Sunday, 7 May 2017

Week 4 - 08.05-14.05.2017 - Combating Web Spam with TrustRank

This remarkable article describes Google algorithm the PageRank and the TrustRank up to date 2004. Lots of changes in the world happened since this year but this is important to know foundation of this greatest company. Many software engineers tries to fool Google algorithm making spam sites and manipulate with contents. However Google developers continuously fight to become global leader with providing search information categorization. I would like to start discussion to retrieve information from you about news in this topic.

http://vldb.org/conf/2004/RS15P3.PDF

1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?
4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?
5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?

31 comments:

  1. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
    Google is no longer just search engine company it is right now advertising company and its algorithms like page rank are not developed for purpose of accurate searches for advertising income maximization. SEO is attempt of not paying for google Adwords nothing more.
    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
    Yes it is optimal if you ask if google is making some decent money on it
    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?
    yes, all seems to be popular ways to fool google juggernaut
    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?
    At this point nothing comes to my mind
    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?
    In my opinion google will stay largest advertising company for quite a long time

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    1. Thank you for your short and precise answers. I know that topic isn't to advanced for scientist like us but I would like to share this very interesting paper.

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  2. Thanks for Your Article,
    1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
    So I met, I used to have a web related company.
    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
    It was still being developed in the past, the matter is debatable.
    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?
    Yes I heard, eg. Copy the content of the website and paste it on my site as white text. These are mostly illegal activities.
    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalog Internet cites?
    Yes.
    5. Are Google going to stay global leader in future?
    I think yes, they were first and they are the strongest. The company is based on algorithms created by the father of one of Google's founders. Microsoft's Bing never came close to the Google result.

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    1. Bing algorithm provides me answers like Google in the past. To be honest I recently don't use search engines to often so I can't debate about differences between those tools.

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    2. I once heard about the Bing affair. It is true that he gave the same results. :)

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  3. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?

    Of course I did, as IT specialist it is hard to say no. I used it when creating keywords to several webpages or while using adwords.

    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?

    It is not bad, but as we all know, every algorithm can be further optimized.

    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?

    Of course, many times and long time ago, people typed carelessly copied text repeatedly to increase the number of keywords used. But today it is impossible and unacceptable, google is carefully checking and it is impossible to have anything like that. Such pages are blocked and removed from the search engine.

    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?

    I did not delve into this topic.

    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?

    I think at present moment there is no serious competitor. Once upon a time people have heard of bing and yahoo but today they are just a history. I can not imagine returning to those search engines. If I'm not mistaken, in Asia there is another search engine that is popular. So maybe they will become popular in other places as well.

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    1. True, as a $500bilion company hardly anyone could endanger Google position on market. However local search engines or potential new algorithm development can make a difference in Internet.

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    2. Errata: Google is $100bilion company. $500bilion company was Apple few months ago. Please excuse me for the mistake.

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  4. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
    Yes I did, altho I think it's becoming more a science than putting "white text on the white page". Current state of SEO is more about data mining, keyword position tracking etc.
    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
    The paper is more than decade old it's not optimal as it requires human feedback.
    I would say we are beyond that point and tracking spam pages become day to day operations of Search companies.
    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?
    Yes usually you call it SEO optimisation. There is a part which site owner wants to be fully compliant with Search engines but there is also black hat SEO practices which are aimed at tricking Search engines.
    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?
    Yes, people are working on new algorithms all the time and companies which are defining new quality in search algorithms usually are bought by google.
    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?
    Nothing is forever, Google is a leader and there is a great distance to the next player in the field but I don't think they'll stay there forever within a time it will be smaller entry barrier to the field also there are new paradigms to the field. It might be one day someone will come with new idea to do exactly the same but 100 times better. Google will stay as a global company like Microsoft but there will be more and more alternatives.

    Thanks for the article,
    Maciek

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  5. Piotr – thanks for your article. I think everybody who uses the Internet is in touch with search software. These days software as SEO are the most important issues on the Internet. A web search engine is a software system that is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are generally presented in a line of results often referred to as search engine results pages (SERPs). The information may be a mix of web pages, images, and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained only by human editors, search engines also maintain real-time information by running an algorithm on a web crawler. About TrustRank algorithm and question about its optimality it is too hard to answer on this stage. I am not a specialist in this field and this article is not enough to provide complex information about this algorithm. I only sometimes read articles about IT security and cyber defence on the Internet but the problem with site modification is very popular about hackers’ activities. In my opinion this attack method will be used until common users will be too confident taking into consideration the information on the Internet. If somebody is interested in new trends about SEO please find this site: searchenginewatch.com to improve your knowledge. Finally I reckon Google will be still a global power about search technology on the Internet because it has powerful software, user friendly.

