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How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

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Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#41

Post by davemel37 »

hkmurakami wrote: post #30
pknight wrote: post #3

This just adds to the list of why to hate Google. Basically if you are either a big brand or a spammy company or have a nimble operation, you can afford to do grey & black seo. If you are a small business/ up and coming company white seo practices are the safe choice.

The most hilarious example I know for black hat seo is in japan, where expired domains for congressional candidates get bought up by these spammy companies for their link quality. (The Japanese govt pages have high page quality, and link directly to these candidate domains, thus giving these candidate pages high link quality status in google's eyes. The candidate pages become info-spam-blog pages that peddle things l…

google resets PageRank on expired domains.

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#42

Post by davemel37 »

arikrak wrote: post #35

As Google moves away from relying on pagerank, it will make such schemes less effective, and people will need to try harder to game Google.

I think most SEOs agree that as long as links are what connects the internet, they will be an important ranking factor.

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#43

Post by aptwebapps »

davemel37 wrote: post #21
com2kid wrote: post #14

It is sad that an article with actual content towards the end has so much filler to start with. I think this post would be a lot more impactful if it started out as "Hey, you want to know who else pays bloggers to link to their site? Expedia.com, here is some proof:" I can understand the author's frustration, and he brings good points to the table, but the first quarter or so of the article is neigh unreadable.

I see no proof or mention of paying bloggers for links.

Why did they do it then? The links weren't topical and they weren't affiliate links. Is it that hard to figure out the motive?

Edit: Are they using http referrers so reward the correct affiliate?

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#44

Post by aptwebapps »

ecopoesis wrote: post #36

This isn't paid linking-- it's an affiliate/referral program. Expedia isn't paying for the link, they're paying for the conversions generated by the link. Every OTA does this, and it's how the mass of travel sites that aren't OTAs make all their money. This is all Google's fault. Most travel sites used to try to generate good content, and then buy SEM to their content and use OTA search widgets to monetize via affili…

I didn't believe that until it occurred to me that they could be using the http referrer to reward the affiliates. The links themselves don't seem to contain an affiliate identifier. Is that the case?

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#45

Post by hkmurakami »

davemel37 wrote: post #41
hkmurakami wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most hilarious example I know for black hat seo is in japan, where expired domains for congressional candidates get bought up by these spammy companies for their link quality. (The Japanese govt pages have high page quality, and link directly to these candidate domains, thus giving these candidate pages high link quality status in google's eyes. The candidate pages become info-spam-blog pages that peddle things l…

google resets PageRank on expired domains.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if the govt pages continue to link to these newly reborn link spam pages, certainly these expired domains have higher link value than a brand new fresh domain?

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#46

Post by hkmurakami »

bdcravens wrote: post #31
hkmurakami wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Establish themselves as an expert and increase potential consulting business revenue

It seems though that they're not disputing the ethics of the thing, and they even acknowledge they were busted by Google for unethical tactics. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

The next question to ask then would be, "do marketing managers who would hire these guys care about the ethics, or simply the perceived competence of the shop?"

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#47

Post by MichaelTieso »

ecopoesis wrote: post #36

This isn't paid linking-- it's an affiliate/referral program. Expedia isn't paying for the link, they're paying for the conversions generated by the link. Every OTA does this, and it's how the mass of travel sites that aren't OTAs make all their money. This is all Google's fault. Most travel sites used to try to generate good content, and then buy SEM to their content and use OTA search widgets to monetize via affili…

This is definitely paid linking. I own a very popular travel website and friends with other popular travel related sites. I can confirm that Expedia has contacted us to purchase links. It's not really news and very well known in the travel community. Often their pay is as low as $10 for a link.

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#48

Post by MichaelTieso »

davemel37 wrote: post #21
com2kid wrote: post #14

It is sad that an article with actual content towards the end has so much filler to start with. I think this post would be a lot more impactful if it started out as "Hey, you want to know who else pays bloggers to link to their site? Expedia.com, here is some proof:" I can understand the author's frustration, and he brings good points to the table, but the first quarter or so of the article is neigh unreadable.

I see no proof or mention of paying bloggers for links.

Do you honestly think they are not paying bloggers? They've paid PLENTY of bloggers. I get these emails all the time.

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#49

Post by davemel37 »

hkmurakami wrote: post #45
davemel37 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

google resets PageRank on expired domains.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if the govt pages continue to link to these newly reborn link spam pages, certainly these expired domains have higher link value than a brand new fresh domain?

you are mistaken. This was the case until about 2008 or so... here is a quote from matt cutts.

"On expired domains, Matt said Google tries to reset pagerank/links for all expired domains to zero when they are registered by someone new. They don’t try to penalize the expired domain, but they also don’t want to give credit for the previous owner’s links."

http://www.seo.com/blog/conferences/matt-cutts-does-domain-r...

Re: How Expedia Buys Its Way To The Top Of Google

#50

Post by mesozoic »

aptwebapps wrote: post #43
davemel37 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see no proof or mention of paying bloggers for links.

Why did they do it then? The links weren't topical and they weren't affiliate links. Is it that hard to figure out the motive? Edit: Are they using http referrers so reward the correct affiliate?

Unlikely and besides it wouldn't even work because they're guest posting on other domains than the one they own or would have registered.
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