Google ranks new .xxx site higher than its .com
Is Google experimenting with swapping out .com domains when an equivalent .xxx exists?
Last week, ICM Registry announced it had granted ifriends.xxx to iFriends, a popular network of adults-only webcams, as part of its pre-launch Founders Program.
Today, a Google search for iFriends sometimes returns ifriends.xxx right at the top, with ifriends.com nowhere to be seen on the first page.
Other times, ifriends.com or ifriends.net gets top billing.
The iFriends network has been around since 1998, according to an ICM press release, so its .com and .net domains will presumably already have significant juice.
Obviously, Google has been useless for returning easily predictable results ever since it started “personalizing” SERPs a couple years back.
Running a few non-scientific experiments, it seems that the choice of browser, toolbar, Google site and location may play a factor in which results you see.
The significant thing seems to me to be the fact that when your results do include the .xxx domain first, it appears to completely replace the .com.
What do you see when you search? What do you think is going on?
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That’s great for us.
That means it will be easier to discern what is an adult site which will allow for not clicking on it. It will also make it easier to filter .xxx in the future so that when you type “ifriends” it won’t appear anywhere while the .com is pushed down further in the serps which hopefully, will prevent children from accidentally discovering it.
They’re not redirecting the .com to the .xxx, so I’m not sure what their strategy is.
As for what Google is doing .. it’s impossible to say yet. It’ll be interesting if to see if any of the SEO experts start running experiments, but they won’t be able to do any until there’s more domains to play with ..
I’d be more concerned with the 409 reports at http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/ifriends.aspx
Wow. What is really interesting is that it’s simply the name of the site. ‘ifriends’ is not adult oriented in a generic sense. Implications are potentially enormous for new gtlds. Will be interesting to see how more sites start popping up.
I believe that Acro makes a tremendously relevant point. ICM is promoting iFriends as a shining example of what .xxx is all about. In fact, last week they rented a billboard in Times Square to advertise iFriends. This would be well and fine except that iFriends business practices appear to be precisely the practices that this TLD was created to combat/eliminate. ICM’s .xxx is supposed to clean up the online, adult industry. It is supposed to eliminate such shady practices as credit card banging. After all, that’s why ICANN approved it.
Yet, when you check the rippoffreport (link provided by Acro), you find 409 separate complaints against this company, and these people are angry. When you check other consumer fraud reports, you find similar results.
So, how can this sight possibly exemplify the .xxx ideal unless that ideal is fraud?
Interesting points Ann.
To my knowledge, while ICM/IFFOR has been playing the “safe” card, it has no policies yet covering the kinds of business practices outlined at the link Acro provided.
Certainly something to keep an eye on.
It looks like they have switched all the inbound links from the .com version to the .xxx version. Or somehow they have just already manged to secure a boatload of inbound links to the .xxx version. Either way it appears they have moved the brand to the xxx.
Put this in your search bar at GOOG:
link:www.ifriends.xxx
Allan Hadhazy, owner of Webpower Inc, his buddies Andrew Kayton, Mark Albers, Brayton Johnson and all the Employees at Ifriends. net, ifriends.xxx, clickcash.xxx are the biggest fraud artists on the internet!
These people are going to protect your children from Porn by getting involved with the ICM Registry who are the operators of the new DOT.XXX domains. Webpower Inc has put their General Counsel, Andrew Kayton on the IFFOR to make certain that the Adult Industry is protected and their interests are addressed by ICM Registry. The CEO of ICM Registry, Stuart Lawley is the Chairman of the IFFOR and resides in the same Florida neighborhood as his Webpower Inc. golfing buddies. If I was an adult performer or the owner of a company in the Adult Industry then I would be really worried with these two companies supposedly protecting your names from Cyber-squatter or general auction. ICM Registry will tell you rest assured you have nothing to worry about while they extort you into paying to protect the name which is rightfully yours in the first place. What a big scam!
Webpower Inc. steals from customers for over 12 years and 421 complaints with the same story yet, nothing is done about them. They steal from Affiliates, Chat-hosts, pad the time spent in chat by clients, trick the customers into thinking areas are free and charge fees without the customers authorizations but never address or change the problem areas for over 12 years. Webpower Inc. and Ifriends just give refunds over and over again to any one who complains so how many others don’t complain? These refunds are taken from the Chat-host who may have performed a service to the site customers and are unaware that the site is scamming the customers and them. It seems from other reports on here that the Chat-hosts are giving up 10% of their weekly revenues for chargebacks and refunds which they have no say or right to view the reasons for the amounts taken from them. It appears they have trouble reconcilling amounts given and taken from them while not being able to get correct reserve account statements or daily payment information from Webpower Inc.
12 years of complaints of scams, frauds, lies and making full payments to cover up the biggest fraud scheme on the internet right under the noses of the F.B.I yet no criminal charges have been placed against these supposed up-standing citizens who look all squeaky clean.
The consumers should be aware of these big scams on the internet? Where is Federal Law Enforcement to protect its citizens, isn’t that why we all pay taxes in this country? Isn’t it about time they did their job and arrested the Webpower Inc. owners and employees who are all in on this fraud scheme?