Google Throws A Party For Those Who Game The System. More and more people are saying that "Google is broken," as the search results are increasingly less relevant. Much of the problem is that some people see to have figured out how to successfully game the system. For quite a while Google could stay ahead of those folks, but in some areas it looks like they've fallen behind. On the whole, I still find Google quite useful, but it's not as automatic as it once was. For the folks who trick Google (they prefer to call themselves "search engine optimizers") there's a once-a-month or so day they dread when Google updates its algorithm and the results go through a "Google Dance" as the listing move around. If Google does a good job (which the SEO folks pray against), then improperly displayed SEO client websites slide down the Google list. If not, they stay up at the top. So, how does Google deal with these folks? They throw them a party, amusingly called (you guessed it) the "Google Dance." Google says that they're targeting the ethical search engine optimizers, who they want to target with good suggestions that helps both sides, but since it's tough to tell the good from the bad, anyone is welcome. Some slightly more cynical folks think that Google is just trying to butter them up and figure out what their secrets are to improve their algorithm. Both might be right.

[Techdirt]

I love it. instead of trying to run it as a zero sum game, Goggle tries to find a win-win situation, realizing that finding mutually beneficial solutions is the best. Because if Gogle loses its usefulness, then all those optimizers will have to start over at the next search engine.  10:22:21 PM