March 24, 2016: Google’s new requirement that product review bloggers disclose their paid relationships — and no-follow their links — has caused a stir in both the SEO and blogger communities. Reactions have ranged from quiet acceptance to noisy frustration.
Here are some of the more pungent comments on Google’s big change:
“That Google has decided to make this reminder now makes me think they have hit another one of those “enough is enough” points like they did with guest blogging before hitting some guest blog exchanges with some kind of penalty.”
–Nick Ker, commenting on SEORoundTable.com
“We’ve recently seen a strong increase in companies using bloggers for artificial link-building like this, not only to company sites but other properties like product pages and social media accounts, so it felt like the right time to start a conversation.”
–Unnamed Google spokesperson, quoted on TheSEMPost.com
“There are a LOT of companies using this model to rank in top position. ”
–Gable, commenting on SEORoundTable.com
“Free products have been considered payment for links for at least 4 years. I got a warning about a software review that long ago. Not sure how (Google) knew about the freebie – it wasn’t even a good review.”
–Jerry B., commenting on SEORoundTable.com
“Often, when Google publishes best practices around nofollow usage, weeks later, Google sends out manual actions penalties for those who do not practice them. So be warned.”
–Barry Schwartz, writing on SearchEngineLand.com
“It will now be up to these bloggers to trawl back through their site content and make sure every link back to a supplier is tagged as nofollow, and every relationship with a brand highlighted clearly.”
–Richard Towey, writing on PerformanceIn.com
“I bet the number of bloggers that have absolutely no clue what a nofollow link is, far outweighs the number of bloggers that do.”
–Libby Bearman, writing on BrowserMedia.co.uk
“Stuff like this is great to keep SEO trainers busy, because it’s one more reason that the average person cannot possibly hope to keep up with Google’s “best practices” without some guidance. ”
–Ross Barefoot, writing on SearchEngineAcademy.com
“Many bloggers, particularly those that have been going for a long time and who understand the risks, will choose to still use followed links – maybe just occasionally – so they can still work on interesting brand opportunities that require them.”
— Kelly, writing on SussexWithLove.co.uk
“It’s incumbent on marketers who send bloggers free products to ensure that those bloggers follow Google’s best practices and FTC regulations. It’s the ethical way to do business.”
–William Comcowich, writing on CyberAlert.com
“Missing out on a free hairbrush is much better than Google penalizing your website in search results and you losing 100% of your traffic.”
— Rachel, writing on LifeUnsweetened.com
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