History has shown that, especially in the UK, we as a nation tend to actually want to tear down anybody or business that dares to succeed. We support them on the way up - from underdog to giant - but as soon as they get there all of a sudden they merit the badge of 'public enemy number one'. Our press is internationally renowned for kicking a man when he's up, and then stamping on his face when he's down. Why do we do this? It's a curious national sport that's for sure, but what has this got to do with search engines, or indeed SEO, I hear you cry?
It has come to this reporter's attention that the Guardian, no less, has recently published an article calling for search engines to accept accountability or have it forced upon. The journalist has cited a case where a website was dropped from a leading search engine's index without warning, and with no obvious reason or apparent answer as to what to do next. Now, I can see this from the business in question's point of view and I sympathise - but should this really be held against the search engine?
The internet is the high street of the 'now' and the mall of the future. Many companies are preparing for a time so close you can smell it, when they will be supplementing their online profits with sales from the high street. It was not so long ago that that was unthinkable. This is important stuff. With this in mind, should the major search engines, with over 90% of the UK market share, be made accountable for the success or failure of a company in the online market. Is that right...is it even fair?
One could argue of course there needs to be some kind of system in place to allow companies to work with search engines to get back in the index. At the moment there is no real 'branch' of the Google tree that deals with companies, in a customer service kind of fashion, who have been de-listed. No representative to give you a call and warn you that you're being kicked out and what you can do to stop it. No department responsible for letting you know how to get back in, which is why working with an SEO company with the expertise and that has good relationships with the big boys - Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask - is so important.
Search engines are very protective of their search secrets - they use this as one of the reasons for not having an open customer service policy for dealing with sites that have been de-listed by their search technology. If everybody caught wind of how search engines operate behind the scenes then they could manipulate the technology for their own end rather than being governed by it, and that would defeat the very purpose of having free listings designed to give the user the best quality sites for their particular search query. As the saying goes, this is not search, friends, this is search business.
We also have to remember that, fundamentally, search listings are tantamount to free advertising. Maybe it's you who owes the search engines a favour? A site pays nothing for a listing and all the search engines ask for from you is that you make the effort to make your site the best it can be from a user's point of view. The parameters that search engines set for you are there to make sure your site is adhering to guidelines that protect the user's right to be shown the best result for their search query. It's not as if these guidelines are hidden in a lock box, they are available freely on the internet for anyone to download, print off, snag or save on your PDA. If you want evidence that we live in a country with a consumer lead market there it is right there. Search engines focus is on the user - not you. Companies can start dictating and stamping their feet when they are paying to be included in the index because it would be their right. If we start paying for organic listings where do we stop? Would it be fair to be able to pay for a top ten listing? Would it be fair to demand to be number one?
The beauty of search is that you can't solve your problems by chucking money at it. You actually have to be good. If you're at the top you're good - you deserve to be there. If you're at the bottom try harder, employ an SEO company, send your tech team on a course, and allocate the resources. The search game is a little bit like a world sporting event - if you train hard and dedicate yourself, your time, and resources to the game, you have a chance at reaching to the top. If you cheat or take steroids to unfairly boost your 'rankings' in said any sporting event then you should be disqualified and punished.
A little quote I found on the subject follows and I think pretty much sums up what I am trying to say:
"A good rule of thumb for all business owners is this...[search engines] 'owe' you the exact equivalent of what you pay them for any organic rankings...absolutely nothing."
