Posts tagged google
Kwik-Fit Insurance join GoCompare in Google Hell
Feb 29th
Kwik-Fit Insurance have picked up a penalty from Google, probably for using the same blog spamming techniques that got GoCompare banned from the search engine.
A search for “kwik fit insurance” currently brings up only the web page of the tyres and parts business, wheras the car insurance site has plummeted 50-odd places. Whilst this probably won’t have had the same devastating impact as on GoCompare, they will certainly be feeling the effects of the missing traffic.
Paying for an advertising link is one thing, but would Kwik Fit be paying for links from sites ostensibly about Crime Scenes or web hosting if any benefit other than a link for the links sake were in their mind. It’s great news for everyone who can’t afford to subvert the structure of the internet in this way, as a sign that Google is making good on its claim to put quality sites to the fore and penalise spammers.
Dave Wilson on Google+Gocompare car insurance search ban
Feb 14th
I’m not usually given to gloating at others downfall, but the recent Google penalty for GoCompare, probably for paid blog post spamming and massive scale paid link buying. Hitwise estimates that they have lost around 87% of their traffic from the coveted ‘car insurance’ terms – but currently they are not even appearing in results for their own name (apart from paid adverts).
The real message Google is sending out through this slap on the wrist for Gocompare, and a similar one they handed out to MoneySupermarket last year, is that companies buying their way to the top of the Google listings aren’t going to have such an easy ride anymore.
I wonder how much money Gocompare have spent on this link building? Presumably they haven’t yet spent all of the £30 million that esure bunged the ‘independent comparison site’ for marketing.
Sorry if this post is a bit of a minority interest for regular readers, but bear in mind next time you type car insurance into Google how the results may well be skewed towards companies with the largest online marketing budgets.