[[Edited to change the link to a specific advertiser on the affiliate marketplace in the nofollowed link given; I suspect that the poster is pretending to sell cosmetics, but is in fact drumming up business through false claims. Something that annoys me. JeremyC]]

We are an Indian online marketing firm specializing in Search Engine Marketing projects(Google PPC campaigns and SEO), Reciprocal and One Way Link Exchange Campaign in various categories. We have a dedicated team of 33 professionals to serve you. Our Link Builders who specialize in getting theme based targeted links for Client’s website.

We provide you the Reciprocal and One way link building with following essential parameters:-

1.We ensure that the page where the webmaster has added our link is indexed by
Google/Yahoo depending upon the client’s requirement.
2.We ensure the committed No of links on that particular link page.
3.We ensure that it should not be a ‘ffa’ (free for all) site.
4.We ensure that the sites must be related to the theme of the campaign what we are working for…..
5.We ensure the webmaster to use the proper anchor text/description provided to him to place our link at his site.
6.We ensure that no webmaster receives a repeated Link Request Mail for the same campaign.

We can assure you of getting quality links for your site as well.Most firms overseas have achieved a significant amount of savings by outsourcing either complete or part of their work to us in India. We wish you the best of luck and looking forward to a long and healthy business relationship with you and your company.

Waiting for your positive response…

Regards

Anil Kumar

Yes, we do have lobbies here. They work in substantially similar manner. Unknown groups with anonymous frontmen hobnobbing with lawmakers in search of specific advantages for special interests. Part of what makes tax law so very exciting.

I can’t imagine Google finding any interest in non-US efforts, since the bandwidth argument seems to be a largely self-inflicted wound in the USA?

Oh well, thanks for your really helpful commentary. Makes the article more useful, at least!

And I thought this was really about Small Businesses and the recession. Sometimes I feel so naive and insufficiently cynical. :(

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama in February, sets aside $7 billion to increase access to high-speed Internet or broadband for the 20 million Americans who live in underserved areas. By expanding broadband access and preserving an open platform, small businesses in America have the ability to reach all consumers at an affordable cost and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world. We hope that the Small Business Network will encourage lawmakers to grant those funds to the right providers and create broadband access for all small businesses across the country.”

It wouldn’t do any good to lobby the U.K. Parliament for these funds. Political lobbying is fairly nation-specific.

Admittedly, Google *could* also create a parallel UK lobbying effort (I think — do you chaps allow that sort of thing?). But it almost certainly would have to be a substantially separate program, with a U.K. staff and strategies focused on the way U.K. politics works. The U.S. Congress is a uniquely corrupt institution — not unique in that it *is* corrupt, just unique in the particular way one has to navigate the corruption.

Your criticisms of Google are often spot-on. But I think it’s a bit of a stretch to criticize Google for starting a small-business political program like this with a U.S. focus, especially given that it seems partly motivated by Obama’s recent stimulus package.

Also, FYI, “small business” is a code word in U.S. politics. When Republicans say it, it really means “wealthy people who make their money from investments” — Repubs are almost always talking about lowering taxes (“capital gains taxes”) on the passive investment income of millionaires. When Democrats say it, they actually mean entrepreneurs with new, family, local or otherwise “small” businesses. Google seems to have recognized that for the first time in a long time, when Washington speaks about “small business,” they actually *do* mean Google’s customers now.