Marketers Begin Search For World Without Google

After Google's little message to the link-selling public last week, there seems to be a consensus: It was more of a warning shot than actual penalty, as traffic was not affected; and it is a reminder to diversify.

It's also a stark reminder of Google's power. Like it or not, Google can strong-arm you into doing what they want you to do, if you need a presence in the search engine results pages. If not, then – if you don't need Google – you should be running a seminar called "Life Without Google."

For most everybody else, the warning shot was nigh on bursting your eardrums. Once the din was done, webmasters – especially those of marketing sites – looked around to find everything eRobert Clough, whose site dropped from PR 7 to PR 4 over the past month, hasn't decided how much he needs Google.

Are we willing to risk losing the traffic Google sends simply because we don't buy into this crazy notion? Will we nofollow every paid link just because Google demands it? At this point, I don't know. It's a decision that will be made based on what is best for, and with the input of, our readers, advertisers, contributors and employees

A tough call indeed. But

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