Yesterday, Greg Sterling wrote an article named Deconstructing “Search Neutrality” which brought to light a overlooked claim by one particular site owner, claiming Google has whitelisted his web site.
Visit searchneutrality.org and read the paragraph midway through. Here it is:
You see that last line? It says Google’s site was whitelisted by Google after receiving a penalty and having a ton of bad press about it.
It was actually brought up in a solo post thread at WebmasterWorld in November, but no one really took notice. Or at least, I didn’t.
Michael Martinez found it strange that the SEO community did not react to such news. I agree, and I am partially to blame for not bringing this to light. In two forum threads, one at HighRankings Forums and the other at Cre8asite Forums, Michael said:
Does Google whitelist sites? Is it fair?
Google should go on record about this. I suspect when/if they do, they will say it was an algorithm change that results in Foundem’s reinclusion, but who knows. I’d like to see a comment from Google on the matter.
As Michael correctly points out at Search Engine Land, “Im surprised the SEO community hasnt made any fuss over that.”
Forum discussion at HighRankings Forums and Cre8asite Forums.
