The Curious Case of a SEO Expert Who Sees a Link Between Dining and DarkCyber
July 29, 2020
This is another “SEO Follies” write up by the DarkCyber research team. The essay falls into three parts: First, an explanation of why irrelevant backlinks are the rage among search engine optimization experts; second, how language becomes an irritant and a reflection on the search engine optimization company’s business methods; and, third, some reflections on the stupidity of some SEO or search engine optimization sales methods. I want to point out that SEO professionals mostly bilk unsuspecting customers by promising them that their Web page will be more findable in Google. If a company wants traffic, the company will either have to buy ads from Google or remain deep in a search results list.
The Quest for Backlinks
In my first Google monograph “The Google Legacy”, my research team and I compiled a list of publicly disclosed ranking factors. The list has been used by some universities in their information science courses (example: Syracuse University). The majority of these factors are recycled ideas from other search systems, research conducted by IBM Almaden (example: the CLEVER system), and common sense (example: the more links pointing to a Web page, the “better” that Web page is if one uses de Tocqueville’s concept of average as a way to determine what’s “good”).
The current rage for backlinks is little more than an effort to generate a false “good” score for a Web page. The present technique — practiced by charlatans like the Hustler who makes crazy videos and companies like the once prestigious Boston Consulting Group. Since The Google Legacy, two changes have taken place at Google. First, the company has expanded its grip on online advertising despite the best efforts of Amazon and Facebook. Second, the options for getting independent, objective search results from Google have decreased. The reality is that a business either buys traffic or pays a charlatan pitching search engine magic. Either way, a business has to pay for traffic. There are exceptions, but these are forced upon Google due to exogenous circumstances and most organizations cannot rely on an anomaly to publicize their existence.
The trend I have noticed is that requests for backlinks are coming more and more frequently. Here’s an example I received from a company in the UK authored by an SEO marketer delightfully named Izaak Crook. He wrote:
HI Sa,
How’s it going? I’m Izaak from AppInstitute.
I was browsing arnoldit.com and I noticed you’d covered Restaurant Technology before, linking to https://restauranttechnologynews.com/2019/07/online-food-delivery-fraud-increasing-can-tech-address-problem from http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/category/statistics/
I wondered if you’d be interested in checking out our post “7 Restaurant Technology Trends to Watch Out for in 2020”. We take a look at some of the key restaurant technologies to watch out for and how they’re going to change the industry.
If you deem it worthy of a link from arnoldit.com that would be a dream come true.
Either way, it’d be cool to discuss how we can collaborate in the future. Enjoy your Friday and speak soon!
Kind Regards,
Izaak
I had my team poke around and we learned that Mr. Crook (love that name, right?) works at a firm named AppInstitute. According the company’s Web site, the group develops “apps.” Why is an app development company wanting me to link to a story about restaurant fraud. Sure, DarkCyber covers cybercrime, but odd ball references just underline my point about SEO silliness and the belief among SEO experts that backlinks will get significant traction with the new, revenue hungry Google. (Sure, Google generates a great deal of money, but the company is smart enough to realize that the unregulated, anything world of the pre-Trump era is ending. Plus, Google costs are getting very difficult to control. Then Google has to consider the Amazon and Facebook advertising competitors. These companies are not Excite and Lycos.
The Language of the SEO World
In an email exchange with Mr. Crook (wonderful, evocative name, is it not?) he used this phrase:
Okay, Boomer.
I am a septuagenarian, 76 soon to be 77. I had to contact two members of my DarkCyber research team to get a read on the phrase “Okay, Boomer.” I was aware that a baby boomer described people born after World War II. From my team, I learned that it is:
- An age-biased slur when used to indicate that a person of age is out of touch with someone who is a thumbtyper, TikToker, and Facebook champion
- A derogatory term for a person who is older than a Gen X or Millennial
- An indicator that the person called a “boomer” is stupid, out of touch, irrelevant, a nuiscance, etc.
The team told me that if I were called a Boomer in a public setting, I could contact one of my attorneys and pursue the hate speech angle. Hate speech. Directed at a person soon to be 77. Over an overly familiar email asking for something for free.
The AppInstitute email is representative of the SEO junk I receive on a daily basis. I did not like the tone of the email and I was not happy to learn that boomer was a slur.
First, the familiarity of the “Hi” and the use of two of my initials indicates a certain casual mindset, a thought process incapable of understanding how familiarity is interpreted by someone like me as either careless or stupid. Call me old fashioned, but “Mr. Arnold” is what I prefer in business email.
