Today, I felt compelled to report a site that seems to be setting up special search engine landing pages filled with keywords and duplicate content to rank highly for different results.

I won't mention the exact site, but it ranks 1st on this Google search page. Try typing in other keywords such as "web design presteigne" or "web design knighton" and you'll see what I mean. The headers of the pages are stuffed with keywords and the content is exactly the same save a few placenames that are keywords.

Did they deserve reporting?

Originally Posted by whym

Did they deserve reporting?

Is it spam? I've reported a site for link selling, after seeing the guy offer splog links from 120 different topical splogs on DP.

Yep I'd say it was - it barely benefits visitors at all since it's all the same content but was blatantly designed to boost rankings for a number of keywords and place names.

I'd call that spam, but minor spam (there are certainly far more egregious cases out there). The problem is that the page itself is somewhat useful, and that the tag being spammed (meta description) is something the average user wouldn't see.

Personally, I'd like to see all sites banned that even crossed this threshold, but I suspect Google would at worst maybe penalize it slightly. Don't expect them to just disappear from space.

Why bother? let google do the work

In my opinion, the content didn't help either. It's simply all the same apart from a few words changed - the placenames.

As the company is based many miles away, it seems a bit unfair to rank for a number of keywords that aren't even near to where they are.

Originally Posted by audiomad

Why bother? let google do the work

Because we all use Google's search engine and like it to provide us with high quality results, so we don't waste time looking at spam and hitting back.

It's simply all the same apart from a few words changed - the placenames

There is even a name for that,

madlib spam

Originally Posted by chrishirst

There is even a name for that,

madlib spam

Thanks for that - just Googled it and you're correct. I'll add this to my vocabulary from now on

whym
I generally don't condone the "turn in" of such sites

but, to me that one looks like its a legitimate business (unless we are not talking about the same site, orage/red 958px wide header graphic)
Is the phone number true ?
How close is Kington to Shropshire ?
that is where their contact says they are located ...
I see in their portfolio some other legitimate sites that link back to them !!!


Learning Newbie
How do you define splog ? and how did you come to the conclusion that what it has on it is spam ? aren't there a few thousand article directories that host articles that other are not unique, since the rest of the article directories host them too ? is that spam in your view ?

But basically it comes down to this (at least for me)

DO we want to start reporting each other or do we want to concentrate on creating the best websites for us and for our customers ?? I believe the quality will excel in the end and the garbage sites will be buried ...

I would assume someone can actually report your sites (even though it might be a legitimates ones) and then you have to face the scrutiny of google cops ...

Originally Posted by audiomad

Why bother? let google do the work

Because even with a company the size of Google's, the number of idiots who would manipulate it outnumber the people working in the company by about 200 to 1. That's not a fair fight.

I have always hated the "let Google do the work" answer. It really is a silly attitude to take. Like John says, if we can contribute something that will help Google learn and therefore help their end users, why wouldn't we? If we never said anything to a search engine, we'd still be back in the days when keyword1, keyword2, keyword3, keyword4, ....keywordn on a page would work.

Originally Posted by xprmnt

I would assume someone can actually report your sites (even though it might be a legitimates ones) and then you have to face the scrutiny of google cops ...

The people who do use this feature probably *make sure* that the site they are reporting is bad. I don't think they do it foolishly or carelessly, at least the honest webmasters anyway.


People who create and submit splogs probably do it for the recognition or money. I suppose others are just jealous of Google's power and influence, thus try to manipulate them. Not to mention when you do report them, chances of your site's SERP's going up increase, since there is less competition to deal with.

If anyone ever wanted to report a spam site, here is where you go:
http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html