Google to Affiliates: Merry Christmas
09 November 2006 – 10:11 amEarlier this week, Google announced a pending Adwords Quality Score update. Word on the street is that started on Tuesday night. From trolling some of the boards, it’s looking similar to the last few updates — lots of affiliates lying on the ground screaming, like the beach scene in Saving Private Ryan.
I’ve noticed in the past few months lots of the sorts of stuff that got previously kicked, working their way back into the ads. “Thin” landing pages, or what I equate to the the sort of sites that Google considers low quality were back in force during September and October. Their updates are definitely one-time events, much like the algo updates in the natural search of prior years.
For now, it appears that a churn and burn approach will work. Move stuff elsewhere and ride out a few months until the next update. It works for many though I imagine that the updates will eventually evolve to more of an ongoing process, so enjoy (if I can use that word) it while it lasts.
The more pain Google inflicts the more website owners, and affiliates, conform to Google’s idea of quality. It’s working on me. I hate looking over my shoulder for the Grim Reaper.
What’s your story? Did you get hit?
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4 Responses to “Google to Affiliates: Merry Christmas”
1 word - ouch!
By Jeremy Palmer on Nov 9, 2006
Churn and burn is still widely practiced. Each time there is a cleaning, there is a lull and then more fancy footwork for a couple of months. The issue is related to how much money these guys can make in such a short time. Obviously it is enough to make this kind of practice practicable. Good catch.
By Durk Price on Nov 9, 2006