Too Many Webmasters Drinking The Google Kool Aid

[peter_d]

There's a thread at <cough> Webmasterworld entitled

I'm convinced that today's webmaster is under the Google mindshare spell. Most don't even realize it

http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/3334098.htm

I think the poster makes a good point. Today, there are many webmasters under the mistaken impression that Google wishes to help them make money.

The truth is the opposite.

Google wants webmasters to help Google make money.

One way they do this is try and dictate how you engage with Google, and, more importantly, try to ensure you do not compete with Adwords.

So, how many people take business advice from their competitors? If you did, where would that leave you? That's what you are doing if you hang on Google's every word.

Instead, use the advice that benefits you, and take the rest with a grain of salt. It's a good thing to be discriminating when dealing with any information that comes from the Googleplex.

Disclaimer: I like Google. I like the opportunity Google presents. Matt Cutts seems like a decent guy. I don't hate Google. But I know my position, and I know Google's position, and those positions are not the same.

[Natural Elements]

I think we are talking a lot about Google and the webmasters, not enough about Google general users.

How deceptive is that not to see their favorite sites they found before on Google? I bet some people are very disappointed and confuse.

[Julie]

Originally Posted by Natural Elements

I think we are talking a lot about Google and the webmasters, not enough about Google general users.

How deceptive is that not to see their favorite sites they found before on Google? I bet some people are very disappointed and confuse.

Honestly, if its a user's favorite site, I highly doubt they'd be googling it to find it. They'd just go directly to the site. People tend to use search engines to find things when don't know exactly where they are.

[bcombs]

Originally Posted by peter_d

Disclaimer: I like Google. I like the opportunity Google presents. Matt Cutts seems like a decent guy. I don't hate Google. But I know my position, and I know Google's position, and those positions are not the same.

I'm not sure truer words have ever been spoken.



Brian

[Natural Elements]

People tend to use search engines to find things, I agree.

The question is where they found your site in the first hand? On search engines most of the time.

Sometime I lost the site I have previously add on my favorites and the way to find it again it's on the search engines.

[cldnails]

I believe the definition is 'fanboy'.

[Ferre]

I'm convinced that today's webmaster is under the Google mindshare spell. Most don't even realize it

Not me. I used to like Google when they started out as a search engine but ever since they became a data collector and employed CIA/NSA people, and after I found out that they censor political sites for communists and fascists regimes my love for them, and my respect went down the drain.

..and they are highly over-rated by most webmasters, the 16 to 22% visitors the avarage website owner receives from Google and all other search engines combined doesn't justify the way that Google attempts to dictate how those website owners should monetize their sites and how they should link to other sites.

Google is just another corporate leeching on the general public.

[cldnails]

Originally Posted by Ferre

Not me. I used to like Google when they started out as a search engine but ever since they became a data collector and employed CIA/NSA people, and after I found out that they censor political sites for communists and fascists regimes my love for them, and my respect went down the drain.

..and they are highly over-rated by most webmasters, the 16 to 22% visitors the avarage website owner receives from Google and all other search engines combined doesn't justify the way that Google attempts to dictate how those website owners should monetize their sites and how they should link to other sites.

Google is just another corporate leeching on the general public.

Wow, that much animosity towards google and with such conviction. So do you take steps to block their spider and keep them from indexing your sites?

[Ferre]

Originally Posted by cldnails

Wow, that much animosity towards google and with such conviction. So do you take steps to block their spider and keep them from indexing your sites?

Nope, I don't have enough "animosity" to take any action and I may sound strong when displaying my opinion but it's just what it is, an opinion. I'm not 'emotionally involved' with their business in any way and certainly not enough to take any effort in blocking them but I also don't give a damn about PR and serps, although I do quite well in those catagories.

I think that google's spider is the least of the things to worry about, I think that people should worry about their private emails on their gmail accounts a lot more.

[bested]

Originally Posted by Ferre

Nope, I don't have enough "animosity" to take any action and I may sound strong when displaying my opinion but it's just what it is, an opinion. I'm not 'emotionally involved' with their business in any way and certainly not enough to take any effort in blocking them but I also don't give a damn about PR and serps, although I do quite well in those catagories.

I think that google's spider is the least of the things to worry about, I think that people should worry about their private emails on their gmail accounts a lot more.

lol, are you suggesting google is reading my emails!?

egh ~_~

[EBORG9]

I heard this on another forum, "The relationship between Google, Ad Sense, and Webmasters, is much like the relationship of a pimp and his hookers".

