Google Knol is Behaviorally Targeting & Ranking well!

Written by Wil Reynolds 38 Comments < back to blog home

Just thought I’d let everyone know, that on a search for how to backpack in Google is showing a top 5 result for Google Knol.

There are many who have covered what Google Knol is you can see what it is here and here these are my favorites, Aaron Wall has started his SEO basics Google Knol.

No need for intros here lets get to the MEAT!

Google SERP

Google ad

I did the search above and got a result that showed the Google Knol page in the top 5!

What was interesting is the text ad that showed on the “How to Backpack” Google Knol:

You probably are thinking…what’s the problem Wil?

Here’s the problem…the ad for a CMMS/EAM software appears to be BEHAVIORAL, yes I said it. I was logged out of my account when the ad showed.

I only visited that site because I talked about how they are spamming in a tweet.

This sounds like behavioral targeting to me in some way, shape, or form. Why else would a Google Knol page show an UNRELATED ad (I was on a backpacking page) for something I searched for and a site I visited almost 22 days ago?

I would be shaking in my boots if I was a content producer who relies on Google Traffic, I have a wise friend who is trying to minimize his reliance on Google for traffic and it is a smart move, actually what is funny is by working to minimize Google referral traffic as an overall percentage of traffic he’ll be doing the RIGHT things (like engaging with the community, producing tools and API’s) all of which will make them more credible to Google and help them to have good rankings!

Posted: 07.24.08

< Previous Post

Next Post >

Dan

FWIW, I get the same ad when I go to that page after doing the same search.
http://www.annehaynes.com Anne Haynes

I am so bugged by knol right now. I’ve been working with a friend on trying to get into the secret community. Every thing I publish turns to dust! Article – good content articles aren’t sticking. Have you had any luck?

Great post!
Gab Goldenberg

Messed up. Any idea why/how it came up? Were you browsing in FFx? I’m assuming yes since you have SEO for Firefox screenie. I’ve seen situations, logged out, where Google seems to personalize shit; I think it’s through Mozilla or GG toolbar.
Gab Goldenberg

Be interesting if you clear cache, private data, cookies etc, in both FF and IE and then revisit with both browsers and see what’s up. Visiting through a proxy might also be revealing.
Dave

Nice catch Wil. I visited the site, then the Knol almost immediately after and of course got the same ad. But this evening on a different computer I visited the same Knol and got a completely irrelevant ad for “Pitch Perfect Audio” which is a stereo site – or so the ad says. Maybe just piss poor targeting?
http://www.seerinteractive.com wil

@Dan, wow that is REALLY weird now, you get it too? Hmmmm.

@Anne I haven’t posted anything yet. But it looks like with what Aaron wall is doing is he’s trying to get others to work on his entry for SEO basics as some kind of contest, maybe you need a certain amount of participation??

@Gab you know I should have done that, but now it is late and I am about to crash (long flight)…what I like the most about clearing the cache and cookies and all that stuff is you cna see what google is up to in tests. next time you buy a new computer, do it you’ll be amazed to see the placement of ads. I have seen video on the right had side in a paid ad slot, I’ve seen books over there too. I have also seen video next to froogle results after going about 4-5 listings down, all because I wipe a computer or buy a new one and see all kinds of craziness.

@Dave Thanks Bro. I don’t believe that Google does a lot of mess ups when it comes to data. They know what they are doing!
Dave

Wil, Let me restate the targeting point – its more on the advertisers keyword selection & account structure and how Google targets those keywords. We’ve done a lot of content network tests and have seen some completely off the wall placements, such as a “fitness machine” keyword targeted ad appearing on a construction machinery site – Google targets single words in a selected keyphrase. maybe that’s what is happening here?
http://www.smart-keywords.com AussieWebmaster

I am also starting to see a few Google pages starting to show in results… and no major links going to them
chris

same ad here, probably b/c they don’t have it synched with contextual algo and adsense that well yet

but that page is now ranked #1 for me .. can anyone explain how?
Pingback: house content is favored by the Google algorithm - further proof that Google stacks the cards in their own favor « The Analytics Guru
http://www.winningtheweb.com Gyutae Park

