Abusing Web Resources to Promote a Site
A few days ago, I was on a forum that I’ve been frequenting and a question came up about using Yahoo! Answers to promote a site. The guy asking the question came across to me like he was looking to make a quick buck and trying to get his site indexed quickly using this resource. It seemed to me like he had “discovered” that by dropping links in questions posed at Answers that search engines would index his site quicker.
My blood boiled and I let him know this. The problem with abuse of a system like this is that while he may get indexed quicker, the major search engines have demonstrated their willingness and ability to squash such abuse.
How is dropping links in Answers abuse?
This is not always abuse. For instance, if someone poses a question about a rumored WordPress bug, I can legitimately post a link to an article debunking that myth. However, if I haphazardly go dropping links to my sites in unrelated entries, as it seemed like this guy was suggesting, it’s abuse of the system. In fact, it is spam – no better than what we fight everyday on our blogs and in our email.
Furthermore, Yahoo (in this case) has provided a resource, free of charge, in an effort to make the world of information a better place. I’m not naive to think that people won’t try to exploit this good will as any system someone tries to exploit, but in my pipe dream, I’d like to think web developers, content producers and website owners wouldn’t take advantage of a resource that can do more good if Yahoo (or whomever) is worked with as opposed to against. Yahoo provides a search engine for search results. There are good SEO practices that go into promoting a website and getting it highly ranked on search terms.
And it’s not just Yahoo. Craigslist is another resource that I’ve often used for job searches and everyday, the system there is being hijacked as well. Publishers consistently abuse Google Adsense forcing Google to adapt and blackhat SEO firms push back on the search engines all the time to try to gain unfair advantages through hidden loopholes and techniques forcing Google to fight back even more aggressivley penalizing and sometimes dropping sites from search results – sometimes inadvertently penalizing legitimate websites.
Remedies
If website owners continue to abuse systems in this way, what we will see is:
- A delegitimizing of the service. Fewer people will be able to determine the credibility of content found in the resource.
- More aggressive enforcement that ends up penalizing users who try to legitimately use the resource.
- Removal of a resource that can be legitimately used for self promotion (as in the example I provide above about WordPress flaws).
I’m discouraged by the constant war on unscrupulous firms and site owners who delegitimize the resources at our finger tips. What do you think?
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Written by Aaron Brazell on June 1, 2006
Popularity: 1% [?]
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Excellent post, Aaron. The big key for all of these companies is to maintain integrity in their service, while allowing uses to put in their two cents.
I think you still need human editing for any informational resource.
This is why Google’s recent update hasn’t shaken me much. Yeah it sucks for my newer sites, but for the more established stuff I work on it’s been a good thing. A lot of low-quality sites/links have been purged.
PS: Your link to wordpress in this article is messed up.
Excellent post, Aaron. The big key for all of these companies is to maintain integrity in their service, while allowing uses to put in their two cents.
I think you still need human editing for any informational resource.
Hi Aaron. Nice post! It should be noted that on Yahoo! Answers, all user submitted links get the rel=”nofollow” attribute added to them automatically. Spamming the site with links will provide absolutely no SEO benefit to the spammer. It’s a waste of time. Spread the good word. Thanks!
This is why Google’s recent update hasn’t shaken me much. Yeah it sucks for my newer sites, but for the more established stuff I work on it’s been a good thing. A lot of low-quality sites/links have been purged.
PS: Your link to wordpress in this article is messed up.
Thanks Udi. It actually sounds like you work for Yahoo or one of the SEs?
But yeah, that’s about the only benefit to the nofollow tag. Jeremy Zawodny opined recently about the fact that nofollow has done absolutely no good whatsoever. We’re getting spammed as often if not more, etc.
Hi Aaron. Nice post! It should be noted that on Yahoo! Answers, all user submitted links get the rel=”nofollow” attribute added to them automatically. Spamming the site with links will provide absolutely no SEO benefit to the spammer. It’s a waste of time. Spread the good word. Thanks!
