Google Updates and SERP Changes - August 2019

[samwest]

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System: The following 12 messages were cut out of thread at: https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4951811.htm [webmasterworld.com] by goodroi - 10:33 am on Aug 1, 2019 (utc -5)

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Can someone please write in few words, what we have learned from this latest update and what are the thigns that are now important?

1. Don't rely on Google for your income and 2. "They moved your cheese". What's important? quality time with friends and family.

[jmorgan]

@MayankParmar Yes, the websites in Google's good graces (like WebMD) can arrogantly get away with more. Some even (again arrogantly) demand their users turn off their ad-blocker to use their websites.

Unfortunately, us other plebs don't have the luxury of doing the same without ruining the user experiencing and risking a penalty by Google.

[RedBar]

@skaterpunk - Good link and interesting read:

But if not, here is an explanation. [webmasters.googleblog.com...]

[glakes]

There are unusual googlebots crawling of specifics pages on my site since June. The crawling does not appeared random - the pages are crawled in a list manner at least every three weeks. It happened yesterday again. The same pages over and over.

I agree this odd crawling behavior has been happening for a while and continues to this minute. That's just one example. One page on our website that has not changed in a couple years was just crawled three times, from different Google Gbot IPs, in the span of an hour. Google is doing the same thing on many pages throughout our website EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK.

Normally such heavy crawling is an indication of an imminent algo update, but not in this case. More troubling is the nosedive in traffic quality. This is our busiest time of year, and Google appears incapable of sending us traffic that converts. Even with all the garbage Google puts in the SERPS (ads, images, knowledge panel, etc.) we normally get some converting traffic from Google but not this time. This is just terrible...

[skaterpunk]

…without ruining the user experiencing

I work from my desktop with ethernet connected high speed internet (200Mbps) and some of those sites are still a pain to load and navigate with the insane amount of ads, so I just leave. And this goes for some large brand sites as well.

I agree that the internet can be a cesspool when trying to find quality information. I often wonder if the answers don't exist or the quality articles are so far buried that I just never find the right information, and often times I go multiple pages deep when researching.

[seomotionz]

@skaterpunk Sometime I wonder if Google is working with the US Government and don't us to get all the answers.

Anyway, anybody seeing any weird drop in traffic today? Some huge bounce rate traffic I am getting today. Its more like a zombie traffic.

[AhmedF]

@NickMNS Sucks. We (I'm from Examine.com) tried everything - it was this final update that quite a few of our users noticed (we have a lot of older users).

[MayankParmar]

@AhmedF Our traffic also dropped by 90% and we got completely erased from Google News/Discover feeds.

Google isn't going to admit that its algorithm got things wrong in this release. The Google employees at Twitter will link to some Google blog posts, but it doesn't really help.

[topaz]

Absolutely zero traffic going to AMP pages. For me it looks like they turned it off today and are sending traffic to publisher mobile pages.
Also seeing some shuffling in rank.

[steffanlv]

Google is deliberately censoring all “non-mainstream” health websites that have gained any kind of serious traction, without exception.

- from that SelfHacked article. It's not universally true. I have a former client with very high profile "medic" sites that have benefited from these updates. Legit health sites.

Adding EAT solves nothing, the beauty of the web is that it was uncensored.

- @SouthernGuy, I understand why you would say this but one very high profile site I keep track of, having worked with them in the past, has seen a dramatic decline over the past year primarily due to E-A-T.

I work from my desktop with ethernet connected high speed internet (200Mbps) and some of those sites are still a pain to load and navigate with the insane amount of ads

- @skaterpunk, It's probably better to see how they perform via mobile/4G search, since that is likely how Google is gauging how the site/page should rank.

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[jmorgan]

Great, well-written, article from Examine with a positive attitude:

[examine.com...]

It actually wouldn't surprise me if Examine got out of Google's jailhouse eventually, although admittedly I'm just basing that opinion off the article above.

[Malanje]

About that link: to build your brand is not enough, you still depend heavily on G search. A site that claims having helped tens of millions of people do not get sufficient recognition to be looked for by it's own url. This is real and make us wonder about true Google responsibilities towards the web in general.

[oleotio]

Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click
[sparktoro.com...]

