Time to talk about spam again. Google, Yahoo and MSN are huge. They employ thousands of people, spend billions of dollars and use untold amounts of computer power and server space to give you and me accurate, relevant search results (and yes, to make money on advertising. Don’t everyone comment on the greed of the search giants, that is not what this post is about. We can discuss corporate greed and non-altruistic motives later.)
That being said, they can’t catch all of the spam out there. Despite their manpower, their goal (especially where Google is concerned) is to automate as much of the process as possible through algorithms and complex ranking systems. This means that if someone can game the system, they are going to try!
We are the next line of defense. If we see a site rising through the SERPs that obviously is a spam site, we have to speak up, and bring this to the attention of the powers that be. Often if Google or one of the others is notified of a problem, they can have a human check it out and make a reasonable determination as to the intent of the site.
Spam is easily identifiable. The bright paper wrapped around the distinctively shaped can is – oh, wait. Wrong spam. Do-over!
Spam is identifiable by obvious connections to bad neighborhood linking schemes. If a site seems to have a gazillion ads and links that have no relevance to the supposed topic, it might just be a spam site.
Spam is identifiable by white on white text that when revealed reads like a research list of keywords. If a site has a lot of white space at the bottom of each page, right click and drag your mouse. If words start lighting up, it might just be a spam site.
Spam is identifiable by mass emails sent out in an effort to hoodwink you into clicking on a link by promising a free something or other or asking you to take a test or participate in a poll. If you find out they want your credit card info before they give you the results, it might just be a spam site.
You can report spam to the appropriate search engine, and wait to see if the site is booted or penalized. Sometimes the search engine will give a webmaster a heads up that they are violating guidelines, and give them a chance to clean up their act. Sometimes they simply deep six them to the planet Shubunkin.
A note of caution – don’t worry too much about being falsely accused by a jealous competitor. Remember what we said about real humans? Give them a little credit. If you have kept your nose clean, you should haven nothing to worry about. Don’t be evil, and you don’t have to worry about being caught!
If you have done something a little over the line, however, take care – you might just be a spam site.