| Google is engaged in a war. It is a war on | | | | used this word when it defined Internet |
| spam. With new strategies and filters ready | | | | Spam.Google trademarked the term "TrustRank" |
| to put into place, the search engine is | | | | and is working on a new spam removing model |
| adding new firepower to its arsenal almost | | | | that they explain in what forum posters are |
| daily. Webmasters and SEO Consultants alike | | | | referring to as the Stanford White Paper. |
| are terrified; fearing what the future holds | | | | "Web spam pages use various techniques to |
| for them. But for those of us that believe | | | | achieve higher-than-deserved rankings in a |
| in the cause, the future isn't scary. In | | | | search engine's results. While human experts |
| fact, the future looks very bright.My ten | | | | can identify spam, it is too expensive to |
| year old son is fascinated with war. He has | | | | manually evaluate a large number of pages. |
| a dozen buckets full of army men, and makes | | | | Instead, we propose techniques to |
| everything a battlefield-the kitchen, my | | | | semi-automatically separate reputable, good |
| bedroom, and even the bathroom. He has a new | | | | pages from spam. We first select a small set |
| bicycle helmet that's army green. For | | | | of seed pages to be evaluated by an expert. |
| Halloween, when other kids were Spiderman and | | | | Once we manually identify the reputable seed |
| Batman, he was a soldier. He constantly | | | | pages, we use the link structure of the web |
| plays computer games like Soldiers of WWII | | | | to discover other pages that are likely to be |
| and Battlefield 1942; he even turns brooms | | | | good. In this paper we discuss possible ways |
| and mops into weapons to combat the invisible | | | | to implement the seed selection and the |
| enemy. War is all he talks about. He loves | | | | discovery of good pages. We present results |
| movies like Saving Private Ryan, Pearl | | | | of experiments run on the World Wide Web |
| Harbor, and Platoon. He knows more about | | | | indexed by AltaVista and evaluate the |
| both World Wars and Vietnam then I'll ever | | | | performance of our techniques. Our results |
| hope to, or care to, know. His obsession | | | | show that we can effectively filter out spam |
| with war got me thinking about how it applied | | | | from a significant fraction of the web, based |
| to what I do every day. What does SEO and | | | | on a good seed set of less than 200 sites." |
| war have in common? More to the point, how | | | | This comes from a 12 page abstract, called |
| does Google implement strategies that declare | | | | "Combating Spam with TrustRank", on Stanford |
| war on spam?SEO is a constant struggle to get | | | | University's website that outlines the |
| our clients' websites to the top. We combat | | | | methodology of TrustRank.In summary, |
| lousy SEO companies that give us a bad name, | | | | TrustRank is a way to cut down on spam and |
| flagrant ads that claim they can do what we | | | | filter out content that is not relevant to |
| do for only $29 by submitting your site to a | | | | the searcher in order to bring them results |
| thousand search engines, and other little | | | | they really want, by branding good sites with |
| annoyances that pop up every day. Even | | | | a high trust rating, and by stamping the spam |
| still, my small battles are really nothing | | | | sites as untrustworthy, including any site |
| when you compare it to the war that Google is | | | | that links to these delineated sites. |
| waging. Google's number one goal is to bring | | | | Google's abstract says, "Human editors help |
| the visitor the most relevant results | | | | search engines combat search engine spam, but |
| possible in a search engine. This means | | | | reviewing all content is impractical. |
| filtering and sorting through all the junk | | | | TrustRank places a core vote of trust on a |
| out there, so that you, the visitor, doesn't | | | | seed set of reviewed sites to help search |
| have to."It's an arms race," Steve Linford, | | | | engines identify pages that would be |
| director of the London-based SpamHaus | | | | considered useful from pages that would be |
| Project, said. "The more we lock (spammers) | | | | considered spam. This trust is attenuated to |
| down, the more techniques they try to get | | | | other sites through links from the seed |
| around us." The SpamHaus Project is a | | | | sites." Google's famous PageRank seems to |
| nonprofit organization that posts information | | | | have lost meaning, as sites are easily able |
| about the groups behind the majority of | | | | to produce back links or purchase them, which |
| unsolicited e-mail, and maintains a "black | | | | defeats the purpose of PageRank. In my |
| hole" list of domains from which spammers | | | | opinion, TrustRank makes more sense. It |
| operate. Spam accounted for at least one in | | | | makes a webmaster more careful with whom he |
| four email messages a business received in | | | | or she links to in the first place, making |
| 2002. The U.S. Attorney General's website has | | | | back links harder to get, but well worth the |
| an entire page on the subject. "Almost 45 | | | | reward once they are earned.Another way |
| percent of all email is now spam and that | | | | Google is fighting Internet spam is called |
| number is growing each year. Nearly three | | | | the "Sandbox Effect". The Sandbox Effect is |
| trillion spam messages are sent each year - | | | | essentially a delay of a few months once a |
| 13 times the total snail mail delivered by | | | | site is spidered before it is indexed. |
| the U.S. Postal service. The average wired | | | | Sometimes, a new site may initially receive a |
| American is hit with nearly 2,200 spam | | | | high ranking in the search engines, and then |
| messages annually - this after most ISPs have | | | | drop into search engine obscurity. They may |
