This is a serious conflict and goes against Google’s own statements that say they have no special relationship with any SEO company. If the aquisition of Double-Click goes through without a hitch, Google will not only have a relationship with an SEO company, they will own one outright.
What many people failed to realize was that when Google purchased DoubleClick, it now was also the owner of a very large search engine optimization company called Performics, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of DoubleClick.
One would think that Google, aware of the controversy that would come from the fact that it now owned a search engine optimization company, would be eager to spin Performics off quickly in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety and of selling search engine placement. Not so, says the official Google/Doubleclick acquisition FAQ:
Q. What will Google do with Performics?
A. Performics is part of DoubleClick, and we are acquiring it as part of the transaction. We have no plans to dispose of it at this time (1).
Will Google eliminate this conflict of interest? What do you think?
[...] products over everyone else, take number 1 search engine rankings, ppc ads, and even get into the SEO Business. Forget #1 PPC Spot; Greedy Google Grabs It By Gary [...]
[...] I posted about this when Google was still in the process of aquiring Doubleclick, which also owns Performics, which is an SEO company. Many in the SEO industry, including Danny Sullivan warned that Google would use this to monopolize the SEO industry. Original post on google getting into the seo business was here. [...]