It's official. Google hates me.

First came the rejection of my AdSense application for ClickPyramid.com. This I can almost understand, since ClickPyramid, while being totally legitimate in every way, is not unlike several other sites of more dubious distinction. The quoted reason for why it was rejected is that they have a ban on sites that either give dollars or "points" to people for visiting certain other websites. My website did neither of these two things but it skirted a fine line; as Google was both the jury and the arbitrator, I decided it didn't make much sense to make a stink with the poor customer service guy and let it go.

Then today a new bombshell dropped: ClickPyramid.com itself, which had been the first result when you searched for "clickpyramid", is no longer returned. If you type in "clickpyramid.com" you can still see the little stub entry that just links to the domain, but it no longer displays the title of the homepage or the meta description like it used to. Its identity has been erased.

My guess as to why this is the case is that somebody at Google decided I was trying to game their system. Obviously, ClickPyramid.com is meant to get people linking to it, much like every other of the thousands of directory sites on the net. And just like the other legitimate directories, I have implemented an editorial policy where I don't allow affiliate linking sites or adult sites to utilize the system. Even a cursory visit to ClickPyramid.com should demonstrate to users that I am not trying to scam anyone; I explicitly don't promise riches, don't use bold text or hyperbole, and don't ask for money or force reciprocal links on people. It is exactly what it is advertised as, a system for bloggers, small businesses, and organizations to advertise themselves for free on the Internet.

I think it's pretty dangerous that one company has so much control over the Internet. They can make or break websites at their discretion, and that is unfair to the thousands of little guys out there trying to eek out an online living. But this is not a simple rant about the rich getting richer and the grass suffering when elephants fight. I have a proposal to make.

One of the huge problems Google faces is that the sheer size of their index means that they must rely on automated methods for much of its upkeep; this means PageRank, link counts, and the like. When humans do get involved with their process it is only to do the pruning of supposed charlatans like me. They hide behind obscurity of their algorythms to deflect criticism, which leaves the have-nots in the unenviable position of having to argue with a computer if their site isn't listed where they think it should be, such as a search of its domain name. On the other hand, there are a lot of genuine scammers out there using automated methods to try to take advantage of Google's generosity in offering traffic to relevant pages. Google must have a weapon at their disposal to punish these people, and delisting is an obvious solution.

So how can we reconcile Google's need to protect its index from scammers with its responsibility (moral, not legal) to let small guys at least be listed? I think that they should introduce a system whereby sites that they have flagged as being potential scams recieve an automated email to a special address, such as googlecomplaint@domain.tld. This email should then ask the site to register with Google and give relevant information about their business, country of origin, name of the owner, etc. Then every month the site owner will be required to go to that form and fill out a captcha (those little things where you need to type in the word that appears in a picture) from a specific IP address or something like that to make sure the site continues to be listed. It would be somewhat onerous on the site owner, but that is okay, since for many of us it would be easier to do that than to be delisted. Once the site has a sufficient footprint online to no longer be in the delisting margins, this process would end and the site would occur in the search results just like any other regular site.

If Google can set this up, it would involve no more human intervention on their end than their present system. The PageRank system wouldn't be messed up, since the sites would still be of marginal importance. It isn't as if Google doesn't know these sites exist, it just chooses to not display them in a meaningful way.

Hopefully someone in Mountain View will read this an put it together as their personal project.

Any takers? :)