from Google’s VP of Search Product and User Experience Marissa Mayer who was speaking at this week’s Le Web in Paris:

in the future it’s likely Google will use the data to at least make obvious changes. An example is if “thousands of people” were to knock a search result off a search page, they’d be likely to make a change

Just gather enough friends

I can see the blackhat SEO community already grouping together to “bump-up” each others’ sites in the search results. Though I doubt it is just blackhatters planning such activity. Watch the callout for reciprocated votes spreading like wildfire through any tech or marketing oriented social network! If Google have made buying links unacceptable behaviour, what about buying votes?

Just like any form community voting, it is open to abuse and manipulation. One might consider that Google are intelligent enough to measure such voting effectively, but it will instantly become another weapon in the SEO’s search manipulation arsenal.

Weakening SEOs power

Searchwiki itself, in my opinion, is a direct stab at the SEO industry to weaken its stronghold on the way search results are presented to the searcher. Personalised search results where the individual is in control, removes the effectiveness of SEO. One cannot determine with confidence what search results an individual might be seeing for a particular keyword, because Searchwiki allows a user to place whatever search results they wish at the top positions for a particular search.

If uptake of Searchwiki is broad enough, SEO will need to become increasingly focused on long-tail search terms – those that are searched less often and I would suggest are less likely to see the searcher feeling the need to manipulate their results. Highly competitive terms – where a searcher might be more likely to keep searching through page after page of results to find the one they want – are more likely to be clicked to the top of the list in Searchwiki.

Swings and roundabouts

There seem to be some opportunity here on all sides. Users may find their search results more acceptable for terms they regularly hunt, while pure on and off-page optimisation could become less important.

I wonder when we might begin seeing page title and description content on search results specifically designed to encourage a searcher to click their little Searchwiki icon to move that result to the top..?

Tags: blackhat, Google, search-engines, Searchwiki, SERPs
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