Google has always done this though. I remember back in like 2002 or 2003, talking to a family friend who worked for a Christian ministry. He said they spent a ton of money with Google on getting their website placed higher when people googled questions like "Does God exist?".
I'm pretty sure the SEO compqnies pay Google for user data. Which is the perfect way of essentially selling a higher place on Google results without ruining Google's credibility.
Ah, for the days back when Google wasn't evil. The ads purchased by that church were clearly labeled as such. Now they reduce the color so little that the ads are almost undetctable.
It's gotten far, far worse to get around people gaming the system. One big change is that anything that is remotely tied to "health", results that have someone with "M.D." after their name automatically get put first, so you have to search through 5 or 10 pages to not get clickbait or institutional fluff.
Mostly fitness stuff is what I had in mind. You really have to know key phrases, otherwise you just get WebMD type shit instead of actual links to fitness forums like you used to get.
I hear what you are saying but it is better that they do this because people used to get recommended weird anti vax/"alternative medicine" shit all the time and it's kinda better now.
Google has always done this though. I remember back in like 2002 or 2003, talking to a family friend who worked for a Christian ministry. He said they spent a ton of money with Google on getting their website placed higher when people googled questions like "Does God exist?".
they have to keep "yes" at the top of the results like it's an aztec sacrifice or he'll cease to exist
if they actually paid google directly, then it was for ad placement...
SEO companies will take money for this but google doesn't openly take bribes for search results, it's diffused
Ah must've been ads then, I'm remembering a conversation from nearly 20 years ago...
it's still hilarious either way, an ominpotent creator needing you to do paid advertising on the internet
I'm pretty sure the SEO compqnies pay Google for user data. Which is the perfect way of essentially selling a higher place on Google results without ruining Google's credibility.
Ah, for the days back when Google wasn't evil. The ads purchased by that church were clearly labeled as such. Now they reduce the color so little that the ads are almost undetctable.
It's gotten far, far worse to get around people gaming the system. One big change is that anything that is remotely tied to "health", results that have someone with "M.D." after their name automatically get put first, so you have to search through 5 or 10 pages to not get clickbait or institutional fluff.
You brought up the single not bad instance of this lol
Mostly fitness stuff is what I had in mind. You really have to know key phrases, otherwise you just get WebMD type shit instead of actual links to fitness forums like you used to get.
I hear what you are saying but it is better that they do this because people used to get recommended weird anti vax/"alternative medicine" shit all the time and it's kinda better now.