If he never erased his cookies Mel he could have been getting Google results for months after Yahoo dropped Google, don't tell me you did not hear of that happening. Plus if you are going to bring that into this argument you have lost it if that is all you have. You will have to dig deeper Mel, no I am not just using Shawns post, because before I seen it today after SiteTutor dug it up I was telling you the same thing 2 days ago.
Minstrel you will forgive me if I simply ignore all your posts henceforth as they are simply neither constructive not add anything to the thread.
You are seriously telling me that based on cookies someone is going to get results from Yahoo that ceased to exist on the Yahoo servers six months before???
That email said that you can be ban for cloaking or purchased links. Since I know my site wasnt cloaked, that only leaves one option. The purchased links. The inter linking of sites has been done with other sites with no bad effects. I can rule that out I believe.
Minstrel's posts? You will never ignore them Mel, he made a good point in that post that you do not WANT to answer.
Sorry Guys but this is just becoming too silly and really quite a waste of time. If you want to believe that if you buy links bolts of lightning will come from the sky and fry your server by all means do not let me dissuade you. On the other hand if you are really interested in what does and does not affect rankings you might want to dig a bit deeper than the Google webmaster pages.
Yes I am going to tell you that Mel, that is what I told you! http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1406&highlight=Yahoo+serving+Google+results
Sorry Guys but this is just becoming too silly and really quite a waste of time. If you want to believe that if you buy links bolts of lightning will come from the sky and fry your server by all means do not let me dissuade you. On the other hand if you are really interested in what does and does not affect rankings you might want to dig a bit deeper than the Google webmaster pages. If on the other hand you purpose is to dissuade anyone who disagrees with you from posting on the forum you have succeded in this case.
Well I guess that we win by default Mel PS: I guess that your profession is a waste of time then Mel since you really do not want to learn anything, do you come here just to push your theories on us
I have been saying this long before I ever knew Shawn made a statement on this. I always make up my mind. Shawn as well as a friend of mine who runs one of the best seo companies world wide happen to communicate directly with some employees of Google. Link buying for the sole purpose is looked down upon and despised. Now why would you push the envelope and then publically admit it, defend it and brag about it. you make absolutely no sense Mel. I am sorry if I was rude the other day but I think you seriously want to cause trouble. Chill out!!!
I have been looking at that myth for the last year and to be honest, when you compare sites on Google which have backlinks with high PR and others with low PR's you often find that the Low PR sites can rank supreme to High PR sites, of course there is SEO involved but considering the difference I've seen I wouldn't trust it.
If there's anyone who still wonders about link buying and selling, see http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/tell-me-about-your-backlinks/
I don't know... it doesn't seem American for a search engine to penalize a site for advertising... whether it be text links, backlinks... whatever.
It wouldn't be for advertising, but for the purpose behind purchasing the link (search engine manipulation instead of just advertising)
>>> IMO Google takes little notice of PageRank when ranking sites Technically speaking, Google PageRank and where you rank in the Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS) are parallel indicators, not dependent indicators. What does that mean? Both PageRank and SERPS placement are determined by mathematic algorithms, however, the factors used to determine SERPS placement are more numerous and more complex than those used to determine PageRank. In a nutshell, PageRank is determined by how many other web pages link to a particular website and web page, the PageRank of websites and web pages linking to the website and web page in question, minus any penalties. From http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html PageRank Technology: PageRank performs an objective measurement of the importance of web pages by solving an equation of more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Instead of counting direct links, PageRank interprets a link from Page A to Page B as a vote for Page B by Page A. PageRank then assesses a page's importance by the number of votes it receives. PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. Important pages receive a higher PageRank and appear at the top of the search results. Google's technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page's importance. There is no human involvement or manipulation of results, which is why users have come to trust Google as a source of objective information untainted by paid placement. SERPS are determined by the a combination of the same factors used to determined PageRank PLUS relevant content. Again from http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html Hypertext-Matching Analysis: Google's search engine also analyzes page content. However, instead of simply scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishers through meta-tags), Google's technology analyzes the full content of a page and factors in fonts, subdivisions and the PageRankecise location of each word. Google also analyzes the content of neighboring web pages to ensure the results returned are the most relevant to a user's query. The end result is that: A page with better content can sit higher in the SERPS than a page with higher PageRank. Of two pages with equally strong content, the one with higher PageRank will rank higher in the SERPS. Strong PageRank may boost a page with weaker content above a page with better content. While PageRank does not actually determine SERPS placement, the same factors used to determine PageRank are part of the larger formula used to determine SERPS. What does this mean for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? First, you must first determine the best Key Words and Key Phrases for your site based on the number of inquires those Key Words and Key Phrases receive on the search engines. The first step is to create an exhaustive list of Key Words and Key Phrases that are relevant to your website and receive frequent inquiries on the search engines.. Once you have developed an exhaustive set of Key Words and Key Phrases that receive frequent inquiries, you need to determine which Key Words and Key Phrases you can realistically compete for to rank highly in the SERPS. It does no good to compete for GOLDEN WIDGETS if the top 30 sites are all top-flight competitors. But how do you know if you can compete in the SERPS? Guess what? PageRank is still the best indicator. If you have a PageRank3 and the top ten sites are all PageRank7, you will almost never break into the top ten until you achieve a PageRank7. If you do see a PageRank3 in the top ten when all the rest are PageRank7, then everything below that PageRank3 probably has weak content and you may be able to compete. Don't hold your breath though. Lets say that the average PageRank for the Key Words and Key Phrases BRAIDED GOLDEN WIDGETS is PageRank3, then if you optimize your page for BRAIDED GOLDEN WIDGETS you will be able to compete from your PageRank3 web page for a high SERPS ranking.Only after you have optimized your web page to compete in Key Words and Key Phrases with similar PageRank should you begin competing for Key Words and Key Phrases with a higher average PageRank. To do so, get links. One way links from related (read relevant) websites with equal or higher PageRank than yours are best, while reciprocal links are still valuable and much easier to get. Then when you do achieve an increase in PageRank, reevaluate your Key Words and Key Phrases to determine if there are relevant Key Words and Key Phrases that receive more search engine inquiries and where the top SERPS ten average PageRank equals or is less than your pages new PageRank. If there are better Key Words and Key Phrases within your reach, re-optimize your page and go after them. In the case of a Key Words and Key Phrases that gets a large number of inquiries you might decide that you don't need to be on the first page and that page two will be fine. In general, once you determine where you would like to rank for a particular Key Words and Key Phrases, look at the average PageRank for [–5 <= Target Rank <= +5] to determine if the goal is realistic. For example, if your target is #20 in the SERPS for GOLDEN WIDGETS, then use the average PageRank for listings 15 to 25. The worst thing you can do is to try to compete for high Key Words and Key Phrases SERPS against websites that clearly have high PageRank and good content. The only thing you will accomplish is to diminish your existing traffic. By using this disciplined approach you will steadily increase you website traffic while you earn your way to better SERPS and better Key Words and Key Phrases. The Komodo Tale Seattle, WA