search engine domination

[Halfdeck]

I think Halfdeck summed this entire thread up with his 1st 12 words.

I can take a hint

Killing them - maybe, maybe not. Hurting them bad, contributing to their deaths, yes, I'm saying that.

Google isn't attacking porn. Google isn't attacking commerical sites, though sometimes I see Google pushing commercial sites off organic results and into PPC, depending on the search term (e.g. "who is Paris hilton" is probably biased against commercial sites (top results: wikipedia, imdb, askmen), while "cheapest paris hilton dvd" probably favors commercial sites (top results: hotfrog.com/products/, amazon.com, cduniverse/productinfo). In the former, a surfer is looking for information; in the latter, a surfer is looking to buy).

Google is attacking spammy tactics that promote useless products or thousands of similar pages promoting the same product. In the Webmaster Guidelines, Google makes it clear it doesn't like affiliate marketing sites (pages with ref codes) that don't provide a unique, compelling surfing experience.

If smaller LLs are dying, they're dying because they're affiliate marketing sites trying to be the 200th ebay or 200th youtube. When I think of Link Lists, I think of LOR, penisbot, tommy's bookmark, and a handful of other quality sites that have a strong brand. Do surfers really need hundreds of other LLs that offer less content based on a copycat business model?

If you want search traffic, it's time to think out of the box; the LL "seat" is already taken.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Halfdeck

Do surfers really need hundreds of other LLs that offer less content based on a copycat business model?

Certainly not. But that's the beauty of building any type of business when there is plenty of pre-existing competition. It's a long, rough road uphill, and one is more likely to fail than truly compete, but the possibility of success is possible - somewhat. (And I realize that I'm speaking from the position of never being successful.) I'm not sure if Google penalizes the newer, smaller link list, but I'm fairly confident that they favor Dave, Greenie, Tommy, and Emerald (SG). But is what I refer to as 'favor' merely due to the amount of content and inbound links or does Google have a secret list of trusted sites with a strong history of being what the surfer wants?

I very much agree with your thinking outside the box statement and I have some interesting ideas for my newest list. But I've been afraid of breaking too far from the pack of out fear that Google will suddenly drop me (though my ideas are nothing special) and that my fellow link listers will call me crazy. And then again, I think it could help improve the site from both a SE and surfer perspective. I'm conflicted.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

I'm not sure if Google penalizes the newer, smaller link list, but I'm fairly confident that they favor Dave, Greenie, Tommy, and Emerald (SG). But is what I refer to as 'favor' merely due to the amount of content and inbound links or does Google have a secret list of trusted sites with a strong history of being what the surfer wants?

Ok, so I've given this statement 30 seconds of thought and I don't agree with myself. If the big G favored the well-branded sites in some way, then wouldn't they always appear as the top results?

[Halfdeck]

But that's the beauty of building any type of business when there is plenty of pre-existing competition.

Useless, I agree - if your goal is to build a better link list than DD or penisbot. I don't agree if your goal is to build a site just like penisbot or LOR in the hopes of making money by replicating something that's proven to work.

If the big G favored the well-branded sites in some way, then wouldn't they always appear as the top results?

Google is like American Idol. The judges have little control over who ends up winning. Ultimately, voters decide the outcome. All you can do as a contestant is to please the crowd and hope you get the most votes.

Wikipedia never bothered with one link trade, reciprocal link, or content submission but millions of people feel compelled to link to it. And those votes help Wikipedia rank on the first page for everything under the sun. Even a deep page about Splinter Cell is TBPR 6, which reflects the overwhelming visibility and popularity of that site.

The big LLs have an edge (more trust, more organic IBLs, higher visibility), but they don't have a lock on their front page positions because Google doesn't trust them completely.

For example, linking out to free sites that have iffy linking profiles (e.g. reciprocal linking with 30+ sites on domain root) will hurt your SERP ranking and lower Google's trust in your site, but I'm guessing all free site reviewers accept submits without checking the outlinks of the domain a free site is on. Notice how all outbound links on sites like Technorati and del.icio.us are indiscriminately nofollowed? A high quality paid directory will not nofollow links but they check submitted links more thoroughly and they charge $100+ per submission.

Penisbot's low home page TBPR 5 is a reflection of Google's lack of trust in that site. I mean, c'mon, 316,000 IBLS (according to Site Explorer) and only TBPR 5 (medium PageRank)? A Googler's new blog (vanessafoxnude.com), only a few months old, is already TBPR 7. That tells me none of the IBLs to her site are being devalued (and why should they? They're all editorial and one-way, no ABA, ABC crap).