Dear Google, Please Add "User Annoyance" to your Algorithm
As a website owner, I'm completely confused about Google's algorithm. I think I speak for thousands of website owners when I say this.
No matter how much time, effort and money I put into doing things right by Google's standards, for the life of me, I can't seem to crack the code. From publishing keyword-rich content on a daily basis to optimizing my website with keyword-rich meta data to building inbound links from reputable websites to marketing my site every chance I get, my life revolves around trying to understand the intricacies of the Google algorithm (which, for all intents and purposes seems to be locked down tighter than Fort Knox).
Sure, I get some organic traffic from Google. Thank God, since I can't afford to buy any. Apparently I'm doing something right, right?
But when I do a Google search for layouts and backgrounds – the two most significant keywords driving traffic to MySpace customization websites like mine – I'm a blip on the search results radar screen. Actually, I'm a blip of a blip of a blippity blip.
Believe me, I'm not a sore loser. I very much respect the top ten layouts and backgrounds websites that have apparently deciphered the seemingly undecipherable code-based GoogScore thingamajig algorithm doohickey.
However, after visiting some of these sites, I'm astounded at just how unbelievably annoying they are.
For starters, it's virtually impossible to get past their home pages with all the pop-ups, pop-overs, pop-unders, pop-in-betweens, pop-in-front-ofs, pop-behinds and pop-in-your-face-when-you-don't-expect-it ads.
Once you're done playing the "skip this ad, skip this ad, skip this ad" game, it's time to play the "where the heck are the layouts and backgrounds?" game. A link that says "layouts" usually takes you to a section of the website that has absolutely nothing to do with layouts and everything to do with nothing remotely related to layouts. At other times, a link to "layouts" redirects you to another website where you once again play the "skip this ad, skip this ad, skip this ad" game, followed by the "where the heck are the layouts and backgrounds?" game, followed by the…well, you get the point.
To add insult to injury, most of these ads flash or talk or sing or buzz. Wonderful.
Dearest Google, I'm asking you to please add "User Annoyance" to your algorithm. In my opinion, non-annoying websites are far more valuable to Google searchers than websites that cause a user's head to explode. Sure, these eye-bleeding websites might have a million in-bound links and tons of content, but what this really means is that more and more Google users find more and more crappy websites with crappy interfaces and even crappier pop-in-your-face crap. The end result? More and more annoyed Google users.
I propose websites with a high UA (User Annoyance Score) be penalized and sites with a low UA get a boost in the rankings. Or is User Annoyance already considered part of a website's Content Quality Score? If so, exactly how does Google define User Annoyance as it pertains to Content Quality, and exactly how much weight does it carry?
Like I said, I'm confused.
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