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Rap Genius is Back on Google

news.rapgenius.com

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Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#101

Post by joelrunyon »

OoTheNigerian wrote: post #46
grimlck wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it is a double standard. There are thousands of sites which get blacklisted by Google. I'm sure all of them fix their errors really quickly once they realize they are on the black list. And none of them get back on Google nearly as quickly as rap genius did. If Google applied these rules consistently with all websites, I would have no problem with it, but they don't. This breaks the myth that Silicon Valley i…

In life there is always a bias. When that bias is against you, you should learn how to fight back. This is the PERFECT time for anyone who has done penance and is still being blacklisted by Google to document it all and go to the press. There are A LOT of people/journalists waiting to jump on a story that shows Google has double standards. But first they must be willing to do their part by documenting these facts and…

The only problem with this is that there's no real course of communication with google. They make it a matter of policy to not provide customer service.

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#102

Post by junto »

walshemj wrote: post #14
bushido wrote: post #8

This is great for Rap Genius. But this truly saddens me as well. I cannot for the life of me understand how they were able to fix ten-of-thousands of backlinks and other shady practices and get back in the good graces of Google so darn quickly. Frankly I do not know a single other legitimate(+with good traffic) site who was able to get back in the good graces of Google after algorithm updates without spending many ma…

Having worked for large ftse100 publishers who had sites penalized in algo updates its stinks that such an avowedly black hat site gets of with a slap on the wrist.

On a similar topic, how do affiliate linking programmes even work anymore? Surely Google would classify all affiliate programmes as paid links. Even big ones such as Amazon Affiliates, Commission Junction, Affiliate Window are all being plugged by affiliates, and the vast majority of those affiliates are using templated sites or stuffing keywords in blog posts that are largely irrelevant to the product or service they are plugging for affiliate fees?

Aren't all affiliate programmes technically bad for the publisher after Penguin?

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#103

Post by eruditely »

jdmitch wrote: post #7

Interesting closing paragraph: > Though Google is an extremely important part of helping people discover and navigate Rap Genius, we hope that this ordeal will make fans see that Rap Genius is more than a Google-access-only website. The only way to fully appreciate and benefit from Rap Genius is to sign up for an account and use Rap Genius – not as a substitute for Wikipedia or lyrics sites, but as a social network w…

Other search sites dropped the ball on this one

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#104

Post by sheetjs »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #95

Honestly, this is just saddening. Google needs to have a consistent policy towards these blackhat SEO offenders and enforce it for everyone. RapGenius bought backlinks to artificially inflate their pagerank. They knew they were cheating but they did it anyway. They got caught. And they were hit with a manual action on Google. Sounds good so far. But that's where it stops. RapGenius, using the connections they have fr…

Google is a business, and there is a very good chance that they financially benefit from Rap Genius being restored. Other companies that suffer don't have that financial link, and maybe the best course is for them to raise VC funds (and posture themselves so that Google stands to lose if they penalize)

I agree with you in theory, but in practice it sounds like you expect google to act as if they care about things like fairness. They are a company. The bottom line is what matters. If you think it's unfair, then try to hit the bottom line by using other services and convincing your friends and family to do the same

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#105

Post by onedev »

bushido wrote: post #50
OoTheNigerian wrote: post #32

I do not understand why people are offended that they came back quickly AFTER doing a bit of penance. Should their investors not have made calls? However, it should be noted that they did their part. One of my favorite quotes is this: "To save a drowning man, he must first give you his hand" If the Rap Genius guys were incompetent and did not do their part in removing the links so quickly (see main story for technica…

I have mentioned this before in this thread, I'll do it again. I AM really happy for rap genius. I also view this post from RapGenius as a kind of a PSA. They used the reasonable doubt argument, and won, they could have kept quiet about it. But, they let people know that others could appeal on reasonable doubt too. Which is commendable! Unfortunately, the underlying message some people miss when they feel this is abo…

So you're saying they were given a Blueprint to fix their mishaps but got off based on Reasonable Doubt before they went thru with the recommended plan of action?

I suppose it's just a Hard Knock Life for companies that don't have prominent investors backing them. It's almost as if the investors pulled an American Gangster type situation on Google.

