Microsoft Search Marketing Vs. Google Search Marketing (Beta)

I wrote before about the inherent conflicts of both Google and Microsoft potentially owning firms that do search marketing. Since Microsoft is now back on track to join Google in doing this, I can’t help myself. Let’s have some fun. From a future Google help page (apologies to the existing help page): What’s an SEO? […]

Chat with SearchBot

I wrote before about the inherent conflicts of both Google and Microsoft
potentially owning firms that do search marketing. Since Microsoft is now
back
on track
to join Google in doing this, I can’t help myself. Let’s have some fun.

From a future Google help page (apologies to the

existing
help page):

What’s an SEO? Does Google recommend working with companies that offer
to make my site Google-friendly?

SEO is an abbreviation for "search engine optimizer." Many SEOs provide
useful services for website owners. However, a few unethical SEOs have given the industry a
black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their
attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.

While Google
doesn’t have relationships with any SEOs …. wait a minute …. ah, yes, we
do. We recommend you use us! Especially if we send you a message like this:

"Dear site.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the
major search engines and directories…"

We’re Google. We know if you’re not listed, and we can fix it.
Here are some more tips.

  • No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google (except, you know, us).

    Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a
    "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to
    Google. Only Google Search Marketing (BETA) has a special relationship.

     
  • Choose wisely.

    While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to
    do some research on the industry. While Google doesn’t comment on specific
    companies, we’ve encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who simply paid
    a lot more money than we did to buy another firm.
     
  • Be sure to understand where the money goes.
    While Google never sells better ranking in our search
    results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or
    pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. We can
    help sell you some of these.

Or a future Microsoft help page (drawn from within

here
):

About site optimization services

You may be able to improve your site’s ranking with site optimization
services. These are available through a number of search engine optimization
companies. Microsoft
Small Business Center
offers site optimization services. Wait, we closed
those. But we’ve got a big new company that does it for large firms. Try that.

Make sure that you check the reputation of any company you approach to
perform this type of service. While optimization services may improve your
site’s results, using an optimization service does not guarantee inclusion in
the Live Search index or an increase in your site’s ranking in search results.
Except if you use ours. They sit right next to us — rankings? No problem!

From my inbox, sometime next year (apologies
to Matt):

Subject: News – You’ve just been Lived

All search engines cracked.

We can send your web site to the top of Microsoft Live legitimately before
Christmas and keep it there.

Yes I mean the top.

Give me up to 20 keywords and the URL of your site and we will switch
Microsoft Live on and another 40 top engines to deliver immeasurable keyword
targeted surfers to your web site to join and buy from you.

This works for replica sites, affid, php and asp and also joining and
opt-in pages belonging to programs.

For each of your 20 keywords your site is guaranteed to appear at the top
of Microsoft Live. After all, we work for them. Or they work for us.

Something else from my inbox in the future:

Dear Webmaster,

We would like to add your site to our online directory, by placing a link
to it in our site https://www.google.com. In return; we would like you to link
back to our client’s our site.

This exchange will create one way links to both our sites, which is
beneficial from SEO point of view. This link will remain active as long as the
requested link back is active on your site.

Please mail us your link Title, URL & Description & we will immediately
place a link to your site on https://www.google.com. Please place a link back
to our clients’s site using the information below….

OK, both Performics (part of DoubleClick, being purchased by Google) and
Avenue A | Razorfish (part of aQuantive, being purchased by Microsoft) are firms
with excellent reputations that aren’t sending out spam mails. Let me be clear
about that. And I’m sure there would be some church-and-state divide if both
firms stay part of Google and Microsoft. But it ain’t happening. It doesn’t look
right; it doesn’t feel right.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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