Google vs. KinderStart - Winner: Google
It’s a good day for Google, as KinderStart was defeated in the legal battle it started. Basically, KinderStart was unhappy that it went from ranking well (using black-hat SEO techniques) to not ranking at all, so it did what any good American would do - sue. And it lost, preventing it from becoming the McDonald’s Hot Coffee case of the web world.
Bruce Clay summed it up well:
Fogel’s ruling read, in part:
“While Yu has brought a novel challenge to a major corporation, it is apparent that to some extent he has overreached in doing so…Yu had a professional responsibility to refrain from filing such allegations if he did not have appropriate supporting evidence.”
That last line is the kicker! Not only was the case thrown out for being unmerited, but the judge found the whole thing so frivolous that he’s allowing Google to collect attorney fees from KinderStart. Huzzah!
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Something we often try to explain to clients is that, for better or worse, ranking in Google, or any of the other search engines, is a privilege, not a right. You don’t get to start in the big game simply because you showed up. You have to earn it. It goes back to the Bruce-ism that search engine optimization isn’t about making a pig fly. It’s about genetically re-engineering a site so that it becomes an eagle. Google rewards eagles; KinderStart is a mutated pig. (Please don’t sue me for defamation.) That’s why they’re not ranking well.
Other good related links: Search Engine Land (links to past articles) and Matt Cutt’s.
