I had a great conversation yesterday, with the owner of a New York based SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) business. We were talking about the way that Google penalises websites, if that site links to what Google calls a “bad neighborhood.” Here’s a brief clip from the Google Webmaster Guidelines;
“…avoid links to web spammers or “bad neighborhoods” on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.”
I find this extremely interesting!
What Google is doing there, is exactly the same as you and I do, when we see that a person, business or brand is associating with something that we believe to be negative. If Google believes we are linking to something dubious, it assigns less credibility to us. If we, as people, see that a person or brand is linking to something dubious, we do exactly the same.
Just about every book on personal or professional development, advises us to be very careful about the kind of people we associate with. I still recall getting into bad company as a kid, and then being accused of things I never did; simply because I was associating with the kids that were responsible for 99% of the mischief in our area. By linking with these kids, I was making it easy for people to think that I was “like” they were.
There are a number of good reasons for this sage advice. For example, if we associate with negative people, it’s all too easy for us too, to become primarily negative in our outlook. Conversely, if we associate with people, who are goal orientated and positive in their outlook, it’s a lot easier for us to remain primarily positive.
Be extremely selective who you align your name, reputation or online presence with.
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