Sorry, thought it was on topic(spamming sites and reporting them to G) even though it wasn't specific to the site you posted. tom
There will always be new ways... as long as we keep improving code, server software, etc. Those willing to risk it will find a way to minimize the risk by using the latest techniques. And by using the latest, they will have some lead time on the honest and the search engines. I would be too paranoid to use the techniques I know about. It's not worth the lost sleep. And something new, that doesn't seem spammy, can turn out to be just that. Many of the php redirect sites simply did not want to link out directly, or wanted to track links or use a db to manage them. But there were problems in the way Google handled the redirect, and attributed the rank to the wrong site, and the unscrupulous prospered. But it wasn't truly for playing games on Google to begin with... Use good practices, and report the site, and forget about it unless you can get someone else on your side. Some of the redirect threads got alot of views as knowledge of the problem spread, and surely that translated into alot of Google spam reports.
ROFL!!! I could see a forum just for the discussion of problem sites and search engine bugs, to build a posse of reporters. But the same site would let out the same info to those willing to cheat, unfortunately. Perhaps even give them new ideas. And if the search engines won't fix a problem quickly, it would be to the spammer's advantage.
And they seem quite happy to boast about it....extract of LIVE converstaion with them: John : What about the pi sign? Ian : How can I trust a company that cheats to run my websites John : thats not a cheat. Ian : Can you explain what is is then? John : if you look at all the sites on the top of search engines Ian : ? John : they all use programs that hide keywords from users Ian : And get banned..... Ian : in the end John : There are many ways of getting keywords on to the search engines. John : with out getting baned. John : as long as you arent using robots that cheat. Ian : Hmm I'm not to sure I would want to risk it John : Getting baned would only remove us from the google search page. John : as you may notice there are over 100,000 different hosting companies. And it is very difficult to get on search engines now-a-days. Ian : Thanks John, But I'll take my business eleswhere John : Heres another cheat many are doing. when you see links that are "Web-Hosting-company.html" that is also a cheat that is done in several ways. John : And they dont get banned for it either. Ian : Bye and have a good weekend. Probably many ways, but i prefare to play on a level paying field and not risk a business Ian : Thanks and bye...
Thanks, Ian. The pi symbol is no biggie - it can be seen, but is not obvious. But the link attached to it, and the links on the resulting page, are definitely causing problems for me. I reported this site to Google again this morning because of this: http://216.239.37.105/search?q=allintext:web+hosting+paypal which shows me at #6. It was the only one showing this until just moments ago. It is jumping around, you may need the McDar dance tool to find it. But http://64.233.187.104/search?q=allintext:web+hosting+paypal does not. Guess who is #12? http://64.233.187.104/search?q=allintext:web+hosting+paypal&start=10
I don't see it today. There isn't a cache in Google. But you can find it here: http://web.archive.org/web/20041125051445/http://www.belahost.com/
I got an Email from The Google Team today... thought I should share. Mostly Googlespeak, they do mention the problem in these paragraphs: So, reloaded, getting back to your original post, basically, they need the input to create a new filter, rule, etc. They see it, they look at it, but there are probably many others doing the same, and it is much more efficient to build a filter to stop all of it, even if it takes a bit. Submit It and Forget It. They know better than to shoot the first quail they see.
I used to tattle on people too... ...but then I went on to third grade and realized that there were better, more fun things to do.