Definition and Examples of Paid Inclusion
– Paid inclusion can take many forms.
– Examples of paid inclusion include programs where only paid sites are listed.
– Paid sites can be intermingled among non-paid sites.
– Companies can pay for quicker review or inclusion of their websites.
– Paid inclusion does not guarantee top rankings, only inclusion within the search engine.
History of Paid Inclusion
– In the early days of search, paid inclusion was a revenue source for search engines.
– Google chose to avoid paid inclusion and focused on higher relevancy through AdSense.
– Microsoft and Ask ended their paid inclusion programs in 2004.
Google’s Incorporation of Paid Inclusion
– In 2012, Google reintroduced paid inclusion in a different form.
– Google Flights, Google Hotel Finder, and Google Shopping have new paid inclusion programs.
– Critics like Danny Sullivan criticize this move as a deviation from Google’s IPO principles.
– Aaron Wall criticizes Google’s use of paid inclusion for pushing organic rankings below the fold.
Mixed Views on Paid Inclusion
– Paid inclusion reduces spam and improves relevancy.
– Detractors argue it prioritizes economic interests over relevancy for end-users.
– Ask Jeeves reported reduced relevancy and ended its paid inclusion program in 2004.
Guidelines for Paid Inclusion
– The FTC advises search engines to clearly mark paid placement and paid inclusion.
– Companies like Nextag and Google are not legally bound to follow these guidelines.
Paid inclusion is a search engine marketing product where the search engine company charges fees related to inclusion of websites in their search index. The use of paid inclusion is controversial, and paid inclusion's popularity has decreased over time among search engines.
