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In each case the site in question has backlinks from sites that very obviously follow some webmaster's template system for rolling out affiliate sites.
In each case the sites have no other significant links but their own (which number well into the hundreds in both cases.)
Should I report this as spam? Or is just a fact of life and competition? Sure doesn't seem very fair considering the work involved in building links.
If you believe in the old school definition of spam as being misleading or deceptive pages that do not relate to the search query submitted by the user, than it probably wouldn't be considered spam.
If you believe in the most current definition of search engine spam which is basically "any site positioned above mine" then it would most defintitely be considered spam.
It isn't against the law to place links on your site to other sites you own. Google has said in the past that they use automated filters to detect and penalize artificial linking.
So if the pages are included in the database, and they are only returned for related search terms, then you could draw the conclusion that Google doesn't believe the sites constitute spam.
[edited by: WebGuerrilla at 6:55 pm (utc) on Oct. 15, 2002]
If you think google SERPS are being affected by this practice, report them. Then forget it and let Google decide.
If you believe in the most current definition of search engine spam which id basically "any site positioned above mine"
I love that definition WebGuerilla :) I'm seeing that definition more and more these days.
Heck, with the last google update, every site under my keywords are spam under that definition.
