Just meandering back to the original post....I had thought Google listings were random, somehow - but I recently learned that different companies can pay (through the nose, mind you) to have their website appear as the first or one of the highest for certain key words or searches.
How did I learn this? That is how the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, aka KEDCO, has decided, in its infinite wisdom , to advertise the City of Kingston. Part of the new ad campaign says, "From the sheets to the streets!" Does this sound just a little tacky and racy both, to anyone else?! I suppose it could have been worse, it could have been the other way around....


These paid links are not the same as googlewashing, and Google's jhandling of the paid links is eminently ethical and above-board. They do not show up unannounced at the top of a search. Instead, they are clearly boxed and listed as sponsored links.

For an example of googlewashing in action ( a very different animal) see this link:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/30087.html