[RareBit]

@oleotio - written like a true SEO :)

[EditorialGuy]

Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click

Not surprising, given that most search results (and pages) aren't worth a click.

[aristotle]

EditorialGuy wrote:
Not surprising, given that most search results (and pages) aren't worth a click.

I presume that you're referring to google's search results.

So why aren't most google's search results worth a click? Please explain.

[oj_mayo]

ahrefs says my SERP features have dropped 25%. noticed the larger font size on google result page & semrush says knowledge panel features in my niche increased over 7% which is the largest bump i've seen in a while

[EditorialGuy]

So why aren't most google's search results worth a click? Please explain.

Because Google indexes the Web, and most Web pages aren't very good.

[MayankParmar]

In addition to low-quality web pages, Google's services such as currency conversion, time difference, flights, sports match tracker, earthquake detection and many more also contribute to zero clicks, no?

[aristotle]

EditorialGuy wrote:
Because Google indexes the Web, and most Web pages aren't very good.

If any pages aren't very good, then google shouldn't include them in its results.

In fact that article was about pages that google does include in its results, and you said that most of those aren't worth a click.

[EditorialGuy]

If any pages aren't very good, then google shouldn't include them in its results.

Not in its top results, maybe. But Google's job is to be a search engine, not merely a "Best of the Web" list.

[steffanlv]

Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click

Depressing but that's what our analytics are showing also. Some of Rand's recommendations however are lacking or just wrong. As always, you have to take whatever Rand says with a huge grain of salt. Too many of his whiteboards have been wrong, deliberately misleading. See Dori Friend and Kyle Roof for proof.

[aristotle]

So most of the pages in google's results "aren't worth a click", but searchers could innocently click on some of them anyway, only to discover that google caused them to waste their time after they click to a page that isn't worth a click.

[southernguy]

Because Google indexes the Web, and most Web pages aren't very good.

Agreed because on the first page (especially mobile) it's mostly ads and clutter, all the good stuff is buried.

If I am looking to buy something it would be nice to first have some info on a product or service I may consider buying or hiring, whatever it may be.

I guess the whole point of Google search today is to remove or filter what they believe is not within the best interest of the user, this could include censoring what they deem harmful.

Followed by:

1. Present a user with the most relevant ads from what they believe is a users search intent.
2. After ads, give you more suggestions which still don't answer the query.
3. After suggestions, serve as much garbage content as possible so the user has no other choice and tries a new search with different terms.

I can see where all this would lead to a significant reduction in clicks.

[Malanje]

@southernguy

3. After suggestions, serve as much garbage content as possible so the user has no other choice and tries a new search with different terms.

Or go back and choose to click on ads because they appear to be the most relevant result.

[JesterMagic]

Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click

I assume this means a click on a organic listing? (not ads or on those silly ever ending question and stolen answer boxes)

[Milchan]

1. Present a user with the most relevant ads from what they believe is a users search intent.
2. After ads, give you more suggestions which still don't answer the query.
3. After suggestions, serve as much garbage content as possible so the user has no other choice and tries a new search with different terms.

That is as good a description of googles business model now as ive seen

although im not sure 1. is entirely correct and maybe should read "1. Present a user with ads from whoever has bid the most for keywords within their search".

[EditorialGuy]

1. Present a user with the most relevant ads from what they believe is a users search intent.

For commercial searches, why not? The Yellow Pages model worked pretty well for decades before the Web came along.

[Milchan]

For commercial searches, why not? The Yellow Pages model worked pretty well for decades before the Web came along.

yeah, but combine it with 2 and 3 and that is where the abuse of power is evident

[jmorgan]

Larry Page in 2004: "We want to get you out of Google and to the right place as fast as possible."

Now Google wants to keep you on their site(s) for as long as possible.

[glakes]

The Yellow Pages model worked pretty well for decades before the Web came along.

The Yellow Pages were a directory organized by humans and was at least presentable. These days RankBrain categorizes search results, and it sure looks like RankBrain had a stroke.

Regardless, I still can't help but to laugh at some of those Yellow Page listings such as:

A Plumbers
AA Plumbers
AAA Plumbers
AAAA Plumbers

Back in the day businesses wanted to be listed in the #1 spot too. Yellow Page Optimization. LOL