Hey folks,
Type “surfboards” into google and notice how rusty.com is the first natural (non-paid) site to come up.
I know a ton about standards compliant, SEO optimized web development, and EVERYTHING rusty.com does is wrong for high page ranking. (In other words, their site is coded like crap). Can it be that so many people actually link to Rusty.com?
This is REALLY weird. To be honest, I’m downright suspicious.
Any thoughts?
mp
I used to work for a medical SEO company . . . you can pay google for any listing in the top 30 in the regular lists. They used to invite few of our employees over to their offices.
Also pay google to pull up your set listing (s) under a certain name . . . like surfboards has rusty in the lead. You look at surfboard , and CI is in the list but rusty is not (as of this posting) . . . like pay for site associate w/ key word. Google has bank and it is ridden on advertising and placement $$
In some cases sometimes it is as if you were saying, enough people link associates w\ that will do it. At my exjob google had some files that we would send to our seo clients host and they’d attach it on their server to the associated files . . .
Our sales team would work a Dr’s office over, the Dr has a kick ass web team / SEO placement of 3rd page, with all the right codes / tags etc, great site. Then the sales guy would show a 1st page site, a client that is with our company, their site its coded like junk, but because of the google files sitting on their host server . . and we paid for that placement. And then the sales pitch began. The sales team if they got the Dr to go with us, would yell web curb! (short for web co. got kicked to the curb) if the Doc dropped his web team for us.
Alas, but like most sales driven companies, if you weren’t in the hero (sales) department, you got slim pickings. It was amazing how you can redline a sever that still runs NT . . . the computer guys were like that IT cartoon that has the IT director dancing in a fire circle with a Tiki mask on, and shows the president and vp, saying “Oh this is Richard, director of IT” LOL. secretive bunch, that world of warcrafted and spent their days monitoring the websites employees would visit. They had barely gotten a few copies of XP when I left 2 years ago.
Google is the dream of many IT companies . . . They have a their own gym, arcades, and this ain’t no small change, the gym is like olympiad XXVI quality. A gamer would be lost in the selection and the old schoolers would be happy . . . They have a pool both billards . Everyone is happy, and they got stacks and stacks of resumes. Never seen so many motivated for the company. Everyone is cool with each other. Almost with a cultish feeling . . . but if there is ever a workplace that matches heaven, google is it. Its unreal. People had their dogs there, a lady would regularly bring in her kid and send them to the movie theater and the baby sitters would check on her kid.
Oh they have their own vegas style eatery. They even have gourment cooks on staff to make you stuff . … amazing . . . and its quality tasty food.
I love your post about work conditions at Google! I saw a piece on TV about the workplace there and they even had their own snack shop where you could go in and get whatever you wanted…and all the stuff you mentioned and then some.
This came to my mind when I was sitting in a meeting for a certain insurance company that has cute commercials with a little animal that waddles…they had the top sales guy in CA there to tell us all his so called wisdom. He asked if “anyone knew of a company that was better or offered superior perks”? …well, half a dozen immediately sprang to mind, including Google.
…I kept my mouth shut because I knew I’d be seeing daggers being directed toward me from my ‘superiors’ if I offered up any sort of reply.
…no wonder I’m much happier in my shaping room!
Hi Mike,
If you think that’s manipulative, I live somewhat close to Google’s main HQ and they provide free internet for their city (mtn. view) its really awesome to have wifi anywhere you go. check your email in traffic, no need for a cell phone just use your WiFi phone etc. but people have been apprehensive because of the power this gives a search engine. When a search engine is in charge of your internet, they can totally control the content. This hasn’t happened yet thankfully.
Rio
yes interesting observation …
the guy who is currently building our site said the rusty site goes against everything he knew about building web sites …
he thought he was missing something because he couldnt understand why it came up first …
he took the topic to a web designers forum and so far no definitive answer …
looks like Rusty has got one killer web master …
gota have the right guys on ya team …
one question tho ??
just because you come up at number one , would that mean you were doing something wrong ??
i say well done , whats the secret …
regards
BERT
what about googlebombing. That’s done with number of links to a site, like the miserable failure/ George Bush thing a while ago.
simply typing “surfboards” into the search field should yield www.surfboards.com as the first hit. no doubt rusty pays for the top slot.
sorry Soulstice, that’s not the way google works. actually very seldom the first of the list is the exact word you type.
and by the way, I just googled “surfboards”. and Rusty was not first on the list (second though).
it’s a dynamic list, and many factors (including how much money you give to G) play in it.