Second, the reference to a Beyond Search/DarkCyber story about restaurants is amusing. I don’t write about restaurants; I eat at restaurants. Anyone who has looked at any of the more than 13,000 articles in this blog can figure out that feeding people is not one of my primary, secondary, or tertiary interests. I am not going to “check out” a frothy, probably substandard report about the restaurant industry. Apparently Izaak has not seen Yelp’s report about the state of the restaurant business. Here’s a story called “Nearly 16,000 Restaurants Have Closed Permanently Due to the Pandemic, Yelp Data Shows.” Read it, Izaak Crook. Yelp’s information obviates the need for a “report”.
Third, note the word choice. Izaak had a thesaurus handy I would wager or his prestigious employer provided him with a spam script and ready-to-roll bot:
One syllable fancy word: deem
Two syllable fancy word: worthy
Four syllable jargony word: collaborate
Then there were colloquial phrases like:
checking out
watch out for
going to change
dream come true
cool.
Izaak adds this thoughtful postscript: “Don’t want emails from us anymore? Reply to this email with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.”
The entire email screams spam, carelessness, failure to know to whom one is writing, and arrogance. Am I going to do something for an unknown entity named Izaak Crook without sending a bill? Answer: Not a chance.
My research team told me that the Izaak Crook entity is a person. He is the head of marketing and he is a T shaped marketer, a growth hacker, and an “SaaS fanatic.” He’s spent 14 months performing search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization for the first class outfit AppInstitute. He was a digital communications apprentice for a company called Champions UK plc. Before that he was a social media manager. I love the “apprentice” role as part of an SEO’s work history.
Now Mr. Crook (an evocative name, is it not?) markets the App Institute. A quick reveals that this top drawer outfit is an “AppBuilder for busy small business owners.” The CEO is Ian Naylor who is a serial entrepreneur. I have been told my one of my researchers that the company is small and seems to do many things, not just apps. SEO is one of those many things.
Stepping Back
I have written a number of blog posts, articles, and essays about the loss of relevance in ad-supported Web search systems. The erosion of relevance, to summarize, my conclusions is the result of three factors:
- A need to generate revenue in order to pay for indexing, updating, and serving answers to users’ queries.
- A desire on the part of marketers and webmasters to get coverage in search result pages without having to pay Google for traffic
- The more recent imperative of the ad-supported Web search engines to extend their control over flows of user behavior data.
In this environment, clicks, psychological tells via clicks, and surveillance technology mean that comprehensive data collection are essential. Traffic results from feedback loops and intentional presentation of certain content. Free visibility is not part of the game plan.
SEO marketing is going to fail. Some tactics may spoof Mother Google and deliver a short term boost. However, Mother Google wants SEO to fail because it forces the SEO wizard to herd those desperate for traffic into the advertising kill pen.
Who knows this simple game plan? Maybe the SEO expert who also moonlights as an ad sales rep for Google does? I surmise that Google continues to cultivate SEO professionals as part of the company’s ad sales strategy.
Why write me? Certainly Mr. Crook cares not a whit for my blog and content. He wants a link. He wants to make a sale. He wants to get the client to buy more and more SEO and then AppInstitute will probably sell that customer Google advertising and get a commission.
No thanks, Mr. Crook. I want no part of your SEO scam. I don’t want to help out AppInstitute. However, I do hope that the upcoming Congressional hearings lead to meaningful regulation of certain large high technology firms.
But we live in Rona times, and I must admit, the odds of ethical, responsible behavior are long.
And the links Mr. Crook (tasty, evocative name) wants? Here they are:
Izaak Crook: izaak@appinstitute.co
AppInstitute: https://appinstitute.com/
It seems to some of the DarkCyber team that “Boomer” is hate speech.
Slick marketing method indeed.
Stephen E Arnold aka “Boomer”, July 29, 2020
Alleged Business Practices of the Rich and Worshipped or Ethics R Us
July 28, 2020
DarkCyber spotted two separate stories which address a common theme. The write ups are “new age” news, so allegations, speculation, and political perspectives infuse the words used in each of these. Nevertheless, both write ups merit noting because two points are useful when a trend line may lurk in the slope between the dots.
The first article is “Google Spying on Users’ Data to Learn How Rival Apps Work: Report.” The article asserts:
Google is reportedly keeping tabs to how its users interact with rival Android apps, selectively monitoring how the users interact with non-Google apps via an internal program to make its own products better.
