Jeev Trika

It seemed as though I was personally targeted by Google, i would purchase a brand new domain and post nothing more than ‘bye bye world’ and within minutes, Google would de-index that domain too. So, Google’s argument that it was removing websites because they were violating Google webmaster guidelines falls flat. It was not about the website content, it was about targeting the website owner. The fact that Google targets people like this is not something that is consistent with their published policies, or what they tell the public.

Before Google refined their algorithm, getting on the first page of search results often could be achieved with tactics like keyword stuffing and artificial linking schemes, but those days are gone, because of changes to Google’s algorithms, Internet entrepreneurs and Web publishers like myself now go the extra mile to provide websites and articles that are relevant, useful, and written to journalistic standards, and that has made the virtual world a better place.

Google’s actions deny businesses the basic right to market themselves in the digital economy, google in reality controls the market for Internet advertising, and must be held to a higher standard.

Google’s business model isn’t, at the end of the day, providing a free search engine or publishing data, it’s selling advertisements, the free search engine is merely a vehicle for doing so. Google has an economic reason to deny legitimate Web publishers who are promoting SEO placement in the SERPs so that they can sell more advertisements, but that type of anti-competitive action should not be protected by the First Amendment.

Customers are far more likely to have a meaningful connection to your brand when they have an interactive platform available, the younger and more tech-savvy demographic in particular will respond more positively to organic user reviews from their peers than they will respond to a Madison-Avenue-generated television commercial.

There are a few unicorns out there which have created an emotional connection using one-directional advertising, but when user-generated content and user reviews become part of the mix, the consumer becomes part of the conversation and develops an emotional connection with your brand. That’s what drives consistent and repeatable results.

Marketers need to go beyond simply talking about how awesome they are. It’s far more powerful when other people that aren’t on your payroll are saying it.

Super Bowl ads aren’t going to impress -- but what will reach this audience is a lively conversation thread, real reviews by their peers and a company that takes time to respond to their social comments.