Both strategies can drive customers, but they work very differently. SEO is a long-term asset, while paid ads can deliver immediate traffic — at a cost.
So what are most small businesses actually doing?
A recent search marketing survey offers valuable insight into how small businesses allocate their budgets between SEO services and paid ads, and the results may surprise you.
Let’s break it down.
The Core Question: SEO vs Paid Ads
When small business owners think about marketing online, they usually consider two major channels:
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO focuses on improving a website’s visibility in organic (non-paid) Google search results. It includes:
Content creation
Keyword optimization
Technical improvements
Link building
Local SEO strategies
SEO takes time, but rankings can generate traffic for years.
Paid Ads (PPC & Search Advertising)
Paid advertising refers to platforms like:
Google Ads
Paid search campaigns
Sponsored listings
Paid ads provide instant visibility — but traffic stops the moment the budget stops.
What Percentage of Small Businesses Use SEO or Paid Search?
A U.S. small business search marketing survey found:
78% of small businesses report using SEO
75% report spending on paid search advertising
That means both channels are extremely common, and most businesses use a combination of the two.
SEO and PPC are not mutually exclusive — many businesses rely on both to stay competitive.
How Many Small Businesses Actually Pay for SEO Services?
The more important question is not whether businesses “do SEO,” but whether they pay professionals to do it.
The survey reported:
39% of small businesses use an SEO agency fully or partially
That suggests that roughly 4 in 10 small businesses pay for SEO services, at least in some capacity.
Many others attempt SEO internally, but outsourcing remains common because SEO requires expertise and ongoing effort.
How Many Small Businesses Pay for Paid Ads Services?
The same survey reported:
35% of small businesses use an agency for paid search advertising
So paid ads are slightly less outsourced than SEO — but still a major investment.
Many businesses manage ads internally because platforms like Google Ads appear easy to launch. However, profitability often requires advanced optimization.
Scaling the Numbers Nationally
According to national small business data, the U.S. has approximately:
36.2 million small businesses
If we apply the survey percentages at a national scale, it suggests:
Estimated Small Businesses Paying for SEO Services
39% of 36.2 million ≈ 14.1 million businesses
Estimated Small Businesses Paying for Paid Search Advertising
35% of 36.2 million ≈ 12.7 million businesses
These are directional estimates, not exact counts, but they highlight an important reality:
Millions of small businesses actively invest in SEO and paid advertising every year.
Why SEO Often Becomes the Better Long-Term Investment
Paid ads are powerful, but SEO has a unique advantage:
SEO Compounds Over Time
Ads disappear when spending stops
SEO builds long-term visibility
Rankings generate ongoing leads
Trust is higher in organic results
SEO becomes a business asset, not a monthly expense.
That’s why many businesses begin with paid ads but shift toward SEO once they want sustainable growth.
Why Paid Ads Still Matter
Paid search remains valuable for:
New businesses needing instant leads
Seasonal promotions
Competitive industries
Testing keyword profitability
Scaling quickly
The strongest marketing strategies often combine:
Short-term paid traffic
Long-term organic authority
What This Means for Small Business Owners
If you’re a small business wondering what to prioritize, the research suggests:
SEO is widely adopted and heavily outsourced
Paid ads are also common but slightly less outsourced
Most businesses use both
SEO provides compounding long-term returns
Paid ads provide immediate but temporary visibility
The real question becomes:
Do you want traffic you rent… or traffic you own?
Final Takeaway
Based on survey-based research:
Roughly 14 million small businesses may be paying for SEO services
Roughly 13 million may be paying for paid search advertising
SEO remains the most scalable long-term investment for sustainable growth
In today’s competitive digital economy, small businesses that invest in visibility — especially organic search — are positioning themselves for long-term success.
Work With an SEO Expert Who Understands Small Business Growth
If you want to grow your business through long-term Google rankings, authority building, and sustainable traffic, working with an experienced SEO professional matters.
Sandy Rowley SEO Expert has helped businesses build online dominance through strategy, content, and search engine trust.
SEO is not just marketing — it’s digital real estate.
Looking to claim your free Google My Business listing? What category is right for your business? Choose the most relevant category to reach the most views and clicks within Google Maps. View Google Category information. (Link opens in a new window)
Or use this free Google My Business Category updater tool.
Verify that your competitors are using similar categories. See which are gaining the most views and clicks with a free keyword research tool. Then select the category with the highest volume of searches each month.