Great find, Wil! It looks like the listing has climbed to #1 now… It’ll be interesting to see how Knol will rank in relation to Wikipedia in the coming months.
Pingback: Web Knowledge Hub :: Google Knol - Google’s Latest Attack on Copyright
Pingback: Google Knol - Googles Latest Attack on Copyright
Pingback: Google Knol - Googles Latest Attack on Copyright | Search Engine Optimization Blog
Pingback: Surprise Surprise - Google Knol Ranks Well in Google!
Pingback: Do You “Knol”? Utilizing a new Google Offering | BloodhoundBlog: National real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments
Pingback: » Google Knol - Google’s Latest Attack on Copyright
Pingback: Wikipedia mai tare decat Knol
Pingback: Interesting Knol Links | Webatlantis
http://www.seerinteractive.com wil

@dave Oh, I get it buddy, well sure it could just come down to POOOOR targeting / ad structure, but it was quite coincidental that it was a site I have visited a few days before for a term that was totally unrelated to the page.

@AussieWebmaster definitely getting worse NOT better, keeping an eye on it!

@gyutae Wikipedia is in trouble – if I was a top wikipedia user and had a chance to make some $$ for my work by sharing revenue w/ Google I’d do it.
Pingback: yuvarlak.net » Blog Archive » Surprise Surprise - Google Knol Ranks Well in Google!
http://aldebaranwebdesign.com Jill

I just checked and it’s now ranking #1. And it has a page rank of zero? Wow, this really does seem like preferential treatment, I’m sorry to say.
fmk

Maybe I missed something somewhere, but don’t you think it’s just because this Ryan guy is a software engineer (if you look just next to his photo on the right he has that listed)? I don’t think it’s behaviorally targeting us the searchers, but rather by the source text (i.e., Google thinking that software engineers might be reading this page because another software engineer wrote it and therefore bringing up ads for software development). Just my two cents worth …
Pingback: Observing The Knol: Search Results
Pingback: Google Knol - Google’s Latest Attack on Copyright | Trinitude Network
Pingback: Write a Knol. Get Some Traffic. Â» WebRampage!
http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=121764 Lindsay Hogan

Yes mike you are right knol pages are ranking high and even crawl. I have not gone through it but one of my friends pages is always appearing at front page for many keywords. Well i will start research on it and try to come up with some more clarification.
Pingback: Google Knol - Google’s Latest Attack on Copyright : AllFeedz
bummer

It appears Google has decided it no longer needs content creators. There is now enough creative commons content out there, combined with the huge flow of words from corporate pr departments, that Google can just sit on the mountain of existing data and serve it up with whatever ads it chooses.

As an ethical content provider I am highly insulted by what Google is doing. I’m shutting down about half of my Adwords accounts over the next month. And I am changing the Adsense Ads on our content sites to affiliate and other advertising links.

My friends, it seems we have created a monster so big it cannot help but become evil. It’s time to go small again, find the smaller players who want our fresh and real content. It’s time to leave the behemoth of Google behind. After all, it was the geeks and media that made Google, we can make the next Google too.

Signed,
a disgruntled content producer
CMS Medical

I think higher PR blogs always rank their new content well on google. What we have to really look for is if Knol content for big search words will be high ranking or not.
Pingback: 40+ Metric F***Tons Of Awesome Resources | SEO ROI Services. Need an SEO Rockstar? Contact Us. Prices $3K-$10K/mo
http://www.seerinteractive.com wil

@CMS Right – if it ends up being kind of wikipedia-esque, I think we can all expect to see it ranking well for big keywords much in the same way that wikipedia ranks well for so many big keywords themselves. Still waiting for all of this to shake out.
http://www.enginehounds.com Carolyn Price

Heck, I’m still trying to get over Google delivering mindless tweets in the SERPS. Now this.

I get that ad for other keywords too. I get it for buttermilk pancakes, which is the phrase NY Times tested in their Knol article.
Pingback: Surprise Surprise - Google Knol Ranks Well in Google! | blog post
Pingback: My SEO Secrets by Wil Reynolds of Seer : Vastplanet Blog - Internet Marketing
Pingback: Google Knol - Google’s Latest Attack on Copyright | Search Engine Optimization for better search rankings
http://www.dallasprowebdesigners.com Dallas Web Design

I agree it does sound a little targeted. The have the technology power and the motivation to target. Hell their tool bar is a billion dollar a year industry collecting data about were we go and what we do online.
http://www.dallasprowebdesigners.com Dallas Web Design

Oh one more thing about the subject is I do know for a fact hat they are about to launch another project that will start serving adds to those not even logged into their iGoogle account. If it happens there will be a lot of debate and controversy about it all. I just hop eour company is ready and is ahead of the game when the change happens.

Blog