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Google is Using You to Promote Your Competitors!
11
Aug
Aug
Do you know that Gmail uses your information to display ads promoting your competitors? I know that can sound weird but let me explain about what I discovered.
Gmail displays ads relevant to your interests
A prospect used his personal email address to send me a message. He was asking me for more information about our web design and SEO services. Nothing amazing here. Yet, when I read his message in my Gmail inbox, I saw ads related to LED companies.
OK, I know that the ads that appear next to my Gmail messages are related to my interests. Google uses a contextual advertising technology, so that these ads can be be relevant to my interests. The technology isn't only based on the information contained in the displayed message but also on any recent messages in my inbox.
However, what is amazing here is that there wasn't any word about LED in the message, neither in any of my previous messages. So, why did Google show me ads about LEDs?
But Gmail promotes your competitors behind your back too
I actually figured out that my potential customer's company operates in the LED sector. Gmail knew his interests in LEDs and thought that I could be interested in LEDs too. In the end, Gmail was promoting LED companies which were actually his company's competitors!
Ok, now what if he was writing one of his prospects?
Well, his prospect would have the email, and next to it the competitors' ads! Isn't that crazy?! Google puts it that way : if you're interested in LED, and you write to someone, this someone could be interested in LED's too! yeah, sure that someone could click and give money to google adwords... But google use me to target my prospects and show them my competitors to increase his revenues !!
Does that mean that when I write people using my gmail to their gmail... google displays web design and seo ads? that could seriously piss me off... what about you?
What if I am using a Hotmail / Yahoo, or any other Email client?
Well, then Google cannot track me easily, and gmail will probably not show relevant ads when I write anyone. Which means that they cannot use me to take my prospects away anymore...
Google is in fact encouraging us to use their competitors' emails services ...
Why does Google do that?
For obvious reasons, to increase the number of clicks on the ads displayed within gmail and thus earn more money. Usually, when Google has to chose between increasing money AND user privacy/scandal, they chose the latter. May I remind you that they don't display ads on their homepage (well, actually they do for their own services and Chrome, but that's fine). I think it's a very stupid move from them... and I wouldn't be surprised to see them change their policy if there was a scandal. The thing is, very few people know about it, so there is no scandal... for now.
My advice would be then to not use your Gmail account for professional purposes, otherwise google could use you to promote your competitors behind your back!
Oh ! wait... do they do the same with Google APPS, that target mainly companies... maybe it's time to avoid Gmail...
5 Ways Google Knows your Backlinks are Bullshit
15
Apr
Apr
Let’s think as a search engine.
First, the more backlinks you have, the more google considers your website as important. BUT, what if the backlinks come from the same webmaster?
The meaning is just that he’s linking his own websites, and not that his content is outstanding. So, these backlinks are less important in the point of view of the search engines, their “grade” should be lower. Your SEO won't work (or work less)
How can google know that it’s the same webmaster behind several websites :
Let’s think as a search engine.
First, the more backlinks you have, the more google considers your website as important. BUT, what if the backlinks come from the same webmaster?
The meaning is just that he’s linking his own websites, and not that his content is outstanding. So, these backlinks are less important in the point of view of the search engines, their “grade” should be lower. Your SEO won't work (or work less)
How can google know that it’s the same webmaster behind several websites :
1) Do you use analytics on all your websites with the same google account? Then google knows all these sites are more or less yours.
2) Do you buy all these domains with the same registrar account? Then google knows it through a whois query.
3) Do you host all these websites on the same server? Then google knows the IP, and is likely to consider that it’s the same webmaster behind.
4) Do you use the same google adwords account on these websites? Then google knows it’s the same person who is taking profit from them… aka same owner.
5) Do you use gmail account settings to use different emails with different domains? Then google knows that you are linked to these domains, so you’re probably one of the owners / employees / webmasters.
This list can probably be bigger, but here are some big things google can know about you and your websites, and therefore lower the “weight” they give to a backlink from one of your sites to another.
Truth is, they would do good by applying these rules, since this would make their search engine more efficient and more accurate…BUT, this is also a way to scare webmasters, and to make them NOT use gmail / analytics / adwords and go for the competition instead… which is a bad signal.
In your opinion, what is the policy google is following?