Thanks Udi. It actually sounds like you work for Yahoo or one of the SEs?
But yeah, that’s about the only benefit to the nofollow tag. Jeremy Zawodny opined recently about the fact that nofollow has done absolutely no good whatsoever. We’re getting spammed as often if not more, etc.
I have to say (and I’m probably jinxing myself here) that after switching away from WordPress to Serendipity, my comment spam has been reduced to almost zero. I get one or two every now and then, but the comment bombing has stopped. The spam prevention features are better than the ones in WordPress, and there are more features to enable. I didn’t think much of Serendipity at first, but the anti-spam features alone have made it worthwhile.
Carol, that’s because NO comments are getting through. I tried commenting on your site the other day and got blocked. Unless you consider me a spammer :(
Haha. That would do it.
Carol, never tried Akismet for WordPress? I get no spam anymore…
Yikes — sorry, I had comments temporarily disabled on my personal site while I was tinkering with the anti-spam stuff and forgot to disable that.
No, Vin, I definitely don’t consider you a spammer!!
I have to say (and I’m probably jinxing myself here) that after switching away from WordPress to Serendipity, my comment spam has been reduced to almost zero. I get one or two every now and then, but the comment bombing has stopped. The spam prevention features are better than the ones in WordPress, and there are more features to enable. I didn’t think much of Serendipity at first, but the anti-spam features alone have made it worthwhile.
Carol, that’s because NO comments are getting through. I tried commenting on your site the other day and got blocked. Unless you consider me a spammer :(
Haha. That would do it.
Carol, never tried Akismet for WordPress? I get no spam anymore…
Yikes — sorry, I had comments temporarily disabled on my personal site while I was tinkering with the anti-spam stuff and forgot to disable that.
No, Vin, I definitely don’t consider you a spammer!!
I use Akismet and I still get a few spams through into Wordpress’s own comment approval area (some even just go straight through). I don’t know why.
I use Akismet and I still get a few spams through into Wordpress’s own comment approval area (some even just go straight through). I don’t know why.
I use to use Serendipity before switiching to Wordpress. Interested in hearing how you like it.
I use to use Serendipity before switiching to Wordpress. Interested in hearing how you like it.
Andy, the beauty of Akismet (as you know) is that it is ever learning. It has about a 99% accuracy rate for me but the ones that get through I report and central Akismet servers “learn” about the spam and attempt block in the future. I swear by it. But yeak, combining it with Bad Behavior or Spam Karma 2 is also a good idea, though Bad Behavior doesn’t like corporate proxies when users use IE.
Stacie, I really like it so far. The control panel is similar to WordPress, as are the template features — so it was easy to make the switch. There seem to be a few limitations, but I haven’t fully explored the add-ons and plugins, so it may be a simple fix once I find the plugins I need.
Andy, the beauty of Akismet (as you know) is that it is ever learning. It has about a 99% accuracy rate for me but the ones that get through I report and central Akismet servers “learn” about the spam and attempt block in the future. I swear by it. But yeak, combining it with Bad Behavior or Spam Karma 2 is also a good idea, though Bad Behavior doesn’t like corporate proxies when users use IE.
Stacie, I really like it so far. The control panel is similar to WordPress, as are the template features — so it was easy to make the switch. There seem to be a few limitations, but I haven’t fully explored the add-ons and plugins, so it may be a simple fix once I find the plugins I need.
I’ve just been bumming through the blog. i really like being able to view by your best posts. On topic though, I think there’s a fine line between self-promotion and spam and that line can be in the eyes of the beholder.
Any time you have to rely on the quality of someone’s character to protect the integrity of a resource you’re asking for trouble… particularly if there’s money to be made by bending the rules.
I’ve just been bumming through the blog. i really like being able to view by your best posts. On topic though, I think there’s a fine line between self-promotion and spam and that line can be in the eyes of the beholder.
Any time you have to rely on the quality of someone’s character to protect the integrity of a resource you’re asking for trouble… particularly if there’s money to be made by bending the rules.