0 Positive Publicity

Positive Publicity Still Preferable Over Negative for Rankings

BOULDER, CO -   A news story circulating major media outlets recently highlighted the issue of negative publicity and its connection to higher Google rankings – a reality that has caused some serious problems for many consumers.

An article in the New York Times detailed the problems one consumer faced when she came across an unscrupulous business owner in her quest to order some eyeglasses. She was cheated and sought official help. The business welcomed negative publicity because any feedback- good or bad- helped with rankings.
While many respected SEO companies work with businesses to help them get top SEO rankings, the business featured in this article went another route – one that caused problems deliberately.
SEO service Master Google’s Ali Husayni says he has faith that companies that get attention due to mistreating customers will not succeed.



“In the long run, being  a reputable company that uses appropriate SEO to draw customers in goes a lot farther than treating customers poorly and trying to take advantage of the search system,” Husayni says.
Google addressed the problem in a blog, and provided tips on how to avoid experiencing difficulties. The blog points out there are things consumers can do to protect themselves, and that Google took steps to try and alleviate the problem.

“…in the last few days we developed an algorithmic solution (that) detects the merchant from the … article along with hundreds of other merchants that, in our opinion, provide an extremely poor user experience,” says the blog. “The algorithm .. incorporated into our search rankings, represents an initial solution …Google users are now getting a better experience as a result.”
There are many consumer review sites available online, and the savvy consumer will conduct research to find out if others have had problems with a business prior to entrusting them with credit card information. As for the future of companies that seek bad postings to get higher rankings, Husayni says their standing on the Web is not solid.
“It is true that people have profited heavily by ‘tricking’ or ‘spamming’ Google in the past,” Husayni says, “but Google history shows that those companies and businesses never survived its algorithm updates. This case is a great example and a good reason why people should do business ethically.”
A better way to boost rankings, he says, is for businesses to seek reputable search engine optimization firms who use “white-hat” SEO techniques.