April 2023 Google Search Observations

[RedBar]

I'll kick it off ... Early this morning I had a genuine trade visitor view 500+ pages on their phone ... I guess they were bored:-)

I know they were genuine since they actually sent me an enquiry and told me they'd spent 2 hours on the site.

[renatovieira]

Today I notice high traffic. Looks like it's getting back to normal. Anyone else notice anything different today?

[ichthyous]

Today I notice high traffic. Looks like it's getting back to normal. Anyone else notice anything different today?

I am seeing non-USA traffic back to normal. USA traffic has been unusually low since the Easter weekend and has never reverted. That is due to a large loss in traffic to some of my most important landing pages, despite no change in rank. Upon closer inspection of the SERPS I am finding that the results are returning a block of images, three ads, local results, a block of videos, and then the first organic site link. The 1st and 2nd place results are the same two sites over and over, one of which had dropped off the map for months but now is at #1 again for every search...there is definitely some sort of manipulation going on there. These are all searches which include a place name like "New York XYZ" "London XYZ" and "Dubai XYZ". My ranking is still strong, but for most of these searches the image carousel has been stripped from all of the links, so it's hard to stand out. These apparently slight changes have resulted in massive losses of traffic...up to 80% less traffic for each of the landing pages.

[ichthyous]

Absolutely massive drop in USA / Canada traffic starting 7am sharp today (April 21st)...-35% at 2:30. Anyone else seeing this?

[bebopandrocksteady]

Yes, unfortunately, I've taken a beating today.

[bebopandrocksteady]

I'm not sure I've ever seen so much shuffling. So much so that my semrush isn't as reliable (although it's showing a nosedive, which is correct).

[ichthyous]

Google has taken a targetted hit out on exactly one of my site's most trafficked landing pages...a 92% loss in traffic, despite no drop in rank over the last three months. The traffic for all of the similar/associated search terms has vanished in tandem, in some cases the clicks reported from GSC for a term went from 20 per day to zero and has stayed there since April 14th. The traffic to this page and these terms increased steadily for the last 9 months, and then just vanished all at once....the image below says it all.

This can't be a penalty or I wouldn't be ranking so highly...it's simply more items loaded on the page for this entire set of of semantically similar terms and the loss of features like prominent image carousels under the organic listings. Has anyone else seen this? If it spreads to other sets of terms I am cooked.

[ibb.co ]

[intersect]

60% loss on a huge website. Lost #1 positions to page 3. No clue what is going on.
Don't see any penalties in search console. Freaking out right now.

[mosxu]

We are back to full traffic of zombies, lawless #*$!s

[RedBar]

@ichthyous - As much as many of us are "blaming" G's ad placements, I find it difficult to accept that this is the answer to recent massive traffic drops.

For instance I do know there is a massive decline in both my trade widget enquiries and international shipments and especially so to the West.

Over the next few weeks I have several international trade fairs to visit. I have important company board meetings to attend and these are with hands-on people of 40-60 years trade experience each, it's going to be an interestng April and May without a doubt.

Freaking out right now.

As we Brits are fond of saying "Keep Calm & Carry On" :-)

[mosxu]

The chance of making any money with this search engine it is zero!

[ichthyous]

As much as many of us are "blaming" G's ad placements, I find it difficult to accept that this is the answer to recent massive traffic drops

I am not seeing more ads than usual...the issue of an increased number of ads has been the case since early 2002. I am seeing a huge divergence between impressions and clicks in GSC and in one case both dropped and clicks went to zero for the last ten days. Losing one term would not produce an 80%+ loss of traffic. It seems to be hitting some of my other landing pages to a lesser extent...20%-40% losses instead of 80%.

I just checked these terms on the phone and there is a ton on the page...a block of six site links with images, then related questions, then videos, then 1st organic link, then ANOTHER block of visual site links, then organic positions 2-6, another block of visual sitelinks and a block of related searches. There was not one ad and no Google image there is so much on the page that the traffic is being distributed across many more sites. My site now has the image carousel back...but traffic has not returned...after ten days it's usually permanent.

[RedBar]

Without doubt I have been experiencing different ad layouts and especially so image blocks of between 1 x 5 images up to 5 x 5 image ads interspersed by a couple of traditional SERPs' links. The thing is some of these image ad blocks on scrolloing pages continue scroll after scroll such as:

4 x 4-5 ads
2 x SERPs
5 x 4-5 ads
1 x SERPs
etc etc ... I have seen more than 60-70 image ads before giving up.

.after ten days it's usually permanent.

My last 15 days now indicate a -43% Page Views fall, this is also -66% v 2021 only 2 years ago.

[intersect]

I fixed my problem, apparently my site was hacked and there was a command specifically for the Google Bot in my HTACCESS-file to redirect all traffic to some spam-site about watches. Something that wasn't visible if I just visit the site.

So if you see a spontanious gigantic decline in traffic, definitely check that out.

I found out by doing the url-checker in Search Console. It told me the pages were not indexed.

[engine]

Well spotted, intersect.
I hope you've also been able to close that backdoor.

[BigKat]

Without doubt I have been experiencing different ad layouts

At this point, the layout Google is using has more of an impact on traffic then where a page ranks. As I witness myself, top ranks get very little traffic with these ad heavy layouts. It seems like a mafia type tactic by Google where they have poured cement around our feet, let it harden over the past few months and tossed us in the sea to drown. IMO, I am fine with this. While Google may control a lot of search traffic, they don't control consumer spending. What I am seeing is total upheaval in where orders are originating from, leading me to believe Google has and continues to shed a lot of users who intend on shopping. Of all days, today (Sunday) we are having a solid run on orders coming from sources other then Google. I don't normally work Sunday's, but the momentum in the shift in where sales come from requires constant monitoring. I'm liking what I'm seeing - that is shoppers leaving Google to find what Google has hidden from them with so many ads.

[ichthyous]

I'm not seeing an increase in the number of ads, yet traffic has dropped for some of my most important pages by 30-90%. The issue is not the ads, the issue is all of the added widgets, and in particular the thumbnail links to sites/articles that appear 2-3x throughout the page...not sure what the official name for these boxes is, but they are diluting traffic, especially when all the other widgets on the page, related searches, and ads are taken into account.

IMO, I am fine with this. While Google may control a lot of search traffic, they don't control consumer spending.

Glad you're so nonchalant about it...I'm not. I was JUