Keyword Stuffing: Is eBay Spamming Google?

Filed Under Industry News & Analysis

A relatively basic technique of manipulating a web page’s ranking in Google and the other search engines is called keyword stuffing. According to Google:

“Keyword stuffing” refers to the practice of loading a webpage with keywords in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in Google’s search results. …Typically, these will be lists or paragraphs of keywords, often randomly repeated. … Filling pages with keywords results in a negative user experience, and can harm your site’s ranking.

It’s not uncommon to run across pages web pages when surfing the ‘net that attempt to influence or manipulate their rankings in the search engines by using keywrod stuffing Usually, you will see this technique manifest itself in a list of keywords included at the bottom of a web page with some sort of subdued font color.

According to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, this kind of activity is frowned upon. Specifically, they advise webmasters:

Don’t load pages with irrelevant keywords.

Well, you can imagine my surprise when I noticed that eBay was using keyword stuffing on some of their pages!

Here’s a screenshot of the text that appears at the bottom of the Collectibles page under Finding 2.0 (click the screenshot for a larger image):

Here’s another instance from the Clothing, Shoes and Accessories page:

Look at those screenshots (for brevity’s sake I only included two - there are more), pretend you are eBay, and ask yourself the same question Google suggests that webmasters consider:

Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?

You can only reach one conclusion – eBay is trying to influence their search engine rankings by keyword stuffing.

Wow! Considering that eBay has made it pretty clear in their Search & Browse Manipulation Policy that attempts to influence their search in this manner won’t be tolerated, I find it extremely hypocritical that they would employ a technique that is designed to do the same in Google’s search results. eBay’s FAQ’s tell us to:

Leave out any information intended to manipulate or deceive search and browse results.

Yet they can’t seem to practice what they preach!

I find it interesting that eBay discourages Search & Browse manipulation techniques because…

Activities that make it difficult for buyers to find the items they are looking for result in a poor shopping and finding experience for buyers.

How similar is this to why Google doesn’t want webmasters to employ keyword stuffing techniques?