I’m more with the opposite view: Advertising, which is manipulating people into buying your product, IS inherently a bad thing. Although some cases may be legitimate.
A directory of businesses that is free of gaming the system by paying to play was once the goal of google. If that if functional it is excellent and all it needs to be. It also prevents more established businesses from having even more of an unfair advantage. They already have word of mouth and reviews; why should they be able to simply buy a space that places them on top of popular queries and drown out anyone who enters the market?
Like back in 1999-2002 or so google was constantly adjusting their algorithm to stop people who gamed SEO. Their goal then was that when you searched “custom garfield cum blanket” you got stores that sold exactly that, and ideally the original one if there were knockoffs. That’s what made them a household name and the “king of search” and why you don’t hear about altavista or ask Jeeves anymore
Then they started to realize there was a market emerging for people that could master SEO and slowly but surely they just gave into the advertising side of things. It started with allowing SEO bullshit to go unchecked and eventually turned into now where you can literally buy the first 1 or 2 results of a search query, the first page is useless, and the second page is gone to direct you to a new search that can generate more ad revenue. They’ve utterly destroyed their product
It’s a really accessible concept and one of the most common small business types in the country, plus most of my suggestions that apply to it are largely applicable to many other types of small businesses. Seemed a better argument than a lecture-length fully generalizable concept of “getting a new business going without paying assholes to shove it in my face”.
I’m more with the opposite view: Advertising, which is manipulating people into buying your product, IS inherently a bad thing. Although some cases may be legitimate.
How do you expect people to find out about new businesses? Especially ones without a brick and mortar storefront.
A directory of businesses that is free of gaming the system by paying to play was once the goal of google. If that if functional it is excellent and all it needs to be. It also prevents more established businesses from having even more of an unfair advantage. They already have word of mouth and reviews; why should they be able to simply buy a space that places them on top of popular queries and drown out anyone who enters the market?
Like back in 1999-2002 or so google was constantly adjusting their algorithm to stop people who gamed SEO. Their goal then was that when you searched “custom garfield cum blanket” you got stores that sold exactly that, and ideally the original one if there were knockoffs. That’s what made them a household name and the “king of search” and why you don’t hear about altavista or ask Jeeves anymore
Then they started to realize there was a market emerging for people that could master SEO and slowly but surely they just gave into the advertising side of things. It started with allowing SEO bullshit to go unchecked and eventually turned into now where you can literally buy the first 1 or 2 results of a search query, the first page is useless, and the second page is gone to direct you to a new search that can generate more ad revenue. They’ve utterly destroyed their product
They put a sign on the building that says “Now Open”, put the building on the maps, and invite local food critics in for a review.
Read my second sentence
A restaurant without a storefront is just a ghost kitchen.
I’m not sure why you’re focusing on restaurants. I said businesses.
Are restaurants not a kind of business?
They’re not the only kind of business, which is why it’s weird that you’re so focused on them.
It’s a really accessible concept and one of the most common small business types in the country, plus most of my suggestions that apply to it are largely applicable to many other types of small businesses. Seemed a better argument than a lecture-length fully generalizable concept of “getting a new business going without paying assholes to shove it in my face”.