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    1. Thank you for your topic introduction and I am very glad to hear once again about this great page. It's very difficult to remember all this pages until hubs like searchenginewatch.com are remembered somewhere in the Internet.

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  6. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?

    The same as the preceeding speakers, I am acquainted with SEO subject and I did make use of it when fulfilling my business-as-usual duties.

    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?

    I do agree with Cezary, each and every algorithm can be improved, but the algorithm mentioned above is a very decent one.

    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?

    The problem of site modifications attempts made to manipulate the search results is something we encounter everywhere on the Internet. The only thing that IT specialists can do about it, is to try to mitigate it and do everything they can to stop these kinds of scams.

    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?

    Not really.

    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?

    I think so. Google is so far ahead its competition that it will take years for it to keep up with Google. For the time being Google is definitely safe on its leader position.

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  7. Google is humbly speaking going to stay for a little bit longer even if someone introduce better algorithm. I am not very aware about method you describe in answer 3 but I hope we could talk more about it in the future.

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  8. Hello Piotr, thanks for such an interesting topic.

    1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
    Unfortunately, my work is not connected with any web technologies which presented outside the company so we just don't need to use SEO. Of course, I have heard about SEO, however, I was never really interested in how it works. As it has been mentioned, it seems that the algorithm is based on an amount of money a company is willing to pay for an advert.
    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
    Regarding the year the article was released it probably can be further improved. Despite the fact that it was sustainable a decade ago it is possible that it is not sufficient today.
    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?
    I have heard something like SEO optimisation. This affects the visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine's unpaid results.
    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?
    Unfortunately, I have not heard.
    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?
    I have heard Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is alarming that Google has gained a monopoly position and it is against the law. However, I think that Google will continue its leading position on the market despite any ideas of regulation.

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    1. Yes this is sad that we enter in the era that somebody will going to break this monopoly like it was with Microsoft company.
      The idea of such process would be interesting but it is hard to figure division of Google to paid and unpaid search engine.

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  9. Hi!
    Thank you for an interesting article.

    1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?

    I have heard about it of course, but as it is not my area of study and it does not connect with my job I know very little about SEO. To be honest I was not particularly interested in this subject.

    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?

    It looks optimal, but I am not a specialist in the subject. Also the article comes from 2004, so maybe it already was improved.

    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?

    I have heard about it, but never dived deeper into this topic, so it is difficult for me to write something more about this subject.

    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?

    Sorry, but no.

    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?

    I am sure that for some time it will. Currently Google is such a big company covering many IT areas, that creating a serious competitor for it is a real challenge.

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    1. I remember there was a brilliant time when Google start his business when every information and best pages appears on every my query. This was many years ago. Right now I was forced to make one step back and return to library.

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  10. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?

    Good SEO takes time and effort – it’s not something that can be done overnight. Unfortunately I have never found enough time to play with that.

    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?

    Google seems to have a large focus on combating web design spam. I am quite new to the concept of Trust Rank, but I have been following the "no-follow vs "do-follow debate". While there is an obvious benefit to saying "this link is more trusted than this link" my question would be whether it remains democratic, as a bias towards an edu domain is still a bias.
    As a PHD student, I can tell you that there is a fair amount of spam on university web hosting. I agree that making quality links is a matter of having good enough content that people will link to you, an organisation which can pay 50 employees to write articles will have a major advantage over a company that can only employ one. In the end while it comes down to quality content, it can also come down to budget.

    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?

    I have heard but never been interesting in that subject.

    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?

    Same as above. I have heard but never been interesting in that subject.

    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?
    You can say that Google is the best search engine and no one would even argue with you. But Google isn’t just a search engine company anymore.
    Please have a look at 10 Projects Showing Google Has The Future Figured Out:
    1. Robotics
    2. Self-Driving Cars
    3. Space Exploration – Lunar XPRIZE
    4. Project Ara – Modular Phones
    5. Project Tango – 3D Mapping
    6. Calico – Immortality
    7. Liftware – Spoon for People with Parkinson’s Disease
    8. Google Contact Lens
    9. Makani – Google’s Airborne Wind Turbine
    10. Project Loon – Internet In A Balloon
    I have only mentioned a dozen of their projects, but in reality they have way more than that (and maybe even a few secret ones on Google X). The truth is, though, their projects come and go, and no matter how good some of these projects sound on paper, some do not see the light of day. Having that in mind I can say that Google will be global leader in future.

