Michael Zimmer.org

Wired Magazine reports on how search engine optimization expert Greg Boser manipulates search engine results. He complicates Google’s claim that PageRank “relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value.” From the article:

“The search engines live in a fantasy world,” Boser said. “Every link is a vote. But people buy and sell links.”

Although Google claims its “complex, automated methods make human tampering with (the) results extremely difficult,” that’s simply not true. Digital vote rigging is merely part of doing business, according to Boser.

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