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I'm not sure how spankbang got on that list but it's hilarious. Is it really a common problem like pinterest and similar stuff on that list?

_fat_santa 5y ago
If there is such thing as being "too good" at SEO, Pinterest is "too good" at SEO. It's a common complaint with image search that Pinterest will cannibalize the results. What will often happen is someone will repost an image from a website or blog to Pinterest and then when you look for images of that thing, you get the image that was reposted to Pinterest instead of the OG image.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  It's supposed to be an adversarial system. Why does Google still provide Pinterest search results, given that if you follow them, you're not allowed to see the image?
  - jquery 5y ago
    I doubt Google wants to, but their users keep clicking on Pinterest's SEO'd results for "cute cake pop" instead of whatever non-Pinterest result Google serves up. Basically Google being outdone at their own game in this niche area.
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      Google special-cases their own stuff all the time. Why haven't they done that for Pinterest?
      - jquery 5y ago
        Who says they haven't? As to why they haven't totally blocked Pinterest, that would be pretty controversial given Pinterest paints inside the lines. edit: oh, I see the confusion. People misunderstand what Google image search is, how it works, and are blaming Pinterest for Google's ineptitude.
        chongli 5y ago
        People will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the practice of showing an image in search results and then hiding that image behind a login wall when users click the link would qualify as cloaking [1], a practice Google specifically prohibits [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloaking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloaking [2] https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/cloaking https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guideline...
        dspillett 5y ago
        Unfortunately this and similar rules are not well enforced. The only high-profile case I can remember was when they delisted BMW for a short while for blatant keyword stuffing.
        thaumasiotes 5y ago
        > given Pinterest paints inside the lines. Do they? They advertise images in their search results that you aren't allowed to see when you follow the link. It's some of the most paradigmatic black-hat behavior there is.
        jquery 5y ago
        You can blame Google for that, how on earth is that Pinterest's fault? Google is the one choosing an arbitrary thumbnail out of hundreds of images to represent "pinterest.com/cake-pops". Then Google uses that thumbnail to refer people to Pinterest, but doesn't tell Pinterest what thumbnail they used. Pinterest's hands are tied here. This is Google's fault, 100%.
        margalabargala 5y ago
        Well, considering that a user can't view the image, Pinterest is showing images to Google differently than to the average user. What Pinterest does by hiding the images is specifically against Google's policy. There's no question that Pinterest deliberately went out of their way to create the currently existing paradigm, to suggest their hands are tied and they are somehow a passive victim of Google rather than an actively malicious actor is ludicrous. It may well be the case that this is Google's fault and they are a malicious actor here as well as Pinterest, but Pinterest is blatantly malicious and does not draw within the lines.
- jquery 5y ago
  This happens because Pinterest is better at categorizing images than Google is. Google should just buy Pinterest and integrate them directly into their image search. Or partner with them so this doesn't happen. Or they could do what Bing did and just copy Pinterest feature by feature.
  - thetis 5y ago
    interesting, does that mean that there is a part of 'active' pinterest users who take time to add tags to pics, letting pinterest to categorize a lot of pictures and let the google ranking higher?
skocznymroczny 5y ago
At the moment it's one of my favorite websites of "this type", because they haven't done the content purge yet like the main sites did.

_fat_santa 5y ago

If there is such thing as being "too good" at SEO, Pinterest is "too good" at SEO. It's a common complaint with image search that Pinterest will cannibalize the results. What will often happen is someone will repost an image from a website or blog to Pinterest and then when you look for images of that thing, you get the image that was reposted to Pinterest instead of the OG image.

thaumasiotes 5y ago
It's supposed to be an adversarial system. Why does Google still provide Pinterest search results, given that if you follow them, you're not allowed to see the image?
- jquery 5y ago
  I doubt Google wants to, but their users keep clicking on Pinterest's SEO'd results for "cute cake pop" instead of whatever non-Pinterest result Google serves up. Basically Google being outdone at their own game in this niche area.
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    Google special-cases their own stuff all the time. Why haven't they done that for Pinterest?
    - jquery 5y ago
      Who says they haven't? As to why they haven't totally blocked Pinterest, that would be pretty controversial given Pinterest paints inside the lines. edit: oh, I see the confusion. People misunderstand what Google image search is, how it works, and are blaming Pinterest for Google's ineptitude.
      - chongli 5y ago
        People will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the practice of showing an image in search results and then hiding that image behind a login wall when users click the link would qualify as cloaking [1], a practice Google specifically prohibits [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloaking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloaking [2] https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/cloaking https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guideline...
        dspillett 5y ago
        Unfortunately this and similar rules are not well enforced. The only high-profile case I can remember was when they delisted BMW for a short while for blatant keyword stuffing.
      - thaumasiotes 5y ago
        > given Pinterest paints inside the lines. Do they? They advertise images in their search results that you aren't allowed to see when you follow the link. It's some of the most paradigmatic black-hat behavior there is.
        jquery 5y ago
        You can blame Google for that, how on earth is that Pinterest's fault? Google is the one choosing an arbitrary thumbnail out of hundreds of images to represent "pinterest.com/cake-pops". Then Google uses that thumbnail to refer people to Pinterest, but doesn't tell Pinterest what thumbnail they used. Pinterest's hands are tied here. This is Google's fault, 100%.
        margalabargala 5y ago
        Well, considering that a user can't view the image, Pinterest is showing images to Google differently than to the average user. What Pinterest does by hiding the images is specifically against Google's policy. There's no question that Pinterest deliberately went out of their way to create the currently existing paradigm, to suggest their hands are tied and they are somehow a passive victim of Google rather than an actively malicious actor is ludicrous. It may well be the case that this is Google's fault and they are a malicious actor here as well as Pinterest, but Pinterest is blatantly malicious and does not draw within the lines.
jquery 5y ago
This happens because Pinterest is better at categorizing images than Google is. Google should just buy Pinterest and integrate them directly into their image search. Or partner with them so this doesn't happen. Or they could do what Bing did and just copy Pinterest feature by feature.
- thetis 5y ago
  interesting, does that mean that there is a part of 'active' pinterest users who take time to add tags to pics, letting pinterest to categorize a lot of pictures and let the google ranking higher?

skocznymroczny 5y ago

At the moment it's one of my favorite websites of "this type", because they haven't done the content purge yet like the main sites did.