The article jumps to Google’s unique ability to see lots of data from its privileged position of being involved in each facet of certain markets: Channel, partner, vendor, developer, and customer. The operative word in the title is “spying,” but the issue is ethical and socially responsible behavior. Some science club members want access to the good stuff in the electronics supply door. Hey, cool.
The second write up is about everyone’s favorite online retailer, cloud vendor, and services firm. DarkCyber thinks the logo of Amazon should be the Bezos bulldozer. It landscapes the way it wants. “Amazon Reportedly Invested in Startups and Gained Proprietary Information before Launching Competitors, Often Crushing the Smaller Companies in the Process” is one of those stories whose title is the story. We noted this passage in the write up as additive:
Amazon met with or invested in their companies, only to later build its own products that directly competed with the smaller company.
Let’s assume that these write ups are mostly accurate. The behaviors are untoward because those duped, bilked, fooled, or swindled assumed that those across the table were playing with an unmarked deck and wanted an honest game.
DarkCyber sees the behavior as similar to a “land grab.” As long as there is minimal anti monopoly enforcement and essentially zero consequences in a legal process, the companies identified in these write ups can do what they want. DarkCyber thinks that the behaviors are institutionalizes; that is, even with changes in senior management and regulatory oversight, the organizations will, like a giant autonomous mine truck, just keep rolling forward. When the truck rolls over a worker, collateral damage. That’s how life works in the gee whiz world of high technology.
Stephen E Arnold, July 28, 2020
EU Wants Google to Promise It Will Not Use Fitbit Data to Enhance Search
July 27, 2020
We noted “Europe Wants Google to Pledge That Fitbit Data Won’t Further Enhance Search.” Let’s see what “pledge” means:
Your Dictionary says: “The definition of a pledge is something held as security on a contract, a promise, or a person who is in a trial period before joining an organization. An example of a pledge is a cash down payment on a car. An example of a pledge is a promise that you’ll buy a person’s car.”
Dictionary.com says: “A solemn promise or agreement to do or refrain from doing something:a pledge of aid; a pledge not to wage war. Something delivered as security for the payment of a debt or fulfillment of a promise, and subject to forfeiture on failure to pay or fulfill the promise.”
Wordsense.eu says: “From Middle English plege?, from Anglo-Norman plege?, from Old French plege? (Modern French pleige?) from Medieval Latin plevium?, plebium?, from Medieval Latin plebi?? (“I pledge”), from Frankish *plegan? (“to pledge; to support; to guarantee”), from Proto-Germanic *plehan?? (“to care about, be concerned with”). Akin to Old High German pflegan? (“to take care of, be accustomed to”), Old Saxon plegan? (“to vouch for”), Old English pl?on? (“to risk, endanger”).”
The write up says:
EU regulators are asking Google to pledge that Fitbit information will not be used to “further enhance its search advantage.” Another demand involves letting third-parties have “equal” access to that data.
DarkCyber’s comment: Ho, ho, ho. Guarantee? Data are ingested and processed. Ho, ho, ho. No humans involved. Ho, ho, ho. It’s an artificial intelligence system. Ho, ho, ho. Let the lawyers figure it out. Ho, ho, ho. Fitbit users buy products, and Google wants to sell like Amazon. Ho, ho, ho.
Stephen E Arnold, July 27, 2020
Remember The Day Your Psych Professor Explained Affordance?
July 23, 2020
I read “A Concept in Psychology Is Helping AI to Better Navigate Our World.” That write up contained an explanation of the “Theory of Affordance,” whipped up by a psychology whiz named James J. Gibson.
To be candid, I have zero recollection of Psychology 101. Two tests. Bingo. Done! Because my class convened in a big lecture hall, I was able to do other work as the professor, who struck me as crazy as a Looney Toons cartoon character, talked and talked and talked.
So the Theory of Avoidance means:
when intelligent beings look at the world they perceive not simply objects and their relationships but also their possibilities. In other words, the chair “affords” the possibility of sitting. The water “affords” the possibility of swimming.
I think of this in terms of “context,” but I passed the course, ignoring the psychobabble. I might add that many of the students in that course developed and manifested a range of behaviors, often in lockstep with the wacko’s lectures. Go figure?
The article is about Google DeepMind. That unit of the world’s most loved enterprise is embracing the Affordance thing. Good move. AI remains useful in certain use cases. In others, AI is mostly handwaving and a joy ride for those whose parents wondered if their budding genius in math would ever get a job.