| filtered 80-90 percent of the junk messages. | | | | receive no page rank, and can be virtually |
| Some reports indicate that these numbers | | | | invisible in the search engines for up to 120 |
| could increase by five times in the near | | | | days. While this may seem like a penalty to |
| future."Market research firm, Gartner Inc., | | | | new website owners, especially if they are |
| estimates that their company of over 10,000 | | | | unaware of the new filters or how they work |
| employees suffers more than $13 million worth | | | | and why, it is Google's way of fighting spam. |
| of lost productivity because of internally | | | | Their methodology is that in the "sandbox" |
| generated spam. This is just email spam. | | | | (named such for the analogy of a bunch of new |
| Throw in the spam on the internet, and it's a | | | | kids playing in the sandbox together away |
| huge productivity drain. It causes companies | | | | from the grownups), spammers won't see the |
| financial losses because they have to | | | | results of their efforts in the search |
| purchase more high tech software like spam | | | | engine, and may possibly be fooled into |
| blockers and spy-ware removers, and it's a | | | | thinking they've either been caught, or their |
| strain on system servers and bandwidth.Google | | | | efforts have been futile. Google hopes the |
| defines Internet Spam as any unwanted | | | | spammers will then simply give up and go |
| information or propaganda that may have been | | | | away. In war, we call this technique |
| received through deceptive measures on the | | | | flanking, hoping to catch the enemy off guard |
| part of the sender. To a search engine, spam | | | | by coming around behind their line, causing |
| is hyperlinked pages that are intent on | | | | them to panic or withdraw. The desired |
| misleading the search engine. It is | | | | result of the Sandbox Effect is that the |
| estimated that 80% of search results for any | | | | spammers most likely will do both: panic and |
| keyword phrases entered into a search engine | | | | withdraw; or better yet, surrender. Flanking |
| are considered spam.During World War II, the | | | | is one of the most effective plan of attack, |
| term propaganda earned the negative | | | | and the most difficult to achieve, as it |
| connotation because of intended deceptions | | | | requires finesse, secrecy, and being able to |
| used to dispirit those on the front lines by | | | | know your enemy's moves before they do.As in |
| Nazi Germany. Soldiers and citizens were | | | | any war, it can be long, bloody, and both |
| constantly bombarded with this new | | | | sides can sustain heavy casualties. While |
| psychological weapon. Most propaganda in | | | | spammers are filtered out, some legitimate |
| Germany was produced by the Ministry for | | | | websites can be annihilated as well, due to |
| Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, or | | | | inadequate SEO, mistakes in their pages (like |
| PROMI. Joseph Goebbels was placed in charge | | | | broken links), or just simple ignorance to |
| of this ministry shortly after Adolf Hitler | | | | the way search engines work. It is the |
| took power in 1933. Hitler was impressed by | | | | responsibility of your five-star General to |
| the power of Allied propaganda during World | | | | guide you and develop your strategy. Your |
| War I and believed that it had been a primary | | | | SEO consultant can lead you through the |
| cause of the collapse of morale and revolts | | | | minefield of search engine optimization |
| in the German home front and Navy in 1918. | | | | techniques without triggering any of the |
| Nazis had no moral qualms about spreading | | | | mines, and keeping you safe. If you |
| propaganda which they themselves knew to the | | | | inadvertently set off a mine, you lose your |
| false and indeed spreading deliberately false | | | | hard earned ranking, the traffic that goes |
| information was part of a doctrine known as | | | | with it, and the resulting sales from that |
| the "Big Lie", the theory he wrote about in | | | | traffic. You will then fall into the |
| his book, Mein Kampf. In Mein Kampf, Hitler | | | | multitudes of spam casualties; possibly |
| wrote that people came to believe that | | | | earning a Google ban forever. Will the |
| Germany was defeated in the First World War | | | | casual observer see these casualties? No. |
| in the field due to a propaganda technique | | | | On the surface, everything feels peaceful. |
| used by Jews who were influential in the | | | | In fact, the war only helps the average |
| German press."British and Allied fliers were | | | | citizens and their relevant search results, |
| depicted as cowardly murderers and Americans | | | | and in the end, brings a better search |
| in particular as gangsters in the style of Al | | | | environment for all. This is, after all, |
| Capone. At the same time, German propaganda | | | | what Google really wants. Peace.Jennifer E. |
| sought to alienate Americans and British from | | | | Sullivan is an Internet Business Consultant |
| each other, and both these Western | | | | who specializes in search engine optimization |
| belligerents from the Soviets." --World War 2 | | | | and web marketing. Her emphasis is on small |
| Propaganda ( The propaganda was effective to | | | | to medium business marketing. She has |
| a degree; however, it was repudiated by the | | | | written several web marketing articles, |
| Allied Powers' own positive and truthful | | | | including "Hiring an SEO Consultant: 10 |
| doctrine.Now, the term propaganda has come to | | | | Reasons Why You Should", "Let's Not Forget |
| mean, "information that is spread for the | | | | About the Little Guy", and "PageRank for |
| purpose of promoting some cause, such as a | | | | Websites: Is There More To the Web?". |
| doctrine in a war." It's ironic that Google | | | | |