In an apparent latest volley related to the recent kerfuffle over JC Penney gaming Google search results, Google today announced a tool for users of its Chrome browser that lets them eliminate Google search results from dubious domains. Not only will the extension affect what users who install it see in their browser's search results, but Google's blog post about the extension goes as far as to admit that the company will consider data from its users to tweak everyone's search results.
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It remains to be seen what effect this toolbar will have on the increasingly dark art of search engine optimization (SEO), a field in which well-paid experts try to guess the Google engine's ranking algorithm in an attempt to raise their clients' position in search results. It was this type of effort that got both Google and JC Penney in hot water.
It started with a damning article in the New York Times describing how JC Penney allegedly manipulated unpaid, organic search results to make itself the top listing for numerous generic terms like "dresses" and "area rugs." The New York Times hired a search engine optimization firm, Blue Fountain Media in New York, to show how this was done.
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