Thread: Why Google threw Overstock in the penalty box

Web retailer Overstock.com, which never does anything quietly, fired off a press release Monday announcing its release from the "penalty box" Google threw it into after it was caught violating the search engine's policies.
What's the penalty box? It's the time-out corner where Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) sends naughty websites that have tried to game its search algorithms.

The vast majority of Google's search results are automated. But the company can -- and often does -- take manual action to bury sites that are running afoul of its rules. Google's powerful webspam team serves as its search referees. Incur their wrath, and online oblivion follows.

Overstock freed from Google's penalty box - Apr. 25, 2011

What a great mess google made for the webmasters LOL
They may have brilliant people working for them, it doesn't mean that they won't screw up.

Their business was only down 5%?
See, penalties by google in most cases do not cause death to the website.
But so many newbies who know no better worry to death about a penalty.
First thing they ask when someone has a site or domain for sale "is it penalized by google?".
Like that is the death penalty imposed by google.

Originally Posted by iowadawg

Their business was only down 5%?

I bet you that's not only 5%. Do you really think they will say the exact percentage?

Originally Posted by Natural Elements

What a great mess google made for the webmasters LOL
They may have brilliant people working for them, it doesn't mean that they won't screw up.

I'm not sure what the screw up was in this case?

Originally Posted by iowadawg

Their business was only down 5%?
See, penalties by google in most cases do not cause death to the website.
But so many newbies who know no better worry to death about a penalty.
First thing they ask when someone has a site or domain for sale "is it penalized by google?".
Like that is the death penalty imposed by google.

If you depend nearly 100% on Google's traffic for revenue, have no B plan, and no cash to keep you going while you fix things with Google then it is a death penalty. Of course, just being in the penalty box alone isn't a death penalty, and I agree most people are overly google-centered, probably even in niches where they don't necessarily have to be.

We should stop thinking of Google as internet Gods, and keep evaluating the case by case specifics.

Originally Posted by Natural Elements

I bet you that's not only 5%. Do you really think they will say the exact percentage?

I really hate how lying in public is considered normal nowadays. I would have more respect for choosing not to disclose information than choosing to lie.

That said, do we have any evidence they lied?

Originally Posted by memenode

I really hate how lying in public is considered normal nowadays. I would have more respect for choosing not to disclose information than choosing to lie.

That said, do we have any evidence they lied?

Mmm. Yes. Common sense!

Originally Posted by memenode

That said, do we have any evidence they lied?

There is no evidence but that is pretty obvious when your rankings fall from the top 3 positions to 40th and 70th position.

Do you really think that falling that much in rankings you lose only 5% ? It is not evidence, it common sense

The facts that the retailer Overstock.com when viral on all the mass medias for losing only "5% traffic" do not reflect the truth and I fully understand why they do not disclose the real number, because as a retailer myself you don't want to giveaway information about your business to the competitors.

Until recently, links to Overstock pages were among the top three results for such words on Google search results. By Tuesday afternoon, links to Overstock for those same searches dropped to between No. 40 and No. 70 in the rankings.

Google Penalizes Overstock for Search Tactics - WSJ.com

I don't know, maybe their business isn't that dependent on Google traffic. I don't know enough about them to judge. I suppose it's common sense, but there's a little bit of a distance between "common sense" and evidence. But no I don't want to beat that dead horse.

O,O, the big, big O...
They advertise heavily on television!!!!
Always have, seems they always will.
So I really doubt, with all their advertising on tv, plus the tons of advertising they do on the net, that google hurt them bad, just probably the 5% they said.

See, you all look at things the wrong way.
That if google penalizes a site, it is dead in the water.
That is not true at all.
Big companies will fight google, but they do the majority of their advertising off line.
Same with, and I have been saying this for years and years, small webmasters and new webmasters who do the smart thing and drive TRAFFIC to their sites and not at all rely on google for anything!

That heavy TV advertising was what I was alluding to, but Overstock doesn't brand in my part of the world so I wasn't sure. If they do have major TV and other branding though then 5% does begin to sound more plausible.

Evidence is better than "common sense" (more precise).

Originally Posted by memenode

Evidence is better than "common sense" (more precise).

If some people think evidences are only black and white on paper, they are free to think that way