Google: The last thing we want is for the best SEO to win

[Clinton]

Not really news, but Google's come out and said it.

Jeremy Sussman.. In one Google Places Help thread, he said, and I quote:

"I can assure you that the last thing we want is for the business who hires the best SEO to win a better slot. But, the SEOs are, unfortunately, pretty good at what they do, and so sometimes they out smart us."

Jeremy from Google said, "a simple answer like "the closest to you" is not always the right answer. But, all things being equal, the closest to you is the right answer. Figuring out the relative weights of the different factors in the rankings is one of the most difficult parts of our algorithm."


But then goes on to explain that some SEOs know how to manipulate stuff and he simply isn't a fan.
In this Google Places Help thread he said:
"You know what I love about the help forum? Every now and then someone points out a problem that is not merely "my business is not ranked where I want it to be" but rather represents a real hole in our system. csteinle, this post definitely falls into that latter category..."

Holes in Google's system? Where? I want to know where every one is!

Discussion at seorountable.

[BritishARMY]

Interesting. I'm just starting to do SEO for some of my sites with the general knowledge of what works. Would be interesting to know exactly what Google likes. I read there were 500 million factors or something... I don't see how there can be so many.

Of course, as with anything there are flaws. But some are better hidden than others.