Google Updates and SERP Changes - May 2017

[reseller]

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System: The following 5 messages were cut out of thread at: https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4842918.htm [webmasterworld.com] by robert_charlton - 4:18 am on May 2, 2017 (PDT -8)

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Last month April 2017 hasn't been a nice month to webmasters as far as Google Algorithm Updates and SERPs fluctuations are concerned. There are several WebmasterWorld friends who have lost big portions of their organic traffic. If you just take a look at RankRanger's Google SERP Fluctuations chart you would notice dates of medium to high levels of fluctuations on April 17th, April 20th, April 25th, April 29th and April 30th. Those are just indications of the "volatile SERPs environment" of April 2017.

I'm just wondering what would the current month brings us of Google Algorithm Updates surprises :)

Personally I wish to see on this thread happy posts reporting recoveries and the return of at least parts of what have been lost of Google organic traffic during the latest few months. Let's hope so :)

[masterjoe]

Yes, and they haven't let up on their embarassingly inaccurate knowledge boxes. They really need to stick with facts. As an example, Ive reported an incorrect answer for the inventor of email which has still not changed.

I also did a search for one of my somewhat famous friend "Sammy Johnson" and it comes up with a knowledge box for "Sammy Miller" - presumably because he is Australian and I am in Australia.

No, how about just giving me what I asked for Google.

Anyway, as a credit and maybe a point to moving the real Sammy Johnson into the knowledge box, here is a link to a song of his: [youtu.be...]

[jambam]

Iv had one sale all month :) yay for £5.

[ionguy]

@sam looking at my google analytics acquisition channels google looks worse; in comparasion to direct and referal traffic google has now less than 50%; when 1-2-3 years ago it was always over 60 and even 70%; drop 10% year 2 year; actually since zombies;
main keywords improved (1-2points up); had no time to analyze longtalis yet; sorry
surprise for today - my 6-8am conversions hours disappeared today :P

@jambam what are you going to do with so much cash?
but seriously sorry to hear that; i guess this will hit us all sooner or later; seems google declared a war against small business

[jambam]

@ionguy probably webhosting costs lol. I was 19 started my online buisness now 24 all my hard work is down the pan. At the peak of my "success" I made like £100 a week for a month and then that slowly over the last 2 years eroded.
I feel totally crushed and Its is very tempting to just go into spamming with nothing to loose and probably many do, but I will probably go into focusing on things I enjoy and get as far away from the internet as I can now because its just a bursting bubble.

[samwest]

@jam bam - I'll share my experience so you don't feel so bad...I started my business out in 1997 (about the same time Google stated out, minus the federal seed funding). The one site I usually report on built up to $2500/wk by around 2008. In May of 2010 it began it's constant decline to about $250/wk in 2017. It continues to decline.

Now, if direct competition was the cause, I could accept that. However, I have actually lost competitors along the way. The only thing pushing me out now is the algo and a few heavy handed informational sites who are ad network partners. They offer no answers, just keyword loaded pages of barely relevant spin and zero takeaway. I won't be naive to think that mobile hasn't decimated us too. Social media, which should have been a boon, has become a greedy bane.

At peak, my monthly key phrases (as reported by awstats, which no longer works) was over 15k/mo. Now it's about 150/mo. The biggest phenomenon that I see with the SERPs is that my exactly page titles rank on page 1, usually result 1. However, I have zero long tail, while those keyword loaded informational sites enjoy semantic results across the board. Nobody in this or any other SEO forum seems able to explain why they get preferential organic exposure while we all get magically batted down. I know the answers. I'd say "hang in there" but I gave up on that hope years ago. In my vertical these days, it seems today the more you do, the less you get. Diminishing returns, by design. As EG will surely reply, YMMV.

Now I just watch out of morbid curiosity. Sorry for the cloudy outlook.

[EditorialGuy]

We were down very slightly last week, compared to the previous week, but are up again this week. I suspect the changes had more to do with the (then) impending holiday weekend than anything Google was doing, since Google traffic was falling and rising at about the same rate as traffic from other sources.

[System]

The following message was cut out to new thread by goodroi. New thread at: google/4851947.htm [webmasterworld.com]
10:37 am on Jun 1, 2017 (utc -5)