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    1. Frankly speaking TrustRank is an idea with implementing voting concept. This might be dangerous but I don't know how this idea evolve since 2005.

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  11. Ad. 1
    I used to know SEO from business point of view. I mean actions directed towards increasing brand recognition. But in this aspect I have a lot of ethic doubts, because I treat such “popularity” as artificial one, created for special purpose and it has nothing to do with a real appreciation of my product or company.
    Ad. 2
    Well, in my opinion TrustRank fulfills its task, so for now it is optimal. It can always be better and everybody has his opinion in this aspect, but “optimal” is a good word, because it means TrustRank fits to users’ needs as much as it was possible in reasonable way.
    Ad. 3
    I met situations when it happened, because someone wanted to cause real damage for competing business. Other cases I heard about – site modifications or manipulating with search result just for fun, to prove having such skills.
    Ad. 4
    I’ve heard there were attempts of searching the alternative for the leader, but nothing became worth wider propagation. I am looking forward to such news, because it is really interesting, how it is going to evaluate.
    Ad. 5
    As I observe the strategy of this company, then I must admit: yes, it definitely will. They solve current users’ problems, they give answers to the real market needs shortly after their appearance. But they do more: they try to predict potential problems and prepare for them. Very smart and mature understanding of this business and its mission, that’s why it still looks promising for the future as well.

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    1. As it was mentioned in previous comment there are lot of Google investments that are not focus only on the search engine. The most promising is prediction and it is most excitement and difficult to follow Google projects progress and ambition plans.

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  12. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
    Yes, I’ve heard about Search Engine Optimization and I’m convinced that I use it unconsciously in searching for information on the Internet.

    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
    It is obvious that algorithm is optimal for 100% efficiency. Authors of the article have stated that TrustRank is better than PageRank however isn’t the best. Of course the best is a man however it is a not effective way of websites analysis.

    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?
    Yes, I ‘ve heard about them. As I know it is not recommended because such site could be removed from the list of search results. So it looks very unprofitable. However I occasionally meet websites which are fake.

    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?
    Unfortunately, I haven’t.

    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?
    In my opinion it is already. But I think it depends on the region of the world. In Poland I’m sure that Google is the most popular search. Personally, I use it very often. Only sometimes I use E-search, Yahoo or Bing.

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    1. Great to have other fellows to search work. ;-)

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  13. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
    I know the term but I have never need to use it in my work area.
    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
    I think that it was a good algorithm at the time when it was developed. I'm not an expert in this field but I can guess that many improvements were added since that time.
    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate search results?
    Yes. Even some companies hire people which job is to take care of position of the site in search engines.
    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?
    No, I have not.
    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?
    I think it is going to stay a leader in a field of search engines. It's more popular than it's competitors.

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  14. 1. Did you ever encounter with SEO?
    Yes, we had a special guy for it.
    2. Did TrustRank algorithm is optimal?
    Optimal? Define optimal in this case. Most algorithms are good for simple things. This one can be accurate, but like with many algorithms it could be better.
    3. Have you ever heard about site modification or other attempts to manipulate with search results?
    Of course, like the old techniques of having indexed words in a background colors. Creating special sites with links to our site and so on. It's cheating anyway.
    4. Have you ever heard about other algorithms to catalogue Internet cites?
    Not by name.
    5. Are Google are going to stay global leader in future?
    Yes and no. This really depends on AI for example and predictions. You never know, who will invent something more accurate in the nearest future?

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    1. There is always battle with the software and infrastructure and it is great to have resources on both sides.

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  15. Unfortunately this is not my area, but once I heard about it In the second question I agree with the experts. I have heard of such movements as modifications - sometimes such actions appear. In the near future it will be hard to catch up with this global and famous corporation ...

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  16. It is not area of my study, but I ‘ve heard that nowadays SEO is not as popular as it was decade ago. I agree with some answers telling to look at Google as advertisement company. If they allow users to position their sites without paying it wouldn’t have any sense. From user point of view PageRank algorithm is at least very good.
    I agree with opinion that Google will remain a leader for a longer time. They have one of the best IT specialists, but it is matter of statistics that there are no players in business who never do big mistakes. It is only a matter of time.

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