Text Link Selling sites ranking in Google

[sunnyujjawal]

If Paid links are against Google search guidelines, then why some sites still ranking good in Google on keywords like:

1. get text links
2. buy links
3. get backlinks

Such sites are openly selling text links as an affiliate program or through publishers.

Is panda or Penguin not for such sites?

[londrum]

why shouldn't they? if a site sells links, does that suddenly make all their content bad?

a good site is a good site... the everyday public dont care whether they sell links or not. they are probably not even aware of what that is.

if google have got any sense they won't demote a site that's popular with the public just because they sell links.

what they SHOULD do, is just ignore the links.

[netmeg]

I don't think anyone wants Google evaluating content more than they already are.

If those are the best sites returned for those queries, then, as long as they're in the index, they should be returned for those queries.

[Robert Charlton]

Except in extremely rare cases, Google takes a hands-off approach with regard to the viewpoints and subject matter of the content it returns....

An explanation of our search results.
http://www.google.com/resultsinfo.html [google.com]

Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google.

Search engines are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the Internet...

With regard to Google's search quality guidelines, they are about whether the page or site violates Google's algorithmic guidelines, not whether the subject matter talks about violating them. If Google banned the latter, then all blackhat SEO discussions, perhaps even darker shades of gray, would be censored.

What's amazing to me about these text-link ad sites, though, is that webmasters will buy links so openly advertised and assume that they will somehow fly under Google's radar.

[sunnyujjawal]

@Robert - But this is not quality solution from Google (A single notification)

[Robert Charlton]

But this is not quality solution from Google (A single notification)

For reasons I describe, algorithmic censoring of content, IMO, would not be a "quality solution" either. Between the two approaches discussed, I'd pick the notifications. I don't feel that "a single notification", though, is all that Google is doing to address what it feels are the distorting effects of paid links that transmit PageRank. The notifications are one aspect of a many-faceted approach.

It's worth noting, btw, that Google AdWords apparently does not accept ads from text link sellers. See further discussion about that in this thread in our AdWords forum...

Did Google just try and snuff out my business?
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adwords/4396458.htm [webmasterworld.com]