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