The Impact of SEO and Affiliate Links on Search Engine Results

The text discusses a study showing that search engines like Google are becoming less helpful due to an increase in SEO-optimized web pages with affiliate links, leading to lower quality content in search results. The study found that affiliate links are overrepresented and create trust issues, as they inherit the search engine's credibility. The researchers noted that the influx of AI-generated content is likely to further degrade search engine results. They also mentioned the complexity of addressing the issue due to the reliance of legitimate websites on affiliate marketing and SEO optimization for revenue.

• Search engines are retrieving SEO-optimized web pages monetized with affiliate links, leading to lower text quality in search results.
• The overrepresentation of affiliate links and the trust they inherit from search engines create tension between affiliates, search providers, and users.
• The increase in AI-generated content is expected to worsen search engine results.
• Addressing the issue is complicated due to the reliance of legitimate websites on affiliate marketing and SEO optimization for revenue.