Manipulating The Masses Podcast: SEO Trolls & Holiday Shopping

In this week’s Manipulating The Masses podcast we chat about the vicious online shopping game that takes place within Google’s algorithm. We explore the limitless tactics that companies take to outrank their competition online.

In the last couple of years Google has set out to challenge Amazon in the e-commerce space. With large budgets put aside for advertising, new shopping features and promotions, the search engine has offered smaller, independent retailers a platform for listing their wares for next to nothing.

But have their efforts been fruitless? In 2020 Amazon’s holiday revenue weighed in around $295 billion while Google’s holiday revenue came in at a mere $1 billion in comparison.

We also discuss “black-hat SEO” tactics and what Google has done to punish those who employ these unfavorable practices. If caught, the punishment from the search engine can be devastating to a business.

We may even uncover a juicy conspiracy theory in all of this online shopping chit chat.

Listen to the podcast on Spotify