Hi Mike -
I don’t know shit about website design or SEOs - I had to look “SEO” up. I did go through Google’s website manager tips on how to bump your site’s ranking. They say it has to do with how many outside sources link to your site.
I tried a search for “Rusty Surfboards” and got this…
Results 1 - 10 of about 179,000 for rusty surfboards. (0.08 seconds)
Maybe it is such a recognizable brand world wide that there really are that many sources of links to his site?
Then again, he has lots of dough to potentially manipulate so who knows?
Up until now this thread has already had 740 views so I’m sure that has helped increase his website traffic a fair bit as well. :>
I work in a company that’s pretty cool. Bikes everywhere, surfboards stored where they fit. We can surf during the work day (tides wait for no one) as long as the work gets done. No gym necessary. Our IT guy fears what google is capable of. What was that 70’s or 80’s movie where the phone company took over the world?
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/05/google_slowly_taking_over_the_world/
While I’m an interenet nobody…(that is until I met lots of Swalockians)
I did read a piece yesterday in the Wall Street Journal about how the “most watched” or “most popular” type sites could be gamed. (read manipulated)
Spyware and robots could redirect clicks or even continue clicking on target links without you being aware of it. This could only be countered by managers who noticed something amiss, with the incentive being their own sites credibility.
The piece went on to say that laws of course could keep up with the rapid, fluid new medium etc. (my paraphrase)
Maybe you might go with Bert’s idea…Where can I hire that guy.
As always, thanks for Sway’s, Gil
OT PS At least 20 older women have wanted to buy a Tshirt like mine, until the realize it says “Old Shapers” …not Shoppers.
Hi All
are you saying that you can pay Google for a listing in the organic SERPS and that they provide you with a “special” file that sits on the webserver - which effects the results?
i am not referring to the sponsored links on the right or top of the page.
as ever
keen to learn…
you can pay google for any listing in the top 30 in the regular lists. They used to invite few of our employees over to their offices.
because of the google files sitting on their host server . . and we paid for that placement.
one question tho ??
just because you come up at number one , would that mean you were doing something wrong ??
i say well done , whats the secret …
or even better, your number one
and someone pays google to make you number 600
thats gotta be good for business
It’s more to do with web users than webmasters. Google uses a variety of measures to arrive at who gets to the top of results pages for various search terms. Part of it is how many other sites have links to yours and a big part is how many people click on your link in search results. The more people choose you, the higher your link goes, the higher your link is, the more likely people are going to click on it. This virtuous cycle can embed people at the top, its likely Rusty’s web site at some stage of its life got into the first ten and people recognised the brand so it was the most chosen and got lodged at the top. That said a bit of what happens with Google is almost organic ,you just can’t figure it out and probably neither can the Google guys. Like why is Maddog second? I doubt they can afford an SEO consultant.
Hi folks!
Ha! It remembers me Chaplin “Modern Times” movie. He being literally involved by the progress (or the machine). Internet was created to be a tool, but it happened to be more than this. Why? It so obvious! Like in the classic movie, the problem rests on WHO drives the engine. On the other hand, we have to ask us WHO gives power to this engine. What I mean is that the roots of this problem come from a long time ago, a long long time before Internet was even thought. Comsumption Society is the standard we reach in our development and while no different “way of life” change this “capitalism heaven”, we will be only drips in the ocean.
I’m just a poor shaper in an emergent country (or third world as used before). I don’t give a s#$t if Rusty is the first on the list. I simply move forward, and check as many links as I can, because the first ones everybody knows (manly us).
To finish, I’d like to say that, at the same time internet is used to reinforce the power of big companies, it serves to subvert the order. I just finished to read an magazine article about some bands who have launched themselves through the internet and that are revolutioning the system in the phonographic market a long time imposed by the record companies.
So,…