Want to learn more marketing tips? Join me at one of my free marketing workshops in Reno (link opens a new window in your browser) or schedule a one hour session by calling 775-870-0488 and ask for Sandy Rowley, SEO Coach. My web design company is consistently #1 in Google search for buyer intent keywords like: Reno Web design, Reno SEO and thousands of others. As a leading SEO Expert, I practice what I preach.
Reno SEO, Marketing & Web Design
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Web Design company that specializes in SEO. WordPress and Shopify E commerce websites. Leading Internet Marketing Company. Affordable press release firm. Located in Reno Nv. Join us once a month for our free Internet Marketing Workshops held online. Increase sales with social media, email and online marketing strategies.
Google Business Profile Category List Changes (Formerly Google My Business) Updated through February 2026
We actively track and document all Google Business Profile (GBP) category updates for the United States. Each month, this list is reviewed and updated to reflect newly added categories, renamed categories, and removed categories.
Maintaining accurate categories is a core component of effective local SEO. Selecting the most relevant primary and secondary categories improves search visibility, strengthens relevance signals, and increases discovery in local search results.
While many category updates expand globally, availability can vary by country. Businesses should verify that selected categories align with their services and market location to ensure proper representation and optimal performance.
2026 Updates
February 2026
New
E-bike charging station Updated
None Removed
None
January 2026
New
Consolidated rental car center
Eastern Catholic Church Updated
None Removed
None
2025 Updates
December 2025
Removed
Swimming Basin
November 2025
New
Nursing practice
October 2025
New
Public water well
September 2025
New
Bilingual preschool
Donburi restaurant
Insurance agent
August 2025
New
Probate attorney
RV repair and maintenance service
July 2025
New
Vauxhall dealer
June 2025
Updated
BMX track → BMX venue
Car racing → Car racing venue
Go-kart track → Go-karting venue
Hockey rink → Ice hockey rink
Off-road race track → Off-road racing venue
Skateboard park → Skatepark
May 2025
New
Bartending service
Esthetics service
April 2025
Removed (Selected Highlights)
Accounting software company
Biochemical supplier
Chartered surveyor
Drama theater
Home hairdresser
Mobile hairdresser
Printing equipment and supplies
Traditional restaurant
Video game rental service (multiple additional removals in April 2025)
March 2025
New
Queer bar
Removed (Selected Highlights – Government Entities)
Adventure Sports
Animal park
BBQ area
Citizens advice bureau
City administration
Department of education
Department of finance
Municipal corporation
Office of vital records
State department of tourism (extensive list of government-related categories removed)
February 2025
New
K-12 school Updated
Toll booth → Toll station
January 2025
New
Drinking Water Supplier
2024 Highlights
December 2024
New
Energy Advisory Service
Montessori Preschool
Rideshare Pickup Location
Tractor Parts Store Updated
Summer Camp → Summer Camp Organizer
October 2024
New
Data center
IV therapy service
Physical rehabilitation center
Psychosocial therapist
Rental car return location
Removed (Selected)
Biotechnology engineer
Bookmaker
Commercial refrigeration
Corporate entertainment service
T-shirt company
July 2024
New
Auto care products store
Catering equipment rental service
Church council office
Head and neck surgeon
POS terminal supplier
Tattoo supply store
Tire service
May 2024
New
Algerian restaurant
Animal cafe
Applied behavior analysis therapist
Drone service
European grocery store
Hiking club
Junk removal service
Palestinian restaurant
RV inspection
Updated
Arborist and tree surgeon → Arborist service
Confectionery → Confectionery Store
Translator → Translation service
2023 Highlights
January 2023
New
Pediatric clinic Updated
Camp → Children’s Camp
Handyman → Handyman, Handywoman, Handyperson
March 2023
New
Crypto ATM
Electric Motor Scooter Dealer
Filipino Grocery Store
Personal Chef Service
July 2023
New
Branding agency
Cannabis club
Neuropsychologist
Smoke Shop
September 2023
New
Boat cleaning service
Cat cafe
Copywriting service
Lesbian bar
2022 Highlights
October 2022
New
Auto window tinting service
Indian motorcycle dealer
Serviced apartment
August 2022
New
Pickleball court
Support Group
Wallpaper installer
April 2022
New
Central European restaurant
Arab restaurant
2021 Highlights
March 2021
Significant expansion of medical specialist categories, including:
Bariatric surgeon
Cosmetic surgeon
Geriatrician
Pediatric dermatologist
Pediatric neurologist
Transplant surgeon
December 2021
Large addition of Indian regional restaurant categories:
Gujarati restaurant
Hyderabadi restaurant
Kerala restaurant
Mughlai restaurant
South Indian restaurant
Why Category Selection Matters
One Primary Category carries the strongest ranking influence.
