Searches for “browser” no longer bring up the Google Chrome home page after Google applied a penalty against the page because of Google's own sponsored post campaign. Google said even though it felt there were no "remaining violations" of its guidelines, the search engine's spam fighting team was going to reduce the PageRank value of the Google Chrome home page, which in turn lead to today's ranking decrease. From the statement Google sent us: We've investigated and are taking manual action to demote www.google.com/chrome and lower the site’s PageRank for a period of at least 60 [...]

Related Topics: Features: Analysis | Google: Chrome | Google: Marketing | Google: SEO | SEO: Spamming | Top News

It's been about a day since we covered Google's sponsored post campaign to promote its Chrome browser, a campaign that produced posts that violate Google's guidelines against "thin" content and potentially those against buying links. Yes, it was a Google campaign, but not what the company says it signed-up for. One agency is falling on its sword; another is saying no paid links were purchased. Let's piece through what we've got. Google: We Only Meant To Buy Online Ads Google has sent me this statement: Google never agreed to anything more than online ads. We have consistently avoided paid [...]

Related Topics: Google: Chrome | Google: Marketing | Google: SEO | SEO: Spamming | Top News

Google, the company that has been fighting against paid links and "thin" content, seems to be behind a campaign that's generating both on behalf of its Chrome browser. File this under "what were they thinking." "This Post Sponsored By Google" Aaron Wall wrote about the campaign today at SEO Book, spotting how a search for "This post is sponsored by Google" brings back over 400 pages written apparently as part of a Google marketing campaign: We're checking with Google for confirmation that the company is behind the campaign, but expect a response to be delayed, as Google's PR department [...]

Related Topics: Google: Chrome | Google: Marketing | Google: SEO | SEO: Spamming | Top News

When Larry Page took over the CEO role at Google last year the company was doing well. Now it's doing better and so Investor's Business Daily has named him "CEO of the Year." The publication summed up its rationale as follows: [Page] reorganized the company's management structure, redesigned the face of the company's products and pushed forward with a multibillion dollar deal to acquire a cellphone manufacturing outfit. He also launched two other products aiming at Groupon, the leader of online coupons, and Facebook, the top social networking site. Google (GOOG) in the past two quarters [...]

Related Topics: Google: Acquisitions | Google: Antitrust | Google: Business Issues | Google: Employees | Google: Legal | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Marketing | Google: Mobile | Google: Offers | Top News

Google's teaming up again with NORAD to product one of my favorite Christmas traditions, the NORAD Tracks Santa web site. But new for this year, Bing joins the holiday sweepstakes with a Advent calendar-like Bing Magical Holiday Calendar. NOTE: For the latest news on the 2011 Santa Tracker, see our post: Where’s Santa Claus? The 2011 Santa Tracker List, From NORAD To Your Phone! Where's Santa? Google & NORAD Know Let's start with Santa. Since it's not Christmas Eve, the site has a countdown until it begins Santa tracking operations for 2011: The site also has holiday video messa [...]

Related Topics: Features: General | Google: Marketing | Microsoft: Marketing | Search Engines: Santa Tracker