Google Suggestion Spam

[triggerfinger]

Hi All,

It has come to my attention that its possible to game the Google Suggestion feature to show unflattering suggestions to a branded term. For example a search for "Lime Green Widgets" could show "Lime Green Widgets are fake" or something along those lines.

One of my clients complained about this, and it was compounded by the fact that while the suggestion appeared, once searched, there was no content in the SERPs to back it up. Looks like some form of spam to me.

Is there a way to combat this? Would an e-mail to Mr. Cutts be a viable option?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[indyank]

hmmm... interesting find...

[aristotle]

As you suspect, it's possible that this is the result of an organized planned attempt to smear the brand.

But it's also possible that it resulted from searches by members of the general public who had some reason to think that fake copies of the brand are being marketed.

[triggerfinger]

Aristotle:

Yes, in that case such a cause is possible, but in this particular case, I highly doubt it.

Is there any recourse for a brand that's potentially being slandered?

[tedster]

I'm surprised that you say "it was compounded by the fact that while the suggestion appeared, once searched, there was no content in the SERPs to back it up". I saw a lot of that kind of Suggestion disappear when Instant launched.

If negative Suggestions are getting through merely on the strength of search volume, then Google really needs to run a tighter ship. They already lost a court case in France earlier this year for this kind of thing.