Your about to journey in white hat SEO territory. In 5 minutes, you will learn everything you need to master the interwebs and beyond. Are you ready?
certified organic tea, coffee, whiskey… check.
sustainable notebook and pen… check.
thinking cap on… check.
All jokes aside, search engine marketing is no laughing matter. Billions of dollars are spent each year on pay per click, SEO and web marketing services and products. Local SEO is one of the fastest ways for a small business to hop in on this huge market.
Although SEO strategies are usually guarded, I have a few tricks of the trade that are tried and true that will help increase your websites rankings within Google search.
Slow and steady wins the race. Build your relevant, useful content added to your website and other strategically selected sites and your traffic will increase. Also this builds trust with your followers and future clientele.
Don’t buy the cheap sales pitch. Seriously. Think about it. How many times have you heard of someones website being “deleted” by the search engines, almost over night? These poor souls did the ultimate NO NO in SEO. They were gullible and trusted the wrong guy, gal or company. Large SEO firms are guilty of selling super cheap SEO deals, promising the moon, forcing the small business to sign a contract, only to hope that the client forgets about the SEO work that is suppose to be done and keeps paying the small monthly fee. Just try to get out of that contract, and you will see a different side of your local sales rep. Usually a dial tone, no contact and/or some cheesy pressure sales call to make you feel like an idiot. Not fun at all. If it sounds too good to be true, well, duh, it is! Fiverr and other cheap online sites that sell “SEO” services are not affordable as you thought. The damage they can do with fake likes, reviews and poor back linking strategies could cost you the farm!
Network with other businesses in your industry and help each other out. Share content on each others websites with relevant back links pointing to your website. Use the coop strategy to reach new clients quickly. Sharing email lists and / or swapping out related services and sharing with your followers. One week is your turn, next week is the other businesses turn and so on…
PPC is your friend or frienemy. Choose wisely. Pay Per Click, if done correctly, will increase sales. whether you choose Facebook or Google PPC, you will see immediate results, often within a week or less.
SEO optimize your website, completley. Keep up to date with the latest SEO requirements that Google publicly shares.
301 A permanent server redirect – a change of address for a web page found in the htaccess file on apache servers. Also useful for dealing with canonical issues.
adwords Google Pay Per Click contextual advertisement program, very common way of basic website advertisement.
adwords site (MFA) Made For Google Adsense Advertisements – websites that are designed from the ground up as a venue for GA advertisements. This is usually, but not always a bad thing. TV programming is usually Made For Advertisement.
affiliate An affiliate site markets products or services that are actually sold by another website or business in exchange for fees or commissions.
algorithm (algo) A program used by search engines to determine what pages to suggest for a given search query.
alt text A description of a graphic, which usually isn’t displayed to the end user, unless the graphic is undeliverable, or a browser is used that doesn’t display graphics. Alt text is important because search engines can’t tell one picture from another. Alt text is the one place where it is acceptable for the spider to get different content than the human user, but only because the alt text is accessible to the user, and when properly used is an accurate description of the associated picture. Special web browsers for visually challenged people rely on the alt text to make the content of graphics accessible to the users.
analytics A program which assists in gathering and analyzing data about website usage. Google analytics is a feature rich, popular, free analytics program.
anchor text The user visible text of a link. Search engines use anchor text to indicate the relevancy of the referring site and of the link to the content on the landing page. Ideally all three will share some keywords in common.
astroturfing (the opposite of full disclosure) attempting to advance a commercial or political agenda while pretending to be an impartial grassroots participant in a social group. Participating in a user forum with the secret purpose of branding, customer recruitment, or public relations.
authority (trust, link juice, Google juice) The amount of trust that a site is credited with for a particular search query. Authority/trust is derived from related incoming links from other trusted sites.
authority site A website which has many incoming links from other related expert/hub sites. Because of this simultaneous citation from trusted hubs an authority site usually has high trust, pagerank, and search results placement. Wikipedia, is an example of an authority site.
