MacRae's Keyword Farm

Posted on February 5, 2009 by Dave J.

Well, I’ve discussed lots of online industrial directories, but never MacRaes.

I’m not sure of the history of MacRae’s Blue Book, but they say ‘since 1893′. And I’ve never dealt with them in 15 years of marketing. Whatever they were, it looks like MacRae’s died and was replaced by a Keyword Farm. Or maybe what they are really growing is AdSense clicks.

Here’s what I experienced:

  • Looks like a pretty typical directory home page, muted even. One small graphic ad for a European directory at the top.
  • So I searched for my type of product. The results page shows three possible category matches, also typical of a directory site. These three categories are surrounded on three sides by AdSense blocks.
  • The category page looks legit, until you study it further. Each company’s description is just keyword spam. The spam is subtle, it almost looks legit, as well. Of course a state lottery listing as a result is a tip-off that something is wrong. And three more blocks of AdSense.
  • The company listing page is stuffed with four AdSense blocks, two banner ads, and those annoying ‘content link’ ads within the company description/spam.
  • There was what looked like one legitimate advertiser on the results page, shown at the top, and the company listing link actually went right to his website.

I’ve seen a lot of keyword and AdSense farms in my Google searches, but this looks like the most elaborate hoax yet. I suspect that someone took the previous, legitamite site and just loaded up the listings with spam and added all the advertisements.

(By the way, my attention was drawn to this junk by an email asking me to add a search-box to my blog to ‘give value’ to my readers and link-love to MacRae’s. Instead they’ll have to deal with this post showing up in Google SERPs.)

The sad part is:

  • There are companies apparently paying to be listed here. I can only imagine the poor quality of any click-thrus.
  • The folks paying for AdSense advertisements are getting soaked, like any good keyword farm does. And they have no real idea where there ads are being shown, either.

(Hint: If you don’t know what you are doing, stay away from AdSense.)

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  • Lee Contracting
    I think Dave's reaction to Macrae's Blue Book is typical of many search engine marketers: skepticism. In a space where hoax websites can be put up overnight, peppered with Adsense and other keyword spam, we instinctually discount the website.< />< />I had a similar reaction when thumbing through it, though I maintain that it does hold value.
  • Anonymous
    Unfortunately blogs give the uninformed a place to voice their opinions without knowing any of the facts. You admit you may have been "harsh" yet still maintain you are right. < />< />You'd never admit you were wrong, because then your credibility as a blogger would be ruined. Of course, we all know the value of the credibility of a blogger.
  • Dave J.
    Okay, it was a bit harsh of a post, but it was my reaction to what I saw, and I think the general facts are true. < />< />Its just that once I got to the final results page, the keyword stuffing in the majority of the listings forced jumped right out at me. Then I started looking around and didn't see much of value. It seemed so hollow, I felt compelled to blog about it.< />< />In going back, I've seen some sections are more populated with advertisers and even some normal looking company descriptions. But still a lot of keyword spam.< />< />I've been blogging about B2B directories for six years. My first lesson in blogging was a phone call from a directory owner whom I criticized. I've seen them come and go. You may make money with MacRae's, but I don't see any long-term value.< />< />All that said, even major directories like ThomasNet and GlobalSpec struggle to gain audience even with really decent content.
  • surf2live
    We all that that annoying advertising and all those annoying links.....< />But imagine serving quality content to millions of buyers of industrial products and services every month, for free!< />Someone needs to pay for the electricity and coffee.< />Could the site be cleaner -- yes. But to call it hoax is immature and shows a real lack of knowledge.
  • Anonymous
    You missed the mark on Macraes Blue Book. The site is not spam and represents advertisers and manufacturers fairly. It is clearly set up to help buyers find goods and services they need quickly and efficiently. < />< />With all the free content, I am not surprised they need ads to support their costs.< />< />(Hint: If you don't know what you are doing, stay away from Blogging.)
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