The write up states about the Googlers:
The researchers set up a simple virtual scenario. They placed a virtual agent in a 2D environment with a wall down the middle and had the agent explore its range of motion until it had learned what the environment would allow it to do—its affordances. The researchers then gave the agent a set of simple objectives to achieve through reinforcement learning, such as moving a certain amount to the right or to the left. They found that, compared with an agent that hadn’t learned the affordances, it avoided any moves that would cause it to get blocked by the wall partway through its motion, setting it up to achieve its goal more efficiently.
What’s next? More money, time, and development.
AI marches forward on a floor which affords the opportunity to step on a humanoid’s foot or possibly a crawling baby.
Stephen E Arnold, July 23, 2020
Google Channels IBM: Batter Up, Not Tennis, Anyone?
July 23, 2020
The me too approach to innovation is amusing. IBM applied its marketing genius and the possibly less sparkling Watson to tennis. Now the Google has embraced baseball. “Major League Baseball Scores a Home Run with Google Cloud to Improve Fan Experience” reports that:
The oldest major professional sports league in the US, Major League Baseball, is making better use of data with Google Cloud to personalize the fan experience.
How is that fan experience right now, sports fan? Oh, right. There are limited fan experiences. Baseball lovers can watch some games from exotic countries excluded from the US World Series. That’s a filler like the extra ingredients in hot dogs at some minor league teams’ baseball parks.
There’s another foul ball. The big leaguers will use iPads, not Chromebooks in the dugout. What’s up with that, ump?
But the interesting part of the write up is not about baseball. Here’s the passage which snagged my attention:
MLB also has a project underway called Fast Ball, which Gaedtke [baseball big wig] describes as a fundamentally new approach to video for the game of baseball and its fans.
Again, without real life games, a “new approach” may be necessary.
And there’s more:
MLB is also analyzing fan touch points using Google Cloud across all of its operations to help understand how it can better serve fans.
Isn’t a touch point, “take me out to the ball game”?
The Google Cloud is there to create the “new approach” which seems quite similar to the IBM approach: Marketing fault? Looks more like two strikes and no balls.
Stephen E Arnold, July 23, 2020
Shoploop: An Advertisingly Mash Up of Mobile, Influencers, Amazon, and TikTok
July 20, 2020
Google has a secret laboratory. It’s not the moon shot outfit. It’s not the Camelot of 20 percent time. Don’t tell anyone, please. The real hot stuff comes from Area 120.
The innovators have developed a completely original mobile application, which will be arriving on desktops soon.
Google has blended short videos with product demonstrations. A dash of Google Local makes the innovation come alive, or as alive as short videos can be.
Yes, there was a Shoploop Web site and even a Facebook page. The secret name of the Area 120 innovation is not exactly original.
According to Google, Shoploop is an entertaining new way to shop online.
“Google’s New Video-Shopping App Is Like a Telemarketing Channel for Influencers” reports:
It’s no secret that Google has a tight grip on the online shopping market. From its Shopping section in Search, and its large ad network, to numerous product reviews on YouTube, the company has become a staple of online consumerism. And now the company wants to capitalize on its dominance in the market with a new shopping app.
Those are bold statements. DarkCyber’s inflows of information suggest that online shopping has undergone a bit of a shift in the last 24 months; namely, Amazon’s share of product searches has continued to increase. One source hinted that Google’s product search traffic has dropped by double digits in the last six months. Perhaps DarkCyber’s source has missed the email that Google has a “tight grip on the online shopping market”?
The write up explains:
Enter Shoploop, a video shopping platform for discovering, evaluating, and buying products all in one place. It’s basically like a social media platform built around product reviews and affiliate links. Users will be able to save products to check out later, or simply follow creators for more content.
Google, it seems, has invented a way to use people with YouTube traffic, product demos, short form videos, and a recycled name “Shoploop” to break through the boundaries of Japanese 20 something explaining how she spends her evening after work. Each of the food ingredients, slippers, and household objects can be purchased by a viewer.
A video Sears & Roebuck catalog!
The write up clarifies the insight:
Google says the idea for Shoploop came after its research showed that people often follow a very specific path to buying products. Once they come across something that catches their eye, they’ll often seek reviews from real people on other platforms like YouTube, and then circle back to an online shop to complete the purchase.
Gentle reader, you too can create videos, sell products, and ride the energy beam that will vaporize Amazon eCommerce. The write up reports:
At launch, the app will mainly focus on “categories such as makeup, skincare, hair and nails.” Google is also limiting access solely to content creators, publishers, and online store owners, but if you fit that description you can apply to be an exclusive creator by clicking here.
