backdraft7 - 4:25 pm on Aug 24, 2012 (gmt 0)

It's probably just my hallucination, but it seems that Google is assigning random numbers to generate the serps at any one moment. What used to be the monthly or quarterly everflux, is now the minute by minute everflux. But that's not all, there must be some other weighting stats used in combination with the randoms or just a random time mask on keywords designed to open and close like targets on a shooting range. The purpose of the mask? to possibly force increased Adwords spending? why else? that or to add "diversity" to the serps...but is that quality?

It's evolving every iteration and it's not getting any better for us old stalwort sites.

The normal traffic, lower conversion syndrome:
Traffic level remain "normal" yet quality rises or falls dramatically within obvious time spans.
It seems that the random mask removes the good performing keyphrases which affects targeting & quality. At the same time I see my most obscure pages getting hits. These page are so far outside my sales funnel that even I know they're unlikely to convert. That's how traffic stay even, but conversions drop.

Not the economy:
If I run my numbers back through the years, my traffic levels today might be 1,500 uniques a day with 2 conversions. Four years ago (when the markets really tanked) I was doing the same traffic volume, yet a dozen or more conversions per day. I used to be able to set my watch by my conversion frequency.

Manipulation would not equal love:
The trouble these days is the obvious manipulation that creates these crazy ON / OFF periods.
If it's not manipulation, it's a data churn, but you'd think G's system could keep that straight without throwing us all under the bus...over & over again. I hate to bring up the love letter again, but if they want our love, they might want to show a little in return.