??? Is Google Manipulating Search Rankings to Appease Advertisers ???


I once had a "page 1" Google ranking.

That was for a website about LASIK surgeons in Southern California.
Some of whom are leaving their patients wholely or partially disabled,
living with constant eye pain.

When people do a web search about LASIK eye surgery before the
surgery, very often it is because they are trying to find out if it's
REALLY as safe as the LASIK surgeons claim it to be.

For example, when a person living in San Diego does a web search using
the key-words "LASIK San Diego", I believe that they are entitled to
find out about the hundreds of persons in San Diego whose vision and
health have been harmed by LASIK and laser eye surgery.

At this point I've corresponded with well over a hundred injured
patients. Most of them have been injured by highly experienced
refractive surgeons with "sterling reputations."

I've gone to the courthouse and obtained copies of medical malpractice
cases, naming LASIK surgeons. I've put those cases on-line, blacking
out the names of the patients. As you can imagine, this has caused a
few ripples in the LASIK industry.

And, like I said, I even once had a page 1 Google ranking.

Until about October 2002. Until about that time, if you did a search
using the key-words "LASIK San Diego", the page 1 search results
consisted of information about injured patients. Along with ads from
LASIK surgeons, some of whom have demonstrated a profound skill at
lying to close the sale. In other words, they're not telling
prospective patients about the risks that those patients are trying to
educate themselves about when they do a web-search using the key-words
"LASIK San Diego".

What else happened in about October 2002 ? Google started receiving
paid ads from San Diego LASIK surgeons.

And my Page One Ranking disappeared off the face of the earth, for the
search keywords "LASIK San Diego". Well, not exactly "off the face of
the earth". Let's just say that the page ranking went from page 1 to
page 11 or more -- which in the Gestalt of the Web, is the same thing
as disappearing off the face of the earth.

I'm not the only website that has experienced this general category of
behavior -- possible censorship of verifiable facts to appease
advertisers who don't smell so rosy when the facts are known.

In my opinion, just recently, Oceana.org has encountered some
speed-bumps in their experience with Google. Oceana is concerned
about cruise-lines dumping their sewage in the ocean. And has even,
possibly, criticized the behavior of some of the cruise-lines -- that
advertise on Google.

Good-bye Oceana.org. Hello cruise-line advertisements.

There was a time when the Web was one of the most magnificent
embodiments of the democratization of technology, in recent human
history.

Not any more. The Web is no longer a level playing field. In my
opinion, it's now Pay-to-Play, as evidenced by Google's possible
manipulation of search engine rankings to appease advertisers.

There have been times in business history when the dominance of an
industry resulted in anti-trust investigations, and anti-trust
prosecution.

I believe it is time for an anti-trust investigation of Google,
because I believe they have been literally manipulating search engine
rankings -- and departing from their own stated "page-rank" web-search
algorithm.

In fact, I believe that Google has adopted a policy of muzzling
injured LASIK patients, because the statements of some of those
injured LASIK patients make it harder to sell ads to LASIK surgeons
who, in my opinion, can not be trusted to disclose the true risks of
LASIK surgery to prospective patients.

In my opinion, Google's rankings are not weighted only by page rank.
They are also weighted according to how much money Google is receiving
from certain advertisers.

Is Google aiding and abetting Fraud in the LASIK industry ?

Is Google aiding and abetting Fraud and Malpractice in a sector of the
medical profession ?

Based on my experience as an injured LASIK patient who has had the
chance to witness the relative timing of search engine rankings and
the appearance of paid ads, in my opinion, Google is literally
muzzling injured LASIK patients in order to sell more ads.

In my opinion, Google is literally muzzling injured LASIK patients in
order to pump up profits.

In my opinion, Google is literally muzzling injured LASIK patients in
order to have a bigger IPO.

Below, I have listed the URL's of some websites, to illustrate some of
the statements I have made above.

Sincerely,

~ Roger ~

Roger E. Bratt


I can be reached at the email below rodgerebratt@yahoo.com
(Note -- in order to use this email address, please remove the "d"
from "rodger".)


Copyright 2004 Roger E. Bratt ~ All Rights Reserved



Appendix # 1.
Websites that relate to Oceana's experience with Google

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=307

http://www.webpronews.com/news/ebusi...GoogleBan.html

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ed...nG=Search+News


Appendix # 2.
Google San Diego -- see all the LASIK ads ? In my opinion, Google has
been muzzling injured LASIK patients from publishing in this forum
since about October 2002.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...go&sa=N&tab=gw


Appendix # 3.
A few of the Websites about Injured LASIK Patients

http://www.surgicaleyes.org/

http://www.lasikinfocenter.net/

http://www.lasikdisaster.com/

http://www.lasiksucks4u.com/

http://www.lasikmemorial.com/

http://www.lasikSOS.com/

http://users.tns.net/~equity/lasiksos/

http://users.tns.net/~equity/LASIK_Casualties_SD

http://users.tns.net/~equity/LASIK_Casualties_LA

http://users.tns.net/~equity/LASIK_Casualties_OC


Appendix # 4.
"Honesty in Advertising"

I admit that, as a newcomer to the world of search engine rankings, I
once used grey letters on a grey background -- for about a month.
Then I realized that this is a "no-no" -- and quickly abandoned the
practice. This fact may be relevant to the issue of Google
manipulation of search engine
rankings.


Appendix # 5.
This is not an advertisement for Google.


Appendix # 6.
The contents of this letter are posted on-line at
http://www.geocities.com/gglcnsrshp

On 25 Feb 2004 05:17:33 -0800 gglcnsrshp@yahoo.com (GGL CNSRSHP)
broke off from drinking a cup of tea at http://groups.google.com to
write:

Welcome to the commercial world....

Just for the record, I don't like it anymore than you do.

Matt

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