Guardian Plays Google Game, And Wins

It took a week for a writer to push a spoof web site to the very top of the Google rankings for the search term "eco-friendly flip-flops." An Google search for his term. That movement took place within hours of the creation of the inbound links. Even though it was a small test, Johnson contended it has much higher implications: Almost a fifth of all purchases made on the web are the direct result of an internet search, according to data monitor Hitwise - and more than half of those come straight from Google. This places an astonishing level of commercial power in the hands of one company. Google says it takes this very seriously, but it is an almost impossible task given the amount of information concerned. Email the author Del.icio.us") |