They're at it again with the -sj server

different serps and backlinks

[waynet]

Looks like they are testing the www-sj.google.com server again. I see 384k backlinks for yahoo and the serps are different.

[strategies]

Jesse,

am hoping you're right. my entire site was deepcrawled about a week ago and i am sitting on needles waiting for it to show up in the index.

for now though, i have different results in www vs www2 and www3 (last two are the same but really old)

[rfgdxm1]

I can't believe Google could botch the algo so bad that these "new" results are other than a testbed. They suck really bad. I just thing the test server leaked onto www somehow. I say no update.

[Chris_R]

I wish I had never responded to this thread. Someone please save me.....

Anyway - All I know - is as Nick said - GoogleGuy has been pretty good about this in the past.

If GoogleGuy didn't exist - this would be called an update - I think - especially if it was seen on www 2 or 3.

I only saw it on one of the datacenters (which in my opinion is better), but in the past - you could always see the updates on www2 or 3 as well (although sometimes not right away).

Anyway - I should have read the other thread first, but I did my normal datacenter check - saw the difference (which I have NEVER SEEN in thousands of checks) not during an update.

Sorry.

It looks like an update, smells like an update, but isn't an update yet.

[my3cents]

I'm with you about these new results being terrible. Competitors' duplicate content sites are all back to the top, and they have been gone for 3 months, removed from dmoz and y!

[rfgdxm1]

>And can some one try to explain why they would use www to do tests?!

Error. Computer glitch.

[Chris_R]

I am renewing my webmasters world membership for another year as punishment for jumping the gun. I have never done this before - please forgive me.

[rfgdxm1]

Chris_R, backlinks changed and a different index appeared on www. Thus, all the signs of an update happened. I just don't believe this is it.

[Powdork]

I posted this earlier but it seems that the backlinks being listed is no longer double the amount you can find by drilling down.
For instance, from one of my pages
"Results 1 - 10 of about 70. Search took 0.12 seconds" on www. (not updated) would really yield 35 pages linking to my site when I included the omitted results. It has always been thus AFAICT.

Now, on www-sj it is like this
"Results 1 - 10 of about 34. Search took 0.03 seconds"
and there are 34 pages listed linking to my site. I like that. I'm not sure it's the update because it does not show new pages linking to my site added between the previous two deep crawls with pr of 5+. Of course I suppose they could have met with an untimely demise as well.

Maybe this isn't the "update" but from now on what do we call a simultaneous change of backlinks and rankings?

[Jesse_Smith]

:::what do we call a simultaneous change of backlinks and rankings?

A dance!

[coconutz]

This also happened on the 26th for a couple of hours. www-sj.google.com [webmasterworld.com]

Definitely out of the ordinary.

I am under the impression that www-sj is offline and no live queries are being routed through this data center so this could just be some testing?

[Canary]

Everyone has been talking about the reduced number of backlinks......

I am also seeing pages without descriptions in www-sj - does anyone else see this?

I have a bad feeling that the pages displayed may be from the recent deep crawl and a very bad feeling my site was down when deepbot came to visit :(

Only time will tell.

[Jesse_Smith]

:::I am also seeing pages without descriptions in www-sj - does anyone else see this?

Everything looks correct to me.

[mbennie]

I see pages with descriptions but no link or title. These pages seem to be pages inside frames.

[strategies]

I see a lot of new pages on www-sj which were recently deepcrawled and were not in any google index before

(btw: got www, www2 and www3 but what's www-sj?)

[Canary]

IF, and this is a big IF this does turn out to be the serps after the update I think it should be called the bizarre update.

If it is a test server it makes you wonder what they are testing....

Mbennie - not sure what you mean by no link - do you mean you cant click on the result and be taken to the site?

[chiyo]

i agree that google is testing at sj. That does not mean that it may have anything to do with an update - or it might. Its most probably a mixture of a "testing database" and an algo which may or may not contain various elements like PR of link pop. It is certainly nothing to base conclusions on.

To me all it means is that, with other evidence, it confirms my belief that a "monthly update" will be passe sometime this year, and changes will occur at any time due to shuffling freshbotting etc whenever google seems fit. Rather than monthly updates there will be big changes and small changes... and less opprtunity to "reverse engineer" for big SEO companies.

This will be for the good.

..And the last "monthly update" as we know it shall be chistened "Update Enduring Freedom" (from monthly update threads)...

[Onza]

sure sounds good to me!

However, I think I would miss the monthly update fever!

But yes, I think it would give the SEO Business a bit of rest. The monthly "deadline" gets a bit straining after a while :-)

[Yidaki]

If this index will be the new main index, i'll start spamming! Don't know what they're testing but it's definitely not a reduction of hidden stuff impacts - it's the oposite. I can't belive it - the site i'm reporting again and again is now even #1 with a massive amount of hidden text, links and stuff and 1.000 guestbook links. I just can't believe it. This sj-thread destroyed my day.

:(

[Canary]

Yidaki

It sure has not made my day either.

Lets try not to worry until we know what www-sj is though :)

[Napoleon]

I'd have to agree that it is a pretty aweful index. It kind of shakes my confidence in Google a bit.

[Jesse_Smith]

www [google.com] is back to 384,000 again!

[JonB]

jesse: i see 661,000 for yahoo

i like www-sj! my pr 0 site is showing in results that could mean they lifted penalty.

[Goanna1]

The back links on this server seem to be a composite of 2 separate crawls. Is anyone else seeing this?

[Jesse_Smith]

Here's a screen shot. [world-of-nintendo.com]

[Powdork]

Alas, it's the "D'Alta Vista Update";)

[JonB]

Jesse: are you still seeing 384K - i still see 661! i am from Slovenia.amazing. is it different if you are in usa or europe?

[Jesse_Smith]

I'm seeing it change again. At 384,000 right now! [google.com]

[JonB]

nope,1 - 1 of about 661,000 for me :)

[Jesse_Smith]

Bah! Empty your cache! I keep reloading the page, and it keeps showing 384,000.

Remember what day the last two dances started on? Thursday! And yesterday was Thursday!

Edit: Now I see 661,000 again!

[JonB]

sorry,i tried to delete cache,clar history,still 661. i even tried it on few "google dance" pages but they all return 661.