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As you all know, Google's Matt Cutts went on record the other day about Google's stance on advertorials. That is, if it wasn't clear enough from the very public advertorial penalty dished out the buyer and sellers of the advertorials.
A WebmasterWorld thread asks if these advertorial penalties are algorithmic or manual. They are not the same, to learn more about the difference read this story.
In my opinion, advertorial penalties right now are a manual thing. I do not feel that Google has an automated method of penalizing or discrediting links in advertorials. At least not for the sake of them being advertorials. They probably have their Penguin and other methods of discrediting or penalizing links from low quality, off topic web sites. But to algorithmically figure out this article is an advertorial and is giving you links only because you paid for them, is not that easy right now.
Now, it would not surprise me if they had a method of doing this (without a 100% accuracy) in the upcoming year or so. But that is what my gut feeling is right now.
Otherwise, how would have Interflora recovered in 11 days after submitting a reconsideration request.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
Image credit to BigStockPhoto for soccer ball on fire
