Re:Google is not just a platform – It frames, shapes and dis...
by jdietrich on Sunday December 11, 2016 @05:13PM
(#13153680)
Almost certainly worse. As it stands, SEOs fear Google and the webspam team like they're the Wizard of Oz. You have a strong incentive to follow the letter and the spirit of the webmaster guidelines, because you don't know exactly what's going on behind the curtain. Once you start bending the rules, you're living in fear of being banned.
If the algorithm was completely transparent, it would give a home-field advantage to spammy SEOs, who could operate at the absolute limit of what is permissible. Legitimate sites that lack the resources to aggressively manipulate their SEO would be at a substantial disadvantage.
To give a real-world analogy, imagine a department store that decides not to prosecute shoplifters caught with less than $20 worth of stolen goods. If the rule is kept secret, then it's a perfectly reasonable tradeoff between security and the cost of enforcement. If the rule is publicly known, then shoplifters can spend all day stealing $19.99 products with total impunity.
If the algorithm was completely transparent, it would give a home-field advantage to spammy SEOs, who could operate at the absolute limit of what is permissible. Legitimate sites that lack the resources to aggressively manipulate their SEO would be at a substantial disadvantage.
To give a real-world analogy, imagine a department store that decides not to prosecute shoplifters caught with less than $20 worth of stolen goods. If the rule is kept secret, then it's a perfectly reasonable tradeoff between security and the cost of enforcement. If the rule is publicly known, then shoplifters can spend all day stealing $19.99 products with total impunity.