Inaccurate or False Information Might Kill Some Megasites
January 11, 2010
The changes in Google‘s algorithm and policies has many megasites squirming. For awhile, many were dominating the “web waves” by providing an easy way for experts in a variety of topics who maybe weren’t expert webmasters, to create visually appealing sites in a jiffy. Even better, many were able to make money through affiliate and ad programs, who wouldn’t have if they had to roll their own websites.
The problem is, as with many things, when the word got out, the spammers and spammists (people who make junk webpages just for the ad revenue) moved in. Tons upon tons of irrelevant, innacurate, and outright false information was posted by people who knew nothing about the topics on which they were writing. In some cases, the information itself was fairly accurate, but it’s just promotion for some kind of scam or scheme. The person who posts it seldom knows much or anything about what they’re basically regurgitating from an advertising page that they copy and paste from their affiliate program.
Thank goodness, Google has noticed, and has started to look out for things like duplicate pages. I don’t know how, but it seems they’re also looking into accuracy as well. I’m sure they don’t catch everything, but I’ve noticed that almost as soon as I get annoyed that a page is crap, I look for the same keywords a few days later, and it’s not on the first page anymore. I don’t think Google has a microchip implanted in my brain, so it looks like maybe, just maybe, they’re reviewing sites or looking at site reviews on social networks or forums.
If that’s the case, then there are a few mega sites that need to start checking themselves before Google does.
Topics I’ve personally noticed are problematic are recipes, braiding, sewing, and craft techniques, and exercise and nutrition. I recently felt actually compelled to post in some areas because the existing articles were just pure lies and bull. I sincerely hope that any how-to, education, or information sites out there start reviewing articles more carefully. If not, having tons of misinformation is going to make them less credible to readers and to search engines, which is going to cost them.
Basically, keywords don’t cut it anymore. If you’ve got a page on how to braid cornrows that doesn’t have instructions on how to braid cornrows, you suck and you’re not going to maintain a high rank or relevance. So check your information before you post it, and check information other people are posting on your site…or else.
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