Google penalizes shopping giant Overstock for artificial tactics

MOUNTAIN VIEW, C.A. - Google was penalizing Overstock.com in its search results Thursday after the retailer ran afoul of Google policies that prohibit companies from artificially boosting their ranking in the internet giant's search engine.

Overstock's pages had recently ranked near the top of results for dozens of common searches, including "vacuum cleaners" and "laptop computers." But links to Overstock dropped to the fifth or sixth pages of Google results for many of those categories, greatly reducing the chances that a user would click on its links.

The incident, according to Overstock, stemmed in part from its practice of encouraging websites of colleges and universities to post links to Overstock pages so that students and faculty could receive discounts on the shopping site.

Overstock said it discontinued the program on Feb. 10, before hearing from Google, but said some university webmasters have been slow to remove the links.

"Google has made clear they believe these links should not factor into their search algorithm," Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said in a statement. "We understand Google's position and have made the appropriate changes to remain within Google's guidelines."

Many companies use a variety of techniques to try to enhance their positions in search results, a practice called search engine optimization (SEO).

The Overstock incident was the second move by Google in two weeks against a large retailer for allegedly violating guidelines. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Google lowered the ranking of links to J.C. Penney in response to tactics employed by an SEO consultant on its behalf.

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