The biggest reason SEO is profitable is because low quality sites run display ads. That is the lifeblood, and intrinsic motivation, for these sites to even exist.
Google operates the largest display ads network. They literally *pay* websites for SEO spam, and take a very healthy cut off the top.
I wish people would stop acting like Google has been in a noble battle against the spam sites, when those sites generate Google billions of dollars a year in revenue.
The obvious question is, why would they ruin search for display? The answer is greed combined with hubris. They were able to double dip for years, but they killed the golden goose.
Everybody with a brain knew this would happen when they bought Doubleclick, and it took longer than expected, but here we are.
Google operates the largest display ads network. They literally *pay* websites for SEO spam, and take a very healthy cut off the top.
I wish people would stop acting like Google has been in a noble battle against the spam sites, when those sites generate Google billions of dollars a year in revenue.
The obvious question is, why would they ruin search for display? The answer is greed combined with hubris. They were able to double dip for years, but they killed the golden goose.
Everybody with a brain knew this would happen when they bought Doubleclick, and it took longer than expected, but here we are.