Please explain these search results

[zerillos]

Lets say I have a blog post with the title Post Title

If I search Google with Post Title the result page returned is the index of the blog (let's say example.com).

But, if I search Post Title site:example.com the first result it returns is the actual blog post with the title Post Title.

What does this say about the page with the actual blog post? Why doesn't G return the actual post when I search without the site: operator?

I hope I can make myself understood...

[Staffa]

Have you tried searching for Post Title between " ", it could be that there are others with the same title on their site and you became one amongst many.

[jimbeetle]

If I assume that there is a link from the index to the blog post then we've seen this behavior before: the page with the link on it being returned in the normal SERPs rather than the expected one. Suppositions abound. It's possible, maybe, that it has something to do with this patent filing [appft1.uspto.gov], though the behavior was noticed some time before the October 2007 filing date.

Web pages of a Website may be processed to improve search results. For example, information likely to pertain to more than just the Web page it is directly associated with may be identified. One or more other, related, Web pages that such information is likely to pertain to is also identified. The identified information is associated with the identified other Web page(s) and this association is saved in a way to affect a search result score of the Web page(s).

Mostly just food for thought as G always has something new going on behind the scenes. It's just hard for us to suss out what it actually is.

[zerillos]

Yes. I tried it. It also returns the index page of the blog. Not the actual post.

[zerillos]

What I've realized just now is that this behavior is not happening in all the datacenters. Some datacenters return the actual post, but most of them return the index of the blog.

the page with the link on it being returned in the normal SERPs rather than the expected one.

Any ideas how to change this situation?

[jimbeetle]

Most of the time looking at the results from different data centers is just going to confuse matters. There are always going to be differences as different data dumps (and maybe algo tweaks) propagate throughout the system.

Maybe the way to change the situation is to get more links to the post page. That would seem to make sense and would be the first thing I would try. Or, maybe even before that, check your blog architecture: Is that same post reachable by more than one URL, say by topic archive and date archive? That might dilute some link juice going to the post.

And then, if, maybe, possibly, mayhap, something along the lines of that patent have kicked in Google might have taken one aspect out of our hands. Again, this part is only food for thought, something to keep back of mind as we look at things.

[zerillos]

Is that same post reachable by more than one URL, say by topic archive and date archive? That might dilute some link juice going to the post.

Yes, more or less, this is the case. The post is reachable from the index, archive and some other places.

But on the other hand you say to get more links to the post.

I'm a little confused. Please explain.

[5ubliminal]

On the homepage of your blog there's a link to the post with Post Title. The Post Title text is actually on the homepage. Homepage outranks rest of pages so homepage is brought in as a first result.
It makes perfect sense ... doh.

[zerillos]

5ubliminal you're right, but this isn't the issue. The issue is the fact that the actual post appeares in the results only if I use the site: operator.

This situation began a few weeks ago.

Up until then the index page was the first to be returned in the results, as you say, but then, as the rank was passed on through the anchor text in the link on the index page to the actual post, the actual post was returned in the results.