Why Does Google Suck?
This is a very popular question I get. When I tell people I own a website dedicated to spreading the word about Google, I always get asked, “Why does google suck?” The truth of the matter is, I was like you and believed that Google was the greatest thing ever. How could you not love multicolored logo? And then all the free services they started to offer, amazing. Lets not forget about Google Earth…. you mean I can see my house from a satellite image whoooaa. One day though, they crossed the line and opened up my eyes to what they were really doing.
When Google rolled out their Street View there was a swarm of controversy. As I started to read more about it and the cases in which these patrolling cameras were taking pictures of unknowing people, I was exposed to the root problem of Google and their effort to make all of the worlds information available.
Lets look at the companies mission “make all the worlds information available.” We already know that they started with the web and making it available to everyone. Then they moved on to maps and directions. They slowly started scanning all the worlds books. They slowly started making all prices available through their shopping features. Every action has a consequence let me outline just a fraction of Google’s actions and the problems associated with it and then I will delve into the biggest problem of all.
Lets start with Google dominating online search. The problem with Google dominating search is that it creates a sort of only monopoly.They become the gate keeper through which most people start in their quest to have their questions answered. The problem is that they created an artificial way to rank results and if you want to be seen or heard you have to pay through their advertising program. People have learned to trust these Google Results, but they are no better than the advertising you see. My job is to allow my clients to rank for these results. There is ways to manipulate Google, in fact for some terms it is quite easy. Google has been trying to drive down people who help websites rank, because it cuts them out of as the gate keeper. The big problem is any time a new industry that tries to by pass Google is born whether its selling links or trading traffic Google come in and tries to wipe them out. This is exactly what they did to websites that sold links. When you use google ads you have to pay google who pays the publisher, but if you pay the publisher directly to help you rank slightly better on Google, then Google will punish you and lower the worth of every link on the page.
Second I want to discuss the supposed free services that Google offers. One of these services is called Google Analytics. They are allowing website owners to track statistics about their websites for free. Of course, this again kills off any competitors because they cannot operate on a free level. So many web analytics companies are taking huge hits. On top of it Google is cataloging all this data. As the publisher you are giving away all the information about your website. Another free Google feature is Gmail. Although Google will deny this, but they track all your emails. I first discovered this when I sent out an email to a buddy about a web page I was building. There was NO links pointing to it from anywhere else, yet it got into google’s index. I wish I had taken screen shots, but I did not realize what was happening before it was too late. Google scans emails so anything you are typing becomes their property.
This last point leads me to the worst part about Google. In their attempt to make all the worlds information available, they are making your information available. They are tracking all your movements, all your typing, and repackaging it to advertisers so they can sell you things better. They are watching you and it is just a matter of time before some critical information about you leaks out. Think about it, you go and search for STD information and that knowledge will exist as long as Google does. Of course this is a silly example, but next time you type something questionable into Google, ask yourself who is tracking that information, and who may one day posses it?
Maybe these reason’s aren’t the reason I hate Gooogle. Maybe it is because they send cool Shwag, like digital cameras and lava lamps to the Pay Per Click part of my company, while sending us Search Engine Optimizers nothing :(
Or maybe we don’t get anything because we figured out a way to go around Google?
5 comments
Regarding your comments on Google’s search ranking,
Google’s ranking is designed to return the results most likely to satisfy your query. Selling links and traffic trading in an attempt to rank higher on Google exploits the formula Google is using, causing result less likely to fulfill the user’s needs to rank higher. It makes sense for Google to counter these methods, in order to return the search results most likely to fulfill the searchers needs.
If you would like continue this discussion you’ll have to email me as it’s not likely I will check back here for a respones.
Hi Clayton,
Thanks for your response. My issue is that people trust Google algorithm to return the best results. The truth of the matter is that Google cannot understand intent, and with all the millions of dollars and technology behind them their system will always be flawed. Furthermore, if you study the PageRank the basis of their search, you will see that is a flawed system that favors large companies, and isn’t necessarily representative of the web. For example, on this algorithmic scale, Adobe is a PR 10, and has been before they got as big as they were. The reason for this was because of Acrobat and PDF, and the hundreds of thousand of links that point to Adobe to download their Reader. If you do not believe me, search for “click here” and you will see what I mean. The example of selling links is just one of many where Google has stepped in to disrupt any kind of money making industry that doesn’t directly pay them for having visibility. A perfect example is their knol tool which is trying to mimic wikipedia, since wikipedia is starting to rank for almost everything, and doesn’t have any Google AdSense or referrals on it, Google doesn’t get a cut, and decided it is time to.
I checked otu your site www.claytonleis.com and it is still under construction, but good luck when you get it up.
Cheers,
~Alex
Of course Google sends us SEO people stuff–they send SEO slaps on the wrist whenever we get out of line…
I too feel I need to respond to Clayton’s comments.
As already mentioned the PR system is flawed; Google gives way too much credibility to larger companies, NOT original content (although they deny it).
About.com comes up way too much for flawed articles in search for example.
However a better example is to type in “aquarium ich” and you will find a plagiarized article of mine (one of many I am constantly battling to get removed), however my original content article is nowhere to be seen on Google (not so in MSN or Yahoo search). If they can figure it out, so could Google; simply “follow the money”.
How do you suggest they could make their search more relevant? Have you ever thought of the concept of a search engine is similar to what we used to know of as ‘the public library’… if we have funded libraries in the interest of making information available to the public, in the interest of (or hope for) enabling a more educated society, then why not make this whole search engine algorithm conjuring a government-funded tool? (Yes you can rip the feasibility of the U.S. government sparing any such funding from war investments but that’s not the point.)
Search engines as a tool for surfacing quality, relevant content is what the future of our public libraries should be. In my opinion. What is yours?
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