Imagine thousands of Twitch streamers abandoning the Amazon platform to create 90 second product demos. Think of the revenue flowing to Google if just a small percentage of Facebook users start making Shoploop videos. The curves in the Google Excel clone would make an MBA weep tears of joy.
DarkCyber believes that Shoploop is a revolutionary product in the manner of Stadia, not a bold move like Google Glass. You remember Google Glass, right?
Shoploop: Home shopping TV in TikTok format on a mobile device.
And advertising? DarkCyber did not overlook advertising. Everything Google does seems to focus on finding ways to put advertising in front of eyeballs.
But innovations like Shoploop can only emerge bright young minds combine ideas in Eureka! moments.
Oh, wait, a moment. Doesn’t Amazon offer videos like this one:
Yikes, Doesn’t Facebook do video too; for instance:
Area 120 has figured out the “me too” approach to innovation that’s evident. I definitely need a way to learn how to use male oriented cosmetics.
Stephen E Arnold, July 20, 2020
Google May Want to Spin Up Some New Jargon
July 20, 2020
Marketwatch published “Barr Blasts Apple and Google As All Too Willing to Cooperate with China.” The report states:
The criticism of U.S. companies came amid a broad speech on China, in which Barr said the Chinese Communist Party was seeking to “make the world safe for dictatorship” and accused China of waging an “economic blitzkrieg” against the U.S. in a bid for global dominance.
How has Google responded? We noted “Google’s Mission Is to Get Technology to More People: Sundar Pichai”, which is a short video. The article stated:
Google and Jio “would work together to increase internet access for millions of Indians, who do not currently have a smartphone, while improving the mobile experience for all.”
With testimony looming before Congress, Google’s alleged “fraternizing” with a country on the radar of the Attorney General and positioning investments in India as a way to improve “the mobile experience for all” does not capture several nuances about the 21st century of the Google:
- Google needs eyeballs to sell ads in order to keep Wall Street and stakeholders content. So “advertising.”
- Google appears to be keen on finding some way to generate revenue directly or on the periphery of the “China market.” So a country Google suggested change cannot kick the habit of thinking about revenue from the world’s largest market.
- Google seems somewhat disconnected from the increased scrutiny individuals like Mr. Barr are giving the company with the great booth give away: A Googley mouse pad.
Net net: A different PR spin may be needed. Hint: “For all” may connote Google advertising.
Stephen E Arnold, July 20, 2020
Google Has Done It: A New Microsoft Office in Gmail
July 17, 2020
I read “Gmail Redesign Turns It into a One-Stop Productivity Suite.” After 20 years of Office envy, the Googlers have crafted a way to out Office office. I have often wondered why Word’s many features are beyond my ken. I have marveled at Powerpoint’s fascinating interface, and I enjoy Excel’s propensity to generate erroneous results. Hey, it is just rounding stuff. Worry not!) Here’s how the new Office shakes out:
- The old Office stuff
- Video conferencing
- Many, many Google helpers like the remarkable Calendar.
Yep, the good old Microsoft Office has met its match for now. Everyone wants to spend his or her day within the fleshy arms of Mother Google and under her watchful gaze. Confidentiality anyone?
Stephen E Arnold, July 17, 2020
Google Alerts: Lost in Cyber Space?
July 16, 2020
Check out these headlines from my Google Alert for the phrase “enterprise search”.
The Covid angle is back. Who publishes this type of news? An outfit called Daily Research Chronicles. An outstanding SEO outfit? Maybe?
And how about these high relevance links to my enterprise search alert?
Silicon steel, analog cameras, and dental film.
Sure, the alerts are a free service. Sure, an item every week or three points to something relevant.
But the spoofiness of the service from outfits like Daily Research Chronicles begs me to ask?
What about those quality and relevance algorithms, dearest Google?
Stephen E Arnold, July 16, 2020
Google, the EU, and a Tap on the Nose
July 15, 2020
One of the DarkCyber research team spotted this article: “Google Fined $684,000 over Right to Be Forgotten Failure.” The idea is that an individual in the EU can ask Google to remove links. The write up reports that the Google was not playing “Right to Be Forgotten” by the rules. The failure to ignore the EU citizen’s request was allegedly “particularly negligent.” The Google will have an “obfuscation” of legal eagles (too bad crows have the “murder” collective noun and the stupid lark has “exaltation”).
Not surprisingly, according to the write up, the Google has been working hard. Good to know.
Stephen E Arnold, July 15, 2020
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