21 replies to this topic

[MaKa]

Google are a domain register themselves, so they'll have access to this information directly from the source. I would be surprised if they need GoDaddy for this.

[kynduvme]

lol ok, thanks for the tip. Just to point out, after saying not to pay to much attention to his blog you go ahead and say

"FTR, I think I remember him saying something to the effect of the aging delay starts when Google first visits a site, not when the site is launched, but it was as GoogleGuy and it was in the Search Engine Watch Forum."

im just joking i get the point. He just usually has what most of us think of as "insider" google info.

[Jill]

kynduvme, it really depends. You have to be able to filter anything that Google says because they obviously have their own agenda. It doesn't mean that everything they say is not true or not useful. Much of it is. But not all of it.

I still believe that they don't particularly like SEO in general, and would be very happy if there was no such thing.

[kynduvme]

kynduvme, it really depends. You have to be able to filter anything that Google says because they obviously have their own agenda. It doesn't mean that everything they say is not true or not useful. Much of it is. But not all of it.

I still believe that they don't particularly like SEO in general, and would be very happy if there was no such thing.

Jill, thats a great point, you have to consider Google's agenda when they and their representatives are disseminating info at conventions and on blogs. It is not in their best interest to have us or one group of people in the "know" controlling their top searches. They want the algorithm to find the best on their own terms.

[mcanerin]

I vividly remember talking to a search engine rep at SES Toronto about whether or not MS would continue to use Googles Adwords or develop their own, and was told point blank with a straight face that that MS was happy and had no plans to change anything. I was very suspicious, and asked the question in several different ways, and the answer was the same each time.

About a month or so later, I was at SES San Jose and MS announced it's new Ad platform. By coincidence, that very same search engine rep was at his booth. So I went over to have a chat. He remembered me and told me that he tells people what he's told to tell people, not what he knows to be the truth. That's his job as a rep. He seemed a little sheepish, but I suspect mostly at being caught, not doing it in the first place.

I knew I couldn't totally rely on SE reps before this, but this incident really pounded it home. You will be told what the company wants to tell you. If they want you know know the truth, you'll hear it. If they don't, you won't. The reps say what they are paid to say, because they are reps, not independent journalists. They answer to their employer, not the public. And certainly not to SEO's.

That's why I do pay attention to what they say, but usually as part of a process of trying to find out what's really going on. That's why I was so strongly opposed to you (or anyone) fact checking against reps, especially about things that go to the heart of their algorithm - of course they will lie or mislead if it seems to be in their interests - they want spammers to know as little as possible, and to be as wrong as often as possible. In a search engines view, you should not even be asking those questions in the first place, so it's not like they care if you get bad info.

This is not to say it's all lies - I suspect most of what they tell you is some variation of the truth (it's easier to remember). But a rep (even Matt) is not a credible source for fact checking. He is a great source for initial information, but you should check facts via testing and other verifiable methods.

Search engine reps are the Wikipedia entries of the search world. Seemingly full of information, but surprising wrong (often deliberatly so) in some areas. Not to be used as a reliable research tool, just an initial direction.

Ian

[kynduvme]

like asking the govt. about UFOs!!!

[Randy]

UFOs. Or taxes.

Good points by all.

You need to be able to read between the lines and view everything you read but haven't yet tested yourself with a bit of skepticism. This includes anything you're told here or at any other SEO forum, and especially anything you're told by someone who works for the search engines.