Google's latest update was an absolute bloodbath.

If you're in the space chances are you've been affected. And the chatter amongst many digital marketers is that one way to beat Google is to add a shopping cart to your website and appear as an Ecommerce site, even if you're not selling anything.

That's what a fake ecommerce site is and supposedly it's working to get ranked.

Why is this the case?

The theories as to why fake ecom sites work are because Google:

Does not want "thin content" sites ranked, especially for long tail keywords
Does not want to reward sites who are monetizing from networks other than their own
Wants website owners to pay for their traffic via Adwords
Wants to reward "real" businesses that are selling something

And ultimately it comes down to, if your site doesn't benefit Google in any way or rewards other ad networks, you will be targeted.

Of course it's possible to create a fake ecommerce site and look like a real business but just litter the site with advertisements. But it's unlikely it will get ranked.

I had plans to build out all my domains into sites using Ai content but now I'm rethinking the plan.

I'm against creating a fake ecommerce site because I think Google will catch on to this loophole sooner rather than later. So the next best thing is to create a "real looking" business website.

What's a real looking website?

There's no absolute answer but there are a few characteristics a real business website will have such as:

Real social media accounts ie. Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Linkedin
Actual content posted on the social media accounts
A Google My Business profile
An About Us or Company page detailing who's behind the website

These are just a few and not all of them are a must. But the more complete from that list, the more Google might see your website as a real brand and real business.

All of these things take time, money and effort. And trying to set these accounts up and content created would take a monumental effort, especially for hundreds to thousands of sites.

But the good news is, anyone can do this with the help of ChatGPT. That's my plan for the next 12 months, to build a completely autonomous system for building out my domain names into real brands.

This is where I need to put a CTA to my optin form but don't have that yet. So for now, just follow me on x.com to get updates: https://x.com/mikesantiago

Are Fake Ecom Sites the Answer After Google's Latest Update?

Fake ecom sites are working to get ranked in Google vs traditional affiliate sites

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