July Update?

[Heywood_J]

Is it me or does it look like a significant update is going on at google. I am noticing a number of SERP changes for a few of my sites and they've been fluctuating for the past few days.

Anyone else noticing any major changes?

[steveb]

Backlinks updated 216.239.37.147

[Rugles]

>>>Backlinks updated

Yes, I see it too and I like it.

[steveb]

I don't notice a pagerank update though, strange.

And despite GoogleGuy's assurance, it does look like they have gutted the backlink command.

Interesting that they would make the command totally worthless instead of just getting rid of it. Direct attack on webmasters, especially novice ones.

[edited by: steveb at 1:49 am (utc) on July 17, 2004]

[Rugles]

Plus, it appears to be an increase in backlinks that do not have a page title or description.

[edited by: Rugles at 1:48 am (utc) on July 17, 2004]

[Stefan]

That IP shows no internal backlinks, no ODP or Google Dir backlinks, and no Y Dir backlinks for our site. I find it difficult to believe that the new backlinks for our site are a scattering of pseudo-directory dmoz links. There's something wonky.

<added>Especially because our serps haven't changed on that IP</added>

[edited by: Stefan at 1:52 am (utc) on July 17, 2004]

[steveb]

What is "wonky" is that Google would be so rude as to actually show this trash for any search, and do so deliberately.

[Rugles]

Lots of oddities from were I am sitting.

[Rugles]

Wonky, the new kind of update.

[steveb]

I'm seeing significant serp changes... the "worse" batch that has been on several datacenters.

[Stefan]

What is "wonky" is that Google would be so rude as to actually show this trash for any search, and do so deliberately.

For sure... it's a bizarro experiment, probably showing up on some searches, that should have never gone live. The backlinks are totally f#cked, guaranteed. The only ones showing for us are the dregs of our ODP clone links, the kind that never usually show, under PR4.

[Rugles]

steveb

This is the most dramatic change I have witnessed in quite a while. You are correct.

[steveb]

You gotta wonder how much opium these guys ate at the meeting where someone said: "Hey, let's show all the ODP clone backlinks and hardly anything else."

[Stefan]

It's a weird bunch of backlinks, alright. I just spent some time looking at their PR... mostly PR0-PR1 and a few that just give a 404. All the real backlinks are MIA. This for our PR6 site.

<added> Of course, it's interesting... I didn't realize we had a backlink from "yoogoo". It's PR0. </added>

[steveb]

Since PR hasn't changed, this might be a separate move of just trvializing the backlink command. Again, despite what GG said, most low PR pages continue to show zero backlinks, so this goofball move benefits no type of domain.

It's kind of funny though, in a sick way of course, to see two pages with the exact same links have one show 90 backlinks and the other show 6440.

Some pages with a few thousand PR4+ backlinks show two; other pages with a few thousand PR4- backlinks show thousands.

Again, it would be one thing to just eliminate the command for some reason, but this is either a slap in the face, or completely incompetent.

[Rugles]

>>>"yoogoo"

congratulations on your new backlink

i am sure you earned it, good work!

[Stefan]

Thank you. :-)

[wellzy]

I show a weird mix of backlinks. Some are PR0 some are internal PR4's. I hope these results don't go live. These are the worst in a long time.

wellzy

[srinivas]

i am seeing the new prs,pr updated

[Scarecrow]

Do yourself a favor and get some decent external backlink reporting:

Yahoo command for off-site backlinks:

link:http://www.mydomain.com/anypage.html -site:www.mydomain.com

Yes, it shows hundreds or thousands more than Google for an average site, if you ask for the home page. You won't even believe your eyes! But if you start asking for deep pages, it starts getting believable.

[steveb]

On the bright side (not)...

what an education this is in dmoz clones! You guys got the poetry site? How about the sm image gallery? Knowing these sites link to me is so much more fullfilling than seeing five university library and three major newspaper links.

[Stefan]

You guys got the poetry site?

Hey man, I got backlinks from sites that don't even exist anymore. We're spreading out through time, like some Star Trek version of Google. Next, I'll find the right command to register www.msn.com and then we're off to the races.

[Rugles]

>>>I got backlinks from sites that don't even exist anymore

If that is the new SEO, getting non-existing links, I will excel.

[IITian]

It would only be fitting to do the PR update now with original PR0-2 pages shown as PR10 while PR6+ pages are zeroed out.

[steveb]

The tool thingee is showing all datacenters updated with the new backlinks, but no PR changes on any.

[Marcia]

I'm seeing different numbers on different data centers, the one with the lower numbers omitting the better ones and showing most of the junk.

[synergy]

Wow.. this is the oddest backlink update I've seen in the 2 years I've been watchng Google. Only less than PR3 links are showing on my end... Are they hiding the high PR links now?

[oaktown]

I tested on two well-known terms and each time found one link in the first ten backlinks that was PR0 (or white bar?)!

[Artecona]

I am seeing PR0 sites all over the top 10 in many competative terms. Strange

Things are a changin' will have to see what the morning brings.

[troels nybo nielsen]

This is indeed a learning experience though I'm not at all sure what its teachings are. I think I'll turn my back on Google for the next couple of days.

[Powdork]

Perhaps what we are seeing is the inverse backlink command. It's showing all the links you have that DON'T count. For me it is only internal links and the site that I obviously (as one directory 301's tothe new domain) also have control over, while there are many pr 5-7 links pointing at the site.
I'd like to write more but I've got to get to work on getting that yoogoo link.;)