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I have been busy this past week writing articles for various sources about the recent update on Google. A number of people contacted me about the analysis I was doing and the report. Some were members of the Google Search Quality Team. I knew manual reports were done before - but after the documents they showed me regarding the reports they do and the compensation for doing the reports - I am left in a state of being pretty shocked. May be I have been naive for all these years but  I didn't realize that; Google outsourced the review and reconsideration requests to individual reviewers for a compensation Google's position in terms of checking qualification and experience of these "reviewers" was very insufficient at best, The three contacts I spoke to who had done reports had very little training or experience. I went through the GSQT REVIEWERS PDF (a very long and thorough document) that I was sent - with them. We went together through some sites I wanted them to review and their comments that came back were quite astounding to say the least and would have made many of you Mozzers laugh. Obviously I don't want to post said document online here.... BUT, I wanted to know if: a) any Mozzers had ever been part of such a group - the GSQT b) had any dealings with them - in terms of having your website reviewed and known about it. I knew about this group way back - like in 2005 or 2006 or sometime around then -  I was told at time it was stopped and Google had stopped paying these sub contractor reviewers. Please don't get me wrong here...  totally on board with manual reviews... I would just prefer them done by a trained team that possibly worked for either a professional company that maintain high quality review testing and standards - or for that matter GOOGLE employees that were trained. I just am a little unsure of them being done by individual subbies that get paid for the amount they do.  What if that subbie has got some skin in the game for a particular keyword? What if their knowledge about certain aspects isn't up to par or not tested on a regular basis. This space is always changing and as you guys ./ girls on this forum know - it can change pretty quick. I just would want all websites to be judged fairly and equally by a group trained EQUALLY and to the same standards. I don't care if this is a G team or not - I just want it to be a team that is trained equally and trained continuously as opposed to paying outside people based on numbers of reviews done. When the livelihood of a small business is the balance I don't want a commission hungry toe rag with one years experience being the gate keeper for me or any of our clients. Carlos

I posted some of this elsewhere but would like feedback from some of SEOMoz community. An author. Lets say she has a book out on Relationship Advice.
Lets say her book was even called Relationship Help, Advice and Tips. She promotes it for years on her website and implements an affiliate program to get wider reach. Affiliates link to it by the name of the book. One day she even gets a mention or two on a few Yahoo editorial type pages that reviewed said book. A few other very big name websites also link to her and even link to her (without her asking) to her domain no less and make the link say simply Relationship Advice. The links were in the body of the pages. Again, these were unsolicited reviews that she did not even ask for. In the old world - that was ok - in as much as unharmful to her site. In the new world she's toast. She has taken down the book pages she worked 7 years to build up. I don't even think that will help. People linked to her website and put "relationship Advice" in the links because that's what she gave and was an expert at. She didn't ask for those links.
2) A large well known web directory that many have heard of - choose to charge for inclusion into their directory. BUT - you can get a free link if you include some code on your website. A reciprocation that is well known. I have read many many articles and posts by many people over the years on this - and as far as I can tell that reciprocation model for free submission was OK. As long as directories didn't have search functions that served search results that were biased to paid link submissions they seemed to be ok. In terms of the free submission - I read a post way back by Matt that said as long as the directory wasn't asking for the reciprocal link in addition to charging for the submission - that was OK. So, scoot forward to 2012. Said directory has hundreds of thousands of links to it - due tot he reciprocal code that was on many of the free links. The code on the websites that got free links obviously promotes the directory by putting the main keyword in the link. ie "Web Directory". In this new world - is this OK ? That's what they do. They are after all a web directory? The company in scenario 2 with hundreds of thousands of links all saying virtually the same phrase - with the vast majority of the backlinks being from generated reciprocal links for free advertisers in its directory - they are doing FINE. Not hurt at all. The small business owner / author in scenario 1 - who had unsolicited natural links coming to her with anchor text detailing something she did and was an expert at - has gone from the SERPS. Should the company in Scenario 2 - that COULD DO something about the anchor text in the reciprocal links back to their website - now change the recip code so that it just says their brand name instead of "web directory" ? Should the author - if she ever regains from this hell - now have some kind of policy clearly stated on her website - that if any person is ever to link to her website ever again - they MUST only link to it with her name in the anchor text - and never link up words she is an authority on? How can she prevent that? So now is it up to the advertiser or the publisher to ensure we are all safe? If small business person Billy Bob inquires about a paid link on a website and the publisher dosn't tell him that the link may hurt his site and he does not not request a NOFOLLOW on it (because he is just a clueless business owner) - are they (the publishing website) liable for Billy Bob's site tanking if it does? Or is it the advertiser's job to be aware of all said issues - because I know the vast majority of Billy Bob's wouldn't be. How long has everyone got to "get in line"? There are many in the search community offering paid links on their websites in "Sponsored Links" sections - without the use of NOFOLLOWS and i don't see any devaluing of their advertisers websites. If rules are rules let everyone play them. Getting sick of the hypocrisy. I aim to get to Journeyman though just so I can get a DOFOLLOW link on this site 🙂 Incentives eh! Carlos