Amazon & Google in Bed, Black Hat SEO; Search & Adwords Dishonesty

 

Updated 4-7-13

Here are many evidences of Amazon.com being "in bed" together for both search and Adwords:

• Here is a quote I received from a Google Adwords supervisor (Adam) after complaining that I received an invalid click in one of my Adwords campaigns:
  "The reason why you were seeing potential clicks from Amazon and other third party search sites is because they're part of the of the Google Search Network."
  
  Oh really!
  Right from the horses mouth!
  (No disrespect meant to Adam as he was very helpful & simply repeating the "company line".)
  
  Sorry Google, Amazon.com is NOT a search engine in most persons views!
  
  As well this is a clear conflict of interest since Google is bringing up an admitted partner in both paid and organic searches.
  
  
  
  Here is a screen shot of the invalid link that became the reason as to my inquiry with Google Adwords as per Amazon:
  
  
  PLEASE CLICK ON THE SCREEN SHOTS TO ENLARGE
  
  I might add, that Google has Search Ads and Content Ads.
  My account is/was set to Search ONLY, so when an Ad click comes in from a site other than Google or a true search partner such as Ask.com, I have question the click.
  By most persons I know any Ad appearing on a web page is a CONTENT Ad, NOT a Search Ad.
  
  What is noteworthy too, The page my Ad was placed on had questionable content to the Ad and search query used to trigger this Ad in the first place


• Amazon recently changed their TOS with affiliates in a way that forces some affiliates who had been embedding or cloaking their links to use naked links instead.
  
  What is interesting is good SEO practices of 7-8 years ago stated that it was more authoritative to embed URLs within a good well written article. HOWEVER recently Google has "changed the rules" and stated naked URLs/Links are better and more "natural" making anyone who wrote good content suddenly black hat SEO spammers. Amazon is clearly taking advantage of this with their software that can convert these URLs back to naked URLs
  
  


• Amazon is taking advantage of their many 1000s of affiliates by pointing often irrelevant content back to content that Amazon is attempting to .
  One evidence is the use of a canonical tag from 1000s of affiliate website.
  While using a canonical is not considered a black hat technique, the clear abuse by Amazon.com clearly indicates Google should be taking note.
  Here is a screen shot example "Amazon Cloaking" from the source code of one of many affiliate pages found when the raw search term: "Syma-S107-S107G-Helicopter-Red" is typed into a Google query:
  
  
  
  Reference:
  *Black Hat World; Amazon & Google in bed together?


• Irrelevant Google Search queries.
  
  In my field of expertise; Researched Aquarium & Pond Care information, Google has simply become Amazon.com's bitch. With junky versions of products masquerading as the real deal, or worse, products displaying when a scientific process is the search query.
  
  This is not to say the other search do not bring up Amazon, but not to the over whelming amount of top results, often above actual scientific information as does a Google search.
  
  Here is one glaring example (there are many):
  For the search query Aquarium UV Sterilization, WHICH IS A SCIENTIFIC PROCESS, none of the top results is actually truly addressing this process.
  Although at the bottom of page 1, another website that has Google as their bitch IMHO is About.com. The webpage while more about the actual process is still essentially a "nothing special" cut and paste website with VERY questionable content.
  
  Back to the Amazon.com result for this query, it is NOT AT ALL ABOUT this process, rather it is for a product.
  EVEN worse, it is for a junk product (Killing Machine) that cannot even perform this process, rather it performs at best UV Clarification, NOT UV Sterilization.
  
  I have made spam reports for the web page in question and many others, months before writing this article, yet they remain, so Google is well aware of their junk search results, but chooses to do nothing!!
  
  Come on Google, how stupid do you think we are??
  
  References:
  *http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html
  *http://www.uvsterilizerreview.com/2009/12/uv-sterilizer-problems-equipment.html#submariner


• Google Refusing to act as per the DMCA law.
  
  The first of the above referenced web pages was also partially copied without permission and without providing a proper/legal credit back the referenced UV Sterilization Website.
  
  Here is Google's response on May 27 2013:
  "We have reviewed your request based on our policies concerning content removal. At this time, Google has decided not to take action."
  
  Really Google???
  As a results, this original content web page dropped from Google serps while the about.com replaced it even when the content in question was pasted directly into Google search.
  Thankfully after some legal threats, about.com did the "right thing" and provided proper credit to the content source (although the original content as of Oct. 2013 has never recovered in Google search and in fact the about.com article still is #1 for this specific content search).
  
  The bottom line is this shows Googles TOTAL LACK OF ETHICS, so how are we to believe Matt Cutts or anyone else at Google including claims they are "not in bed with Amazon"???


• Adwords Dishonesty.
  
  While slightly off subject, it is still noteworthy that it is likely these changes to Google search algorithm, especially since the terrible Penguin 2 update and likely the lame Hummingbird update (which has shown NO IMPROVEMENT in search quality) is to benefit the Adwords side of Google.
  
  I have several screen shots of invalid clicks that Google manages to make some sort of excuse as to their validity.
  
  In one, Google clearly provides and charges for a click from Armenia, even though the account is clearly set to USA ONLY
  
  Googles excuse is one needs to go into advanced settings to change this to prohibit person searching incognito from other countries as if in the USA.
  There reason this is the default?
  Google employee example: If someone was thinking of visiting Los Angeles and they desired to know what restaurants that their might be, Adwords listings would appear to the benefit to both the advertiser and searcher."
  
  My response:
  This is a rare exception where the Advertiser should have to use the "Advanced settings" to allow this.
  
  Why would anyone one in Armenia search for Aquarium or pond products in southern Oregon when we all know damn well they are not going to visit here and take such an item back on the plane.
  
  My counter analogy:
  "If I have an accident and my seat belt automatically releases me upon impact and I complain to the auto maker that this should not have happened and they reply back that I should have gone into the glove box and turn off a switch that tells the seat belts to not release" This is EXACTLY what Google is attempting to do"
  
  This default and many other in Google Adwords is simply deceitful.
  
  This, along with so many other aspects of Google such as the allowing of plagiarized content to show Adwords and much more make it very difficult to believe Matt Cutts or anyone else at Google as IMHO, they have lost ALL CREDIBILITY!!
  
  Here is a screen shot of this deceitful Adwords click from Armenia:
  
  

IN SUMMARY: I would be MORE than happy to change and re-write everything I have wrritten about Google Search issues, Adwords, Adsense, etc; ALL I ASK IS THAT GOOGLE LISTEN TO THE LITTLE GUY AND FIX THESE ISSUES! Stop forcing Matt Cutts to go out and make up stories of how Google is trying to fix these issues when the evidence says otherwise!!!

FURTHER RESOURCES

*https://medium.com/surveillance-state/32ba2b38c219
This is an awesome article that very politely puts Google in their place in how they have veered away from their “Don't be evil” slogan

*http://www.fish-as-pets.com/2012/05/google-is-evil-content-plagiarism.html
Evidence for Googles allegedly allowing content plagiarism for Adwords

*http://www.myopinions-carl.com/2009/07/google-lies-dishonesty.html
More evidence of Google dishonesty and secrecy when it comes to Adwords and the very shady Adsense departments

*http://www.myopinions-carl.com/2013/01/google-search-dmoz-aquarium-lighting.html
Further evidence of highly questionable Google search results such as for the query of "aquarium lighting" where highly researched, content rich results have fallen in favor of web spam.
Example of research rich content that has fallen:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html

*http://cstrohmeyer.wordpress.com/2013/08/31/google-search-seo-penguin-panda-matt-cutts/
More evidence of Google Search Fail

Author; Carl S.