Do We Need Google

Webmasters across the Internet spend countless hours preparing their websites to suit Google's latest algorithm changes, in the hope of achieving a decent Google page rank, or a handful of backlinks on Googles huge database, but at the end of the day.. does it really matter?

For those of us involved in any form of search engine optimization, we are led to believe that if our websites are not recognised and accepted by our new master, then we are doomed to failure. There are currently hundreds of tutorials available on the internet which offer tips, tricks and secret formulae in making our pages "Google-Friendly", and in a format that is acceptable to this Search Engine Giant. Yet who knows what is acceptable to Google and what is not?

During the last couple of years however, it seems ownership of the Internet has been surrendered to a new overlord! GOOGLE!

Google's algorithm changes are becoming more and more unpredictable and this deceit presents the potential for high damage to your profitability at short notice. In their Company Profile, Google claims that their mission is to "organize the world's information, and make it universally accessible and useful". It is questionable however, as to whether their methods offer the world free and relevant results for any search term, or whether they in fact, only present information offered by those

websites that adhere to Google's ever changing and secretive rulebook.

The Internet is there for all of us to enjoy. A free information system, with a level playing field when it comes to getting our websites noticed. Google's agenda now seems to be to present information from the highest bidders rather than delivering quality information to it's search pages. And what of "Google Ranking"? So much store is set by the importance of being ranked by Google, yet is it really that important?

The word Google is a play on the word "Googol", the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros, and whilst Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, coined it to reflect their company's mission to organise an immense amount of information, I believe that the company's new agenda is to organise that amount of dollars into their bank account.

I do however swear that they will get no help from me in so doing! I am now cured of my Google adoration fixation, and set about my SEO duties treating all search engines the same. One can do little more than present an informative, attractive and useful website, with Meta Tags to help all search engines. The Internet belongs to us all, and hopefully it will stay that way for the forseeable future.