Google Hell or Google Hello?

“The equivalent of putting the Earth’s population in order from tallest to shortest every few minutes.” That’s Google’s task. I pulled this from a Forbes article I found via Web Pro News. Web Pro News is commenting on the fact that Forbes ran a story about someone warning people about Google Hell. Apparently, someone who sold $3 million a year worth of diamonds and jewelry online saw their sales plummet when they got penalized by Google.

This is warning put out by this guy, but in the end I end up on Google’s side. This goes back to the quote I opened with. Yes, Google is a god. Yes, Google is making buckets of money, but consider the job they do everyday. Moreover, consider what they’re doing every second of the day. They are the biggest, best, fastest, most relevant (debatable) way we get information, and to stay that way means that Google has to be discerning when it comes to content and practices.

I have always said that the search engines make sense. The most helpful and useful information should always be returned first, and if it’s not, just give them time to clean it up, kick out the bad, and bring the good back to the top. Bottom line is that if you’re doing something that doesn’t feel right, feels like you’re gaming the system, or if you find yourself saying “Everyone else is doing it,” don’t be shocked when Google knocks you down. It’s like instead of being sent to Google Hell, it’s more like Google saying “Hello, you’re crappy site is hurting the rest of us.”
I honestly feel that good, relevant, unique, regularly-updated content is always going to be preferred by Google. Also, consider what’s happening in the social networking and online collaboration space right now. The search engines will undoubtedly start preferring (rewarding) content generated via these channels. Makes sense, right?