Google's sly dig at a competitor

Is this intentional?

[oldskool79]

Typing a url (i.e. www.domain.com) into the Google search box or the Google toolbar will usually return a single result with a link to the homepage of that URL.

But if you try typing in the URL of Google's biggest PPC competitor (hint: starts with an 'O') you'll just get a "No Results Found".

Surely this is intenional -- as it works just fine for every other URL.

[Brett_Tabke]

no overture bans all indexing via robots.txt. Google is merely obeying it. See the numerous back threads on the subject....

[ogletree]

O asked for them to do that.

[blaze]

Interesting that it shows up on Yahoo in the regular SERP.

I guess site-match ignores robots.txt or maybe Yahoo manually manipulates the SERPs?

[oldskool79]

Why wouldn't overture want their site to show up in Google? I don't see how this could help them.

[Brett_Tabke]

Don't you think that having your competitors bot crawling all over your website is a bit creepy?

[UK_Web_Guy]

Ooverture don't want to be indexed by google, but are happy to buy Adwords!

A search on Overture shows a listing claiming to be "official site" looks like it is - not an aff site.

Might be wrong, but looks the real deal....!

[SlyOldDog]

>>Don't you think that having your competitors bot crawling all over your website is a bit creepy?

I doubt a robots.txt would stop Google crawling Overture if they had some research to do :)

[oldskool79]

Don't you think that having your competitors bot crawling all over your website is a bit creepy?

Not really. Obviously anything that could be found on their site by Google's robot could easily be found by a human at Google scanning the site.

Lots of people type URL's into the search box so Overture is risking loss of customers with this tactic. I'm sure they have a valid reason for doing it, I just can't think of what that might be.

[HellaCooL]

It is not going strait to official website.
If you click on it it will take you to overture through CJ code. Just look at the IE status bar.

[Shak]

lets make this a monthly discussion I think :)

nothing new as BT would say, lets move along now...

Shak

[blaze]

Lots of new things about this. New people, new ideas, new perspectives.

Personally, I'd be curious as to how Overture made it into the Yahoo results when robots are being banned.

[oldskool79]

Personally, I'd be curious as to how Overture made it into the Yahoo results when robots are being banned.

Maybe they signed up for Site Match! ;)

BTW, didn't Overture used to be called "goto.com"? Do a search for Overture on Yahoo and the #6 result is for Goto.com, but they're description is a knock on Yahoo.