Google Updates and SERP Changes - April 2018

[kewlchat]

System: The following message was cut out of thread at: https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4889357.htm [webmasterworld.com] by robert_charlton - 5:32 pm on Apr 1, 2018 (PDT -8)


Seems after 3 years traffics picked up some, should we dare to dream?

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 1:39 am (utc) on Apr 2, 2018]
[edit reason] Moved and reformatted message to new month [/edit]

[EditorialGuy]

Google is scared.

No, Google is giving users what they want. Amazon is a great example: Its pages have product listings and prices, but they also have answers and user reviews (often hundreds of user reviews, even for obscure items). The fact that Prime now has more than 100 million members would suggest that people--including Google searchers--love Amazon. That affinity for Amazon will have a positive effect on Google's user metrics for Amazon, and--ultimately--on Amazon's search rankings.

[samwest]

SERP's remain stable since latest update, but even with new top listings (answer box plus positions 1 and 2), traffic remains oddly sporadic and ON/OFF patterns remain. I would rank position at 10, but traffic at a 1. Seems statistically impossible for my key-phrase numbers...unless all Google users have suddenly fled. Recent conversions were from duckduckgo,,,who happen to convert very well.

[MrSavage]

Which is why it makes sense for 2, 3, 4 or 5 spots for Amazon on page 1 of the SERPs. Functioning as designed? Right. People want those spots populated by one or two sites because hey, this way anyone new on the scene has zero options to get those spots because hey, users won't know that they want other sites because they will never know they exist. If you didn't know Amazon in SERP one, then maybe that third or fourth position will catch you eye and get you to click through. Ask Cutts. Is having 2, 3 or 4 page 1 results being from Site A working as designed? Shill response: use Bing.

[samwest]

Fortunately for the informational nature of my vertical, Amazon has no foothold. Only some Pinterest DC at position 5 & 6. The rest is two non direct competitors, one big brand informational and the former link farm leader at the bottom, followed by one more Pinterest...then the ubiquitous ads. All that aside, my point is simply that very, VERY few people now seem to be visiting this vertical, or at least the AB and top two positions....even though it was bustling a few weeks prior. TBH, feels much more network related than SERP related. Secure, mobile friendly dedicated server is working fast and fine.

[glakes]

Amazon is a great example: Its pages have product listings and prices, but they also have answers and user reviews (often hundreds of user reviews, even for obscure items).

It's a great example of why most people searching for products don't go to Google at all. Studies have shown much of Google's product searches occur after people have already visited Amazon and/or other big retail websites. So why crowd the SERPS with the same Amazon pages many people have already visited? I think this scenario is less about giving users what they want and more about Google's inability to determine page/site quality, which is why Google relies so heavily on big brands.

[samwest]

Just like every other FOTM, give it time and Amazon will fade from the SERP's. Who remembers the e-zine articles era and the SERP pollution they wrought?

[JesterMagic]

Looks like mobile first indexing only has happened to a select few. It seems Google is planning to start moving over more sites to mobile indexing very soon (you should get a notification when it happens).:

[seroundtable.com...]
[seroundtable.com...]

[Shepherd]

crowd the SERPS with the same Amazon pages many people have already visited?

Google's inability to determine page/site quality

You can't have it both ways. If Amazon's pages crowd the SERPs it is because they are quality/popular pages. Remember, google wants to rank popular pages, not make pages popular. It's not rocket surgery.

[MrSavage]

Right, so Cutts, the QA guy, wanted the same website multiple times on page 1? Is quality = popular? Not according to who wins Oscars right? Summer blockbusters, killing it at the box office are popular and therefore are quality? Okay, that's your world view not mine. Defending the crowding of the SERPs is pathetic. I can't use any other term to describe it.

[Shepherd]

It's understandable that such a limited vocabulary can be frustrating. Since Cutts has not been with google since 2014 your interpretation of his thoughts are not really relevant.

[samwest]

It's not rocket surgery.

Nor brain science. [youtu.be...]
lol

[MrSavage]

If you build a boat, launch it, and it starts filling with water, it appears that it's working as planned (your logic not mine). I also hope you don't wager on Oscars because you would be resorting to box office revenue and basing your picks on that. After all, quality = popular and popular = quality and according to your logic. Thankfully the world doesn't operate by your simpleton logic.

