Rupert Murdoch has been the talk of the Internet lately. If you’d like to see why, check out this video in which he says that he plans to start de-indexing his websites from Google and charging people to read news stories on those sites.
If you are wondering what’s so fascinating about Rupert Murdoch saying this then you probably aren’t aware of all the facets of search engine optimization and the history of how search engines came into being – particularly Google. If Murdoch does strike a deal with Microsoft to allow Bing to be the exclusive indexer of his content then that would ultimately change how search engines operate in a big way. It would be even bigger than Google’s big debut in 1998.
Until now, the search engines have all been like the prom queen two months before the prom. If you want to even be considered for a date then you’ve got to chase the crown. The prom queen doesn’t chase; she sits. Everyone else sniffs and begs for a position in the line up.
Rupert Murdoch is threatening to change that. He wants the search engines to beg him to be indexed. And Microsoft is playing along. Evidently, some other news organizations are considering the same move. So the big question is, Can these news organizations change the way search engines operate?
Maybe they can. At least, Rupert Murdoch is banking on it. And Microsoft, eager to challenge Google’s place on the throne, just might be the search engine to let it happen.
But I can’t help but wonder what would happen to the rest of us if Rupert Murdoch succeeds and gets his paycheck from Microsoft. Would that be the way search engines operate in the future? Will they pay us all to be indexed exclusively in their search indexes or do you think this will just all blow over? My bet is Rupert Murdoch is gearing up for a huge fight. But is anyone else betting on him?
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