Google

[Steve McCann]

Walt,
After looking into search engine optimization this summer for a local 
company I was able to locate a couple of resources you may be interested in:
1) According to SearchEngineWatch.com, Google does accept paid placement 
advertising. The difference between Google and other SE's is that Google 
always identifies them as paid and does not embed these ads into the 
search results. Alta Vista, as an example, will throw paid inclusions 
into your search results without telling you. Here is a good article 
comparing the various services: 
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/paid.html

2) Here is a chart showing search engine relationships--who sells their 
rankings to whom, and who uses pay-per-click ranking services such as 
Overture (which google does not use): 
http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf

It's true that Google makes money off of their search results, but I 
think it's important to point out that they do so in an ethical way.

Steve McCann
University of Washington, MLIS student

Walt_Crawford at notes.rlg.org wrote:
 > Mike Perkins says:
 >
 > Google's goals are the same as any search engine; to get as many
 > people as possible to use it and to use those numbers to sell
 > advertising and preferential ranking of search results. Helping
 > people find information is simply a means to this end, not a goal. If
 > the profit goal is not met, Google will go away.
 >
 >
 > I have to challenge part of that statement: "and preferential ranking
 > of search results."
 >
 > Is there any evidence whatsoever that Google has ever sold
 > preferential ranking? They have said, repeatedly, that they do not do
 > so. They've even said that being ethical gives them a competitive
 > advantage.
 >
 > Last I heard, about half of Google's revenue came from sales of its
 > search engine/services to other agencies, the other half from its
 > advertising.
 >
 > That makes Google's goals a little more complicated.
 >
 > I would be interested in hearing any evidence that Google's rankings
 > are for sale.
 >
 > "They all do it" is not evidence.
 >
 > Walt Crawford
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >