(Unsubstantiated) Claims of deception by Google from anon claiming to be ex-employee

Adsense accounts kicked, analytics stats skewed

[brotherhood of LAN]

Note that this is a pastebin tbut I'm sure it'll go viral soon and we'll hear more about it and perhaps get some clear cut facts.

[pastebin.com...]

I am a former Google employee and I am writing this to leak information to the public of what I
witnessed and took part in while being an employee.

...To sum it up for everyone, I took part in what I (and many others) would consider theft of money from
the publishers by Google, and from direct orders of management...

So the other part of the new policy change was to incorporate other Google services into assisting the
"quality control" program. What they came up with will anger many users when they find out. It
involved skewing data in Google Analytics.

[brotherhood of LAN]

I think it's untrue in itself, and perhaps someone trying to galvanize others into a class action, aiming to put Google's methods under more scrutiny.

It seems the person who brought the story into the public eye was here [news.ycombinator.com] but hasn't elaborated on who told them about the pastebin.

[EditorialGuy]

For me, the interesting question is whether Google will try to locate and make an example of this person. The guy--or gal--could be cruisin' for a bruisin', depending on whether Google's higher-ups feel vindictive. (More likely, they don't even take notice of small fry with grudges, but who knows?)

[RedBar]

I have not seen any mention of part 2 as yet:

[pastebin.com...]

[superclown2]

At last I can make my secret public, because I too was a Google employee.

I worked as a guard on their secret prison compound under the Plex. I helped to torture innocent webmasters by feeding them a non stop diet of garbage search results whilst a grinning guy in a tee shirt told them over and over again that it was their own fault for being spammers and producers of over-relevant web sites. Naturally I have no evidence to support my statement but it is spelt correctly which proves that it is true.

Now on a serious note, my account was banned a few years ago (I still neither know, nor care, why). Google, however, eventually paid me for every single click (a lot of money) right up to the minute they blocked it whilst still refusing point blank to answer my emails. No problem, I contacted the companies whose ads had appeared on the site and dealt with them directly and have done so ever since, making more money for myself and saving my clients a lot as well. The only loser was Google.

So, although I would never consider dealing with such an imperious and unapproachable company as Google in any way in the future I've not the slightest doubt that the 'revelation' is a fairy story. Frankly I'm surprised that anyone is taking an anonymous and unsubstantiated claim like this seriously.

[EditorialGuy]

Frankly I'm surprised that anyone is taking an anonymous and unsubstantiated claim like this seriously.

It's cathartic for some people, and headlines about it make great link bait.

[Edge]

Well, I think can think of more effective ways to rip publishers off of their earning then simply kicking them out...

[ogletree]

Why is something like this on WebmasterWorld. Anybody could have written that. There should be some verification before something like this is given any credibility. It sounds like what spammers have been saying for years when they got kicked out. This is a hoax.

[brotherhood of LAN]

>>Why is something like this on WebmasterWorld.

Why not? 'make of it what you will', rather than someone else deciding what's worthy of reading on your behalf. You would have read it elsewhere if not here.

>> Anybody could have written that. There should be some verification before something like this is given any credibility.

Did you fill in the captcha before posting that ;o)

[lammert]

I do not know if this claim if from a genuine former Google employee, but mathematics would tell me that the claim is not true.

What the document is saying, is that Google willingly closed AdSense accounts with higher earnings to add this money directly to the revenue of Google to compensate for losses in the previous quarters. But mathematics shows, that if you leave these accounts living, Google will earn in a period of a year much more money from these accounts through their 32% share than the one time profit by closing an account.

By closing AdSense accounts, Google stops earning any Advertiser revenue from those sites which will probably flow into the pockets of other advertising companies if those publishers switch from advertising network. So as I see it, if this policy would have been in effect since 2009, it would have cost Google much more money in the long run than they would have acquired short term. And Google may do stupid things now and then, but they are wise enough not to let that money slip out of their hands through such a general AdSense account close policy.

[heisje]

If you rely on Google, you should rethink your business model.

Here we go again!

You are aware, I hope, that Google is over 65% of search in the US and over 90% in Europe. You are aware, I hope, that without search presence one can hardly have any web presence of consequence, except possibly huge corporations.

So what are you talking about? Brick & mortar at WebmasterWorld?


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[heisje]

Well, I think can think of more effective ways to rip publishers off of their earning then simply kicking them out...

What is so improbable, then, about using a "mix" of tricks including said ones? While I deem said report a fake, for many reasons, I would not be surprised to hear Google has been using a mix of tricks to improperly skew revenue to their advantage. They have lost credibility with me a long time ago.


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[netmeg]

You are aware, I hope, that Google is over 65% of search in the US and over 90% in Europe. You are aware, I hope, that without search presence one can hardly have any web presence of consequence, except possibly huge corporations.

Everyone can't be #1, or even on the first page. Even in a perfect world. So yah - find more channels, or suffer the consequences.