Google Drops RapGenius From Its Search Results For Using Spammy Link Building Techniques

What happened to “Rap Genius” is as close to a “death sentence” on the Internet, quoted “Los Angeles Times” to account for the terrible penalty imposed by Google.

Google, has removed the website from search results for violation of its policies since RapGenius was using questionable SEO techniques to remain at the top of Google search. For those who do not know, RapGenius.com is a popular lyrical content and information sharing website provided by its user community. In other words, its like a Wikipedia that focuses on hip-hop musical lyrics and information related to Albums. (although you can find lyrics to other genres too).

Unlike hundreds of pages with lyrics, RapGenius is further distinguished by unique value generated content, so one can learn more about a particular song, such as technical data, the story behind the item, or the meaning of their verses.

What Really Happened?

According to RapGenius FBPage,  several bloggers were invited to become part of their community (as affiliates) through their social networks. All they had to do was mention Rap Genius in their blogs and add a link to Justin Bieber’s lyrics page in exchange for a tweet.

Here’s a quote from their FB update:

Yooo waddup! Here is how it works: If you have a dope post that you would like us to tweet out – get you MASSIVE traffic – then put this html (below) at the bottom of the post and send me the URL along with the EXACT text you want tweeted. I will send that shit out and it will bloooowwwww up!

This time the lawsuit with Google RapGenius has nothing to do with copyright, but for the manipulative link building tactics used by them to better position themselves in the Google search results. They saw a 50% to 60% organic traffic drop after the manual penalty was applied from Google. (according to quantcast) The website was thrown beyond 5th page of the search results.

In a statement, Rap Genius admitted making a mistake and is currently working with Google to correct its methods, but not before accusing their competition using the same manipulative tactics. The hip-hop community remains warned. One thing is to take a stand against the Power, and quite another to violate Google search policies.

Here’s what the insiders has to say: “We’re working on it as fast as we can, and expect to be back on Google very soon,” the company said in a statement to TechCrunch. “It sucks to be off Google for us and for the thousands of our community members who have worked so hard to create what’s often the best search result.”

Do you think Google’s reaction was too drastic? Maybe, there are other websites that engage in the same practices and receive no penalty. Share your thoughts in the comment box below.