It's disgusting how many thousands of people that hope to make a living on the web, have no other skills , creativity, or aspirations, other than the trinket amount that is made by adsense, and the hoops they jump through to get it.
JMO

[John Scott]

Google's branding strategy has worked quite effectively.

Most folks now feel like Google is some benevolent big brother, with nothing but good will for the Internet user. Nobody seems to realize the greed at work in that organization.

[Deejay Dan]

"Google Kool Aid" -- couldn't of said it better myself.

I'm pretty much a newbie to webmastering, know only the basics about SEO but I'm so sick of hearing "Google, Google". My first instinct is to say Google isn't the only search engine. On the other hand -- Google is the biggest and a lot of people depend on Google for a good portion of their traffic.

My question to webmasters is: If Google disappeared tomorrow -- Would you go broke? If so, optimize for the other engines too.

[EBORG9]

Originally Posted by Deejay Dan

"Google Kool Aid" -- couldn't of said it better myself.

I'm pretty much a newbie to webmastering, know only the basics about SEO but I'm so sick of hearing "Google, Google". My first instinct is to say Google isn't the only search engine. On the other hand -- Google is the biggest and a lot of people depend on Google for a good portion of their traffic.

My question to webmasters is: If Google disappeared tomorrow -- Would you go broke? If so, optimize for the other engines too.

Those that continually dance for adsense would be waiting tables by the end of the week.
That's all they know how to do.

[EBORG9]

Next...Google will announce a Webmaster Summit in Jonestown, Guyana.
(the older members know what I am talking about)

[nhebb]

Google is doing what all good companies should do - strive to grow their profits. So when AdWords costs rise and AdSense payouts fall, I don't begrudge them. So if you run an AdWords account, it's good to keep in mind that every new feature they ad is designed to make them more money, not make you more successful.

But Google does things to make life easy for webmasters. Compare the user interface of AdWords to MSN's or Yahoo's, and you realize they they just get it. And if you want to add search to your site, Google lets you copy and paste a block of HTML. Try adding MSN/Live search to your site and you realize that Microsoft just doesn't get it.

One thing that I do find scary about Google is their mission statement:

"Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

In context of GMail, Writely, and Google Checkout, that has some profound implications. Read John Batelle's review of Google Checkout to see what I mean.

[cldnails]

I had no idea there were so many smot poking paranoid people on this forum. Google is not doing anything that other big companies do, like Credit Card companies, they are creating databases of user information. I'm not convinced they are evil, or going to put my personal info up on a billboard in Nigeria. They are a company, which is successful by knowing it's customers.

Some of the generalizing statements I've read here are just ignorant. There is a reason webmasters target Google SERP's, because it's the number 1 used search engine, thus bringing the most traffic. If the bottom fell out of Google today, those successful with Google/Adsense would just move on to the next #1 traffic generating source. Don't be so full of yourselves in claiming they would be waiting tables...geesh. Not to mention in most circumstances if you are doing good in the Google SERP's your also doing good in the other search engines.

Lastly, I'm not condoning taking everything Matt Cutt's says as scripture. Google is looking out for #1, which is not the webmasters.

[EBORG9]

I may generalize a bit, and I do believe a lot of people would be waiting tables if the bottom fell out of adsense because the way some of them valuate a website based on one income source, such as adsense is ridiculous.

It makes me uncomfortable when companies such as Google start putting their hands into EVERYTHING as if to be the almighty. Not saying if I ran Google I wouldn't do the same thing, after all I am a capitalist, but I think competition is good for all, and it seems to be narrowing by the day.

Maybe instead of being uncomfortable with Google I should be upset with other companies for not stepping up to the plate.
Somebody has to be number one, but nobody is number one forever.
I remember when Google started..who knew?

[robpongi]

Well, for what it may be worth, You Tube (which was acquired by Google last year) has recently announced that they will soon start sharing ad revenue with users who post videos on YouTube.com. Also, very recently Google made another landmark acquisition here:

Google buys DoubleClick for $3.75bn

And, apparently, this was a big blow to MSN who really wanted to get Doubleclick. Sure, Google is greedy and certainly not to be totally trusted, but do we prefer Microsoft?!?!

[charlesgan]

Originally Posted by peter_d

Google wants webmasters to help Google make money.

thats their plan from the begining. google adwords.
but its not evil.. its win-win game