Well I suppose at the end of the day this is a reminder to Blackhat SEO users to Watch The Throne.

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#106

Post by myzerox »

This is a relief. RG certainly gives the best search results for a lot of queries.

This whole story made me fear that Google was choosing power over user experience.

And that should never be the case, no matter how offending the founders of RG might appear sometimes. Don't be evil!

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#107

Post by ryanmerket »

sheetjs wrote: post #104
JohnTHaller wrote: post #95

Honestly, this is just saddening. Google needs to have a consistent policy towards these blackhat SEO offenders and enforce it for everyone. RapGenius bought backlinks to artificially inflate their pagerank. They knew they were cheating but they did it anyway. They got caught. And they were hit with a manual action on Google. Sounds good so far. But that's where it stops. RapGenius, using the connections they have fr…

Google is a business, and there is a very good chance that they financially benefit from Rap Genius being restored. Other companies that suffer don't have that financial link, and maybe the best course is for them to raise VC funds (and posture themselves so that Google stands to lose if they penalize) I agree with you in theory, but in practice it sounds like you expect google to act as if they care about things lik…

How much revenue do you think RapGenius brings Google? Even if it was $10M/qtr that is a drop in the bucket for Google.

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#108

Post by argonaut »

bushido wrote: post #66
res0nat0r wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2] How do you know this is the case? Matt Cutts said they've relisted them quickly because AH slipped Google some cash? Or maybe RapGenius followed their cleanup policy correctly and were relisted naturally after submitting like many other companies a reconsideration request. 3] How do you know this was a special case? Thousands of sites I'm sure re de/relisted every day that you don't hear about (because they aren't…

> How do you know this is the case? I don't. I also don't know if this is not the case. Do you? This uncertainty IS the reason for the current loss of faith. > Matt Cutts said they've relisted them quickly because AH slipped Google some cash? I never said cash exchanged hands. I doubt it did. Can you with a 100% surety say that a special favor of any kind did not occur? > Maybe RapGenius followed their cleanup policy…

At the point where you start suggesting that Matt Cutts was bribed [or accepted a favor], you know you've left the land of rationality and entered into wholesale speculation. Your argument is on the face ridiculous, but just to be clear: 1) Matt Cutts is very wealthy and doesn't need any favors. 2) Matt Cutts once penalized Google's own Chome site for improper links. If there were ever any conflict of interest that ever existed, that would be it, yet Matt went ahead with the penalty.

EDIT: added []

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#109

Post by gdrulia »

sheetjs wrote: post #104
JohnTHaller wrote: post #95

Honestly, this is just saddening. Google needs to have a consistent policy towards these blackhat SEO offenders and enforce it for everyone. RapGenius bought backlinks to artificially inflate their pagerank. They knew they were cheating but they did it anyway. They got caught. And they were hit with a manual action on Google. Sounds good so far. But that's where it stops. RapGenius, using the connections they have fr…

Google is a business, and there is a very good chance that they financially benefit from Rap Genius being restored. Other companies that suffer don't have that financial link, and maybe the best course is for them to raise VC funds (and posture themselves so that Google stands to lose if they penalize) I agree with you in theory, but in practice it sounds like you expect google to act as if they care about things lik…

Google has a monopoly, and where are monopolies the normal rules do not apply. Google can impact internet as a whole very greatly. That's why they should care about fairness, simply remember how Microsoft was forced to provide browser choice window and were penalized for pushing IE as a default option.

And even if, say, in Microsoft scenario they might benefited from using they monopoly position more than were penalized (can't for sure claim, because I don't know real numbers), it doesn't mean that companies should't not care about fairness. At the end of the day that is what competition suppose to do - force companies to think about fairness towards their customers.

Re: Rap Genius is Back on Google

#110

Post by argonaut »

friscobob wrote: post #77

God this pisses me off to no end. So my site is targeted by negative SEO. (Yeah, I know, I know, negative SEO doesn't exist. Fuck off.) So who do I call? I've been penalized for months and there is nothing I can do about it. Nobody can help. But these fuckers are able to make a call and recover from a SELF INFLICTED wound in less than a week. I am being targeted by crap that is COMPLETELY OUT OF MY CONTROL and it's t…

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