obono - 11:02 pm on Dec 21, 2005 (gmt 0)

> The fact that it has eventually worked out which URL is the true source of the content means that it has done something right.

LOL

Nothing further from what is really happening. The fact that Google catches one url as the important one (with affiliate IDs) and ends up posting a testimonial page as a result (with no IDs) or a page that does NOT represent what the user was looking for, for example by posting an archive page that is 2 years old and is unrelated to the search (the home page) is your best proof that they are NOT doing things right. In this respect, kudos to yahoo that decided to only post the final destination. At least we know what to expect. They don't make us work our arses to only see someone else being benefitted by our effort.

The long term solution is to have one owns program and develop traffic for noone but oneself, and end of story.