B2B Business to Business.
B2C Business to Consumer
back link (inlink, incoming link) Any link into a page or site from any other page or site.
black hat Search engine optimization tactics that are counter to best practices such as the Google Webmaster Guidelines.
blog A website which presents content in a more or less chronological series. Content may or may not be time sensitive. Most blogs us a Content Management System such as WordPress rather than individually crafted WebPages. Because of this, the Blogger can chose to concentrate on content creation instead of arcane code.
bot (robot, spider, crawler) A program which performs a task more or less autonomously. Search engines use bots to find and add web pages to their search indexes. Spammers often use bots to “scrape” content for the purpose of plagiarizing it for exploitation by the Spammer.
bounce rate The percentage of users who enter a site and then leave it without viewing any other pages.
bread crumbs Web site navigation in a horizontal bar above the main content which helps the user to understand where they are on the site and how to get back to the root areas.
canonical issues (duplicate content) canon = legitimate or official version – It is often nearly impossible to avoid duplicate content, especially with CMSs like WordPress, but also due to the fact that www.site.com, site.com, and www.site.com/index.htm are supposedly seen as dupes by the SEs – although it’s a bit hard to believe they aren’t more sophisticated than that. However these issues can be dealt with effectively in several ways including – using the noindex meta tag in the non-canonical copies, and 301 server redirects to the canon.
click fraud Improper clicks on a PPC advertisement usually by the publisher or his minions for the purpose of undeserved profit. Click fraud is a huge issue for add agencies like Google, because it lowers advertiser confidence that they will get fair value for their add spend.
cloak The practice of delivering different content to the search engine spider than that seen by the human users. This Black Hat tactic is frowned upon by the search engines and caries a virtual death penalty of the site/domain being banned from the search engine results.
CMS Content Management System – Programs such as WordPress, which separate most of the mundane Webmaster tasks from content creation so that a publisher can be effective without acquiring or even understanding sophisticated coding skills if they so chose.
code swapping (bait and switch) Changing the content after high rankings are achieved.
comment spam Posting blog comments for the purpose of generating an inlink to another site. The reason many blogs use link condoms.
content (text, copy) The part of a web page that is intended to have value for and be of interest to the user. Advertising, navigation, branding and boilerplate are not usually considered to be content.
contextual advertisement Advertising which is related to the content.
conversion (goal) Achievement of a quantifiable goal on a website. Add clicks, sign ups, and sales are examples of conversions.
conversion rate Percentage of users who convert – see conversion.
CPC Cost Per Click – the rate that is paid per click for a Pay Per Click Advertiser
CPM (Cost Per Thousand impressions) A statistical metric used to quantify the average value / cost of Pay Per Click advertisements. M – from the Roman numeral for one thousand.
crawler (bot, spider) A program which moves through the worldwide web or a website by way of the link structure to gather data.
directory A site devoted to directory pages. The Yahoo directory is an example.
directory page A page of links to related WebPages.
doorway (gateway) A web page that is designed specifically to attract traffic from a search engine. A doorway page which redirects users (but not spiders) to another site or page is implementing cloaking. – Previous Definition revised based upon advice from Michael Martinez
duplicate content Obviously content which is similar or identical to that found on another website or page. A site may not be penalized for serving duplicate content but it will receive little if any Trust from the search engines compared to the content that the SE considers being the original.
Staff writer. Frequently covers franchise news and food trends.
This article originally ran March 14, 2016 and has since been updated.
It may only be July, but the Internet never sleeps, and neither do the social-media blunders.
From the Justice Department accidentally tweeting that CNN is the “biggest troll of them all” to Coca-Cola’s Russian map fail, these are some of the top “online oops” so far this year.
Retailer Vera Bradley launches a “girly” campaign.
Image credit: Vera Bradley | Instagram
Rewind to the 1950s and Vera Bradley’s latest campaign would have been right on target. But in today’s world, a campaign called “Why It’s Good to Be a Girl” has to hit all the right notes or face major criticism. It turned out to be the latter for Vera Bradley.
The fashion brand asked customers to share why they like being a girl. Responses were mixed. Some of the published statements, such as “That moment when a gentleman offers you his seat,” and “Being able to hang out with the boys but still be treated like a lady” did not resonate.
