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  4. Thumbtack Blatantly Violating Google TOS?

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Thumbtack Blatantly Violating Google TOS?

White Hat / Black Hat SEO
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  • kirmeliux
    kirmeliux last edited by Jul 21, 2014, 4:47 PM

    Hi,

    We have a business registered on Thumbtack so we receive their newsletters. I'm aware that review sites offering a "badge" or verification logo which links back to your profile is nothing new. But the email I received from Thumbtack is a fairly blatant attempt to game Google for popular keywords.

    I was just curious on your thoughts about this. I believe it was Overstock who did something like this and got slapped by Google pretty hard for a while. Could Thumbtack be heading down the same path?

    Image: http://i.imgur.com/FWPnmEP.jpg

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • Travis_Bailey
      Travis_Bailey @YairSpolter last edited by Jun 12, 2015, 12:44 PM Jun 12, 2015, 12:44 PM

      Ten. Years. Later. XD

      It is pretty interesting to note that they specifically state they've removed the 'bonus' internet points from Thumbtack profiles. I would imagine they were told it might improve their case. It's definitely a bit of a SWAG on my part, but even the goofy internet points may have been considered material.

      One could see how possibly having more 'internet points' may influence a purchase/contract decision. So that may be enough to support a materiality claim as well.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • kirmeliux
        kirmeliux @YairSpolter last edited by Jun 10, 2015, 4:33 PM Jun 10, 2015, 4:33 PM

        Yup. I just saw the article. Looks like they actually used my screenshot on it from last year. Glad to see they were punished. I hate when giant sites get a free pass on stuff like this.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • YairSpolter
          YairSpolter last edited by Jun 9, 2015, 5:39 AM Jun 9, 2015, 5:39 AM

          Looks like it caught up with them: http://searchengineland.com/confirmed-google-venture-backed-thumbtack-hit-with-manual-action-for-unnatural-links-222664

          kirmeliux Travis_Bailey 2 Replies Last reply Jun 12, 2015, 12:44 PM Reply Quote 0
          • kirmeliux
            kirmeliux @Travis_Bailey last edited by Jul 22, 2014, 6:37 PM Jul 22, 2014, 6:37 PM

            Sorry, the link is definitely follow and as you noted, an obvious exact match anchor. They're a huge site and are obviously aware of what they're doing. The link itself goes to the person's profile page and not a generic category page which is still pretty risky.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • Travis_Bailey
              Travis_Bailey last edited by Jul 21, 2014, 6:21 PM Jul 21, 2014, 6:21 PM

              It's pretty hard to tell if that's a followed link, what with the strike-out and all. Though I would say this falls into the link scheme category, given the exact match anchor text. Google has already been fairly clear that badge/widget links, especially those that pass PR and include exact match anchors, are seen as manipulative.

              So yes, it appears they're playing a pretty dangerous game. Though they may slide in under the wire until it comes to a manual review, or if it becomes so noticeable that it's filtered or hit by the algorithm. It definitely violates a few of these guidelines on link schemes.

              kirmeliux 1 Reply Last reply Jul 22, 2014, 6:37 PM Reply Quote 0
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