cc: Matt Cutts
From: FreshTrend.com
Subject: Was It Something I Did???
Dearest Google,
For so long now, you and I have had such a good relationship, but suddenly things have soured…was it something I did?
Years ago when I first came to exist on the Internet, you took me under your wing and slowly trickled some traffic my way. It made me feel so special to get your attention and made me want to know and understand you even more. I studied you day and night to see what it was that you were looking for in a site. I added new content, tried to be interesting and really wanted to help people out (I was, after all, created to help people find interesting gift ideas). Again, you noticed all of my hard work and I began to think that we had something really special.
But then this past week you suddenly abandoned me…(sob)…and I miss you. Just last year you told me that you would let me know if there ever was a problem, but for some reason you didn’t. Now I can’t help but wonder if what we had was as special as I thought…
I, of course, have heard stories of others wondering why you’ve abandoned them in the past, but almost always they’ve failed to follow your ground rules for a relationship. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’ve tried really hard to make you happy and have made sure to read and re-read everything that you’ve asked me to do.
So why then aren’t you holding up your end of things? You’re clearly telling me that something is wrong (ranked 50+ on my name) in our relationship, but what? Is it because I use affiliate links? Lots of sites use them and you still spend time with them, heck, you even own an affiliate network, so I don’t think it could be that. But then what is it?
There are a lot of sites out there that people use to make a living and it’s tough to suddenly have the rug pulled out from under you, especially when just a simple email or message could have saved us from ever getting to this point.
Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon,
FreshTrend.com
——————
The above message was simply intended to suggest to Google that they really, really need to start communicating better to website owners.
If a site is at risk of being penalized then, if possible, shouldn’t Google communicate with the owner? Of course, there is a fine line here because there can be little sympathy for websites that blatantly disregard Google’s quality guidelines, but what about those that don’t know they’re out of line or are in perhaps a grey area? I don’t think it’s asking too much of Google to fire off a quick email or to put a notice in a site’s Webmasters Central (in fact, I’m sure the entire process could easily be automated by Google engineers).
After all, it is the websites and their content that made Google what it is today. So, where’s the love, Google? You of all people should know that communication is key in a relationship…