[Shepherd]

My bad, forgot this is the "World Updates and Changes - April 2018" thread. I'll let you get back to your very productive google and anyone who doesn't agree with you bashing.

[mosxu]

It may not be about the quality of the page, in my industry big brands have some crap products and users are never happy, lots of negative reviews but it does not seem to matter they rank higher and higher day by day.

There is a different plan in place. I would not be surprised if those rankings will be sold to them soon. Most of the buyer traffic is either branded or in Amazon/eBay search box. Brands have to be made to pay somehow and you see Amazon a lot in the rankings it does not mean that there is no deal in place.

[seoskunk]

Guys these search results are not the real thing, it happens during updates, these are highly personalised cached results

Try searching on your phone and tell me why its now vastly different to desktop results?

Oh and the update started Friday 13th I don't know why they didn't admit that maybe they didn't like the name I gave it.

[seoskunk]

What I see from this update:

1. Welcome back homepages
2. Quality content is now king
3. Links well filtered

[seoskunk]

I believe there was a google update as well as mobile first, started Friday 13th seems to be link not content focused - call it the Voorhees update.... unlucky for some

I said that on 17th, everyone ignored, still stand by every word. Later that day the update was confirmed but claimed for Monday, which wasn't when it started,

[samwest]

Guys these search results are not the real thing, it happens during updates, these are highly personalised cached results

I wasn't buying at first, but for me; same results on desktop, mobile & tablet. Firefox, Edge and Chrome, AND Chrome Incognito mode. In addition, had several others around the USA and UK do the same searches, they got the same results, UK was slightly different but who cares, they are less than 5% of my business. I started seeing the "new and improved serps" on the 21st, and along with it, LESS traffic and more tire kickin' zombies.
Answer box is all mine.
Position #1 - mine
Position #2 - a sub page of mine
Result? Less traffic and no buyers.
Freakin' hilarious Google.

[edited by: samwest at 10:40 pm (utc) on Apr 30, 2018]

[seoskunk]

Ok samwest try clearing your history on your mobile and then blocking location settings. Then search.......
Do the same for desktop.....

[edited by: seoskunk at 10:42 pm (utc) on Apr 30, 2018]

[lostshootingstar]

I have seen an increase in the number of "home pages" or root domains ranking well. They even get navigational links on their results where deep pages do not. I have one competetor who has registered about 100+ domains, each for a specific city target and has just copy and pasted the same awful content on each one, replacing the city and state. Since the March update(s) they now rank extremely well.

I very much disagree that "content is king". The content that ranks #1 in my world is laughably terrible. I'm talking about articles written by non English speakers, not proof read, and then run through what seems to be an automated spinning and thesaurus algorithm. For example the term "Frozen solid money" is being used where it means to say "cold hard cash". It would be hilarious if it wasn't ruining my business.

These sites also have very obvious and very big PBNs behind them. If you ask me, "Black hat" is what is really king.

[samwest]

skunk - probably one of the first hings I tried. Same results....all devices, all locations.

[seoskunk]

lostshootingstar I appreciate your frustration but are you sure what ranks yet?

Google will sometimes push a highly linked page to top 10 and then evaluate it with user behaviour. This is a more sophisticated algorithm designed to put quality first, I still think it has at least 4 weeks to run. The internet is massive now.

[seoskunk]

samwest what can i say they have you cached....

[samwest]

If they have me cached, then they have everyone I know cached to, because they get the same results. you would too for the term.

[mosxu]

@seoskunk

What do you mean they have you cached?

[reseller]

Have some you folks noticed today the indications of a possible new Google Algorithm Update?

[Dave_Hybrid]

The week around May Day is a massive holiday in most of the world outside the USA.

[MayankParmar]

A long weekend here in India as well.

[BushyTop]

Are people still seeing movement this morning?

[Cralamarre]

So today is a holiday in a lot of places? My traffic from outside the US this morning has been down.

Seems to be going up now as the US traffic starts coming in.