Vera Bradley’s efforts to connect with young girls is well-noted, but their execution flawed. Not all women want to accessorize. Not allwomen belt their favorite song lyrics. Perhaps using more caution when incorporating the hashtag #itsgoodtobeagirl in a 21st century marketing campaign would have been helpful — a strategy in which its approach seems almost … backwards.
Coca-Cola learns geography is hard.
It’s never a good thing to piss off the Russians. Leave it to Coca-Cola to do so right out of the gate this year after it sent out a tweet featuring a cartoon with a snow-covered map of the country. Seems innocent enough, right?
Taking a closer look, the map’s actually outdated, omitting Kaliningrad, which was annexed following World War II. Needless to say, Russian patriots were not happy with the company, as they posted pics pouring the soft drink into toilets with the hashtag #BanCocaCola.
DC Comics realizes some research is better than none.
Face-palm online after it posted a photo of the comic saying it was translated from Pakistan as if it were a language. Too bad the official language is Urdu.
Obviously, users were quick to point out DC’s ignorance. It’s a good reminder to do your research.
View image on Twitter
A beauty brand’s finds out it’s not color blind — just tone deaf.
In some cases you just have to stop and wonder what the heck the company’s PR team was thinking.
Seoul Secret, a beauty brand, thought the campaign “White makes you win” promoting skin-lightening cosmetics was a good idea.
It’s been a busy year already with big brands getting hit by Google penalties. First came Rap Genius, slammed so hard that you couldn’t find it for its own name. Then came Expedia’s suspected penalty that may have hurt its traffic. But these are also a familiar tune. Big brand violates Google’s rules, gets in trouble but ultimately returns to Google’s good graces with what may seem a virtual wrist-slap.
Below, in reverse chronological order, is a list of major brands that have been hit by Google penalties over the years for various reasons. Some violations weren’t even intentional.
10) Rap Genius & Links For Tweets
Rap Genius invited bloggers to add links to its lyrics content, in exchange for Rap Genius then tweeting the posts from those bloggers. After this exchange came to light on Christmas Eve 2013, the head of Google’s web spam team Matt Cutts said Google would investigate Rap Genius.
On Christmas Day, Rap Genius was penalized by Google and no longer ranking in the top page of results for its own name. Rap Genius also lost traffic for lyrics-related searches. After working to remove “unnatural links,” Rap Genius had its penalty lifted by Google after 10 days.
When: December 2013
Violation: Unnatural links
Penalty: Much of entire site degraded from ranking in the first page of results at Google; didn’t rank for its own name
Penalty Period: 10 days
9) Mozilla & UGC Spam
That’s right, Mozilla — which makes the popular open source Firefox browser — has been penalized by Google. But unlike with Rap Genius, it was an extremely specific situation — one single page of user-generated content that was considered too spammy to include.
The situation emerged after Mozilla received a manual action notice — i.e., a message from Google that some human spam reviewer decided something deserved the site getting a penalty.
Concerned about a message saying “Google has applied a manual spam action to your site,” Mozilla sought help in Google’s webmaster forums. Google quickly clarified that only one single page at Mozilla had been impacted. A similar Google penalty over UGC content happened to Sprintone month later. And somewhat related, all of Digg was dropped from Google briefly, after a mistake Google made that was meant only to impact a single page.
When: April 2013
Violation: UGC spam
Penalty: Single page apparently degraded in rankings
Penalty Period: N/A, because the page was removed
8) BBC & Mysterious “Unnatural Links”
Google penalized the respected British Broadcasting Corporation? It sure did. Similar to Mozilla, the penalty involved a single page, this time one deemed to have “unnatural links” pointing at it.
The situation came to light after the BBC received a manual action notice. Like Mozilla, the BBC sought help in Google’s webmaster forums, which lead to Google responding that the penalty impacted one article. It’s unclear how it was resolved, as the page impacted was never stated. Probably, the penalty was removed by Google in short order.
When: March 2013
Violation: Unnatural links
Penalty: Single page apparently degraded in rankings
Penalty Period: Unknown
7) Interflora & Advertorial Links?
Similar to Rap Genius, Interflora found itself penalized in Google, no longer ranking for its own name, as well as for many generic flower-related searches. Why? Google itself never gave an official reason for penalizing Interflora, as is fairly normal in penalty cases, nor did Interflora itself say.
However, Google quickly pushed a warning against “advertorial” content that doesn’t make use of nofollow or other methods so that links in such content don’t pass along ranking credit. After apparently getting some links removed, Interflora’s penalty was lifted after 11 days. Interestingly, Google didn’t severely act against a number of online florists accused of buying links two years prior.
When: February 2013
Violation: Probably paid links in advertorials and perhaps elsewhere
Penalty: Much of entire site degraded from ranking in the first page of results at Google; didn’t rank for own name
Penalty Period: 11 days
6) Overstock: Discounts For Links
Overstock hit trouble with Google after a competitor found that it was offering discounts to schools in exchange for links back to the Overstock website. The links lead to particular products, with very specific anchor text that helped Overstock rank well for terms like “vacuum cleaners” and “gift baskets.” The Wall Street Journal profiled Overstock being hit by the penalty, probably tipped by the same competitor that reported Overstock to Google.
Overstock was so happy to have its penalty lifted two months later that it issued a press release about the news. Overstock said the impact might hit revenues by 5% and filed a statement for investors with the SEC in the weeks after it hit. It also blamed the penalty for “adversely” impacting revenue for the first and second quarter of 2011, in its annual filing.
When: February 2011
Violation: Paid links, in the form of offering discounts for linking back to the site
Penalty: Much of entire site degraded from ranking in the first page of results at Google; probably kept ranking for own name
Penalty Period: 2 months
5) JC Penney & Paid Links
A New York Times article detailed how retailer JC Penney was apparently buying links to rank better in Google. The article even contained a rare confirmation of the violation by Google. By the time the article appeared, JCP had already been penalized.
It’s not clear if JCP ever disappeared for its own name, but it did drop for many generic terms relating to products it sold. After cleaning up the paid links — and blaming the mess on its SEO firm— JCP regained many top rankings in Google after 90 days.
When: February 2011
Violation: Paid links
Penalty: Many pages degraded from ranking in the first page of Google’s results
Penalty Period: 90 days
Reno SEO, Marketing & Web Design 450 Sinclair St, Reno, NV 89501 (775) 870-0488 www.RenoWebDesigner.com
Sandy Rowley is a SEO expert in Reno Nevada that specializes in search engine optimization, web design, and digital marketing.
Her seo tips for those who want to achieve the best ranking possible include: Who’s talking about you? Who links to you? What do your customers like?
She provides web design services for small and local businesses as well as marketing campaigns for up-and-coming brands. Her social media marketing proposal includes: Social Media Marketing Strategy, Content Creation and Management (content strategy), Social Media Advertising (paid advertising) and Analytics Reporting.
The SEO expert Sandy Rowley has been providing digital marketing services to the Reno Nevada region for the past 23 years. She is an implementation specialist with extensive knowledge of SEO, web design, social media marketing and more.
Sandy Rowley is a successful website designer in Reno Nevada who specializes in web design and search engine optimization (SEO).
If you have a website, it is important to have an SEO expert take care of your content. The SEO expert in Reno Nevada Sandy Rowley can take care of various aspects that are related to SEO for your business.
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Don't let your business's potential go untapped. Work with Top SEO Expert and elevate your brand and watch as your vision transforms into success. Call for marketing help today, and take the first step towards a thriving future for your business.
It’s been a busy year already with big brands getting hit by Google penalties. First came Rap Genius, slammed so hard that you couldn’t find it for its own name. Then came Expedia’s suspected penalty that may have hurt its traffic. But these are also a familiar tune. Big brand violates Google’s rules, gets in trouble but ultimately returns to Google’s good graces with what may seem a virtual wrist-slap.
Rap Genius invited bloggers to add links to its lyrics content, in exchange for Rap Genius then tweeting the posts from those bloggers. After this exchange came to light on Christmas Eve 2013, the head of Google’s web spam team Matt Cutts said Google would investigate Rap Genius.
That’s right, Mozilla — which makes the popular open source Firefox browser — has been penalized by Google. But unlike with Rap Genius, it was an extremely specific situation — one single page of user-generated content that was considered too spammy to include.
Google penalized the respected British Broadcasting Corporation? It sure did. Similar to Mozilla, the penalty involved a single page, this time one deemed to have “unnatural links” pointing at it.
Similar to Rap Genius, Interflora found itself penalized in Google, no longer ranking for its own name, as well as for many generic flower-related searches. Why? Google itself never gave an official reason for penalizing Interflora, as is fairly normal in penalty cases, nor did Interflora itself say.
Overstock hit trouble with Google
A 
