backdraft7 - 1:50 pm on Dec 19, 2012 (gmt 0)

@Wilburforce - well said - that's one of the most lucid theories I have heard so far. The difficult part (as you point out) is that there's not much we can do about this new filtration of the serps, rather than dig deep into our pockets. Your page could be perfect, but Google wants to shake it up (like the grocery store analogy) and serve what they consider diversity even if it doesn't help us find what we are searching for. After looking at Alexa, I see even WebmasterWorld is not immune to the decline.