Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Some think it's a good thing and others see lots of potential for abuse. Either way, if you rely heavily on organic traffic from Google to fuel your AdSense impressions, you probably will want to stay up to speed on this experiment.
Could this be the beginning of the end of search rankings as we now know them? Should we start discussing other means of getting traffic for AdSense purposes or from an AdSense perspective?
Also, wouldn't it be great if publishers could see a list of ads that appear on our sites and rank as "Promote" or "Remove"?
FarmBoy
This feature only affects the serps of the person using it, not everyone else's.
Do you really think that? I know that's what Google said but I see these features as some kind of vote, one more stat to consider in the algo...
This feature only affects the serps of the person using it, not everyone else's
What about a single computer used by many people?
Plus, I can already see people going around searching on every computer they come across and clicking "remove" by a competitor's search results. It might not impact rankings as Google says, but wouldn't that remove the result from others who use the computer in the future?
And those who use it are not likely to be ad clickers anyway.
I can see where it might be just the opposite. Someone who notices those icons and clicks on them might be more likely to notice and click on an ad.
FarmBoy
...that's what Google said but...
Someone who notices those icons and clicks on them might be more likely to notice and click on an ad.
Not my experience, visitors who notice my content or who are at all perceptive are seldom clickers, most clickers are the froth, the impulsive. You're entitled to your opinion and your experience, ad placement and content may be different.
[edited by: OnlyToday at 12:46 am (utc) on Dec. 18, 2008]
I can already see people going around searching on every computer they come across and clicking "remove" by a competitor's search results.
Doesn't it only remove the entry for the person who removed it, when you're logged into Google as that person? So, doing this on a public computer wouldn't gain you anything...
If it only affects one person, why does it say "You're the first person to pick this result"?
Google could keep cumulative user's stats on a link without having these stats affect the public SERPs. I know, as I say it, I don't believe me either.
What about a single computer used by many people?
You need to login into gmail account before you see up and down arrows. Are you suggesting that someone will leave her gmail account open all the time on a single shared computer? I don't think so. Google is pretty good at detecting this kind of abuses.
Plus, I can already see people going around searching on every computer they come across and clicking "remove" by a competitor's search results. It might not impact rankings as Google says, but wouldn't that remove the result from others who use the computer in the future?
What if you get millions of searches everymonth? Not possible and not worth my time, if I'm your competitor; I will focus on building quality content instead of wasting my time with up and down arrows.
The only defense against this kind of stuff is:
1) Build a strong brand image
2) Build a strong userbases, especially fans. More fans == more traffic from their blogs and social media.
You need to login into gmail account before you see up and down arrows.
Are you sure about that? Not only am I not logged in when I search, I don't even have a gmail account, and I see the arrows by the search results.
FarmBoy
You need to login into gmail account before you see up and down arrows.
Are you sure about that?
I see up and down arrows and do not have (or want) a gmail account.
Doesn't it only remove the entry for the person who removed it, when you're logged into Google as that person?
I have never needed to "log into google" to use their search.
SearchWiki lets you customize your Google Web Search results by ranking, removing, and adding notes to them. You'll see your changes whenever you do the same searches while signed in to your Google Account, or until you decide to undo them.
If you just have a trust issue with Google it's already too late, they know everything about you and you can't escape that. I don't believe that they would initially institute a new program with a hidden agenda though it's always possible that collected data could be used in the future for yet unforseen purposes.
Could this be the beginning of the end of search rankings as we now know them?
Search is Google's core business, so it seems unlikely that they'd hand over control of their SERPs to users and SEOs.
Also, wouldn't it be great if publishers could see a list of ads that appear on our sites and rank as "Promote" or "Remove"?
Sounds like a lot of work. Google might prefer that publishers spend their time building new pages (a.k.a. more places where Google can display ads).
Clean your cookie and try again! Or may be you have turned on google Experimental features. Just visit [google.com...] here and turn it off. But this is not displayed by default for sure.
It's time (for me at least) to think in terms of traffic, not in terms of rankings. Now I just have to bring some of my clients around to that point of view as well.
(I believe Google when they say that Search Wiki isn't going to influence search results - *for now*. I also believe it would be extremely naive to think they aren't somehow going to find a use for that information in the future)
I see up and down arrows and do not have (or want) a gmail account. I have never needed to "log into google" to use their search.
We're all Adsense users here, aren't we? You may not be logged into Google with a Gmail account, but if you're logged into the Adsense console with any address, it's likely you'd also see the personal SERP features...
It's time (for me at least) to think in terms of traffic, not in terms of rankings.
Forward to the Past!
...if you're logged into the Adsense console with any address, it's likely you'd also see the personal SERP features...
That's probably it. I log off of my Google account often to use third-party software with it and in particular to avoid coloring the results with my own profile, and I've never seen the SearchWiki icons when logged-off. I'd notice because that would affect the results, how much only Google knows.
We're all Adsense users here, aren't we?
yes
You may not be logged into Google with a Gmail account, but if you're logged into the Adsense console with any address
That's assuming that I have logged onto my adsense account before doing any searches.
However, you are aware (I AM assuming now) that Adsense can keep you logged in across browser sessions (as himalayaswater pointed out above). So, you may not have logged in today, but it's possible you still may be logged in from yesterday...
but it's possible you still may be logged in from yesterday...
I don't logon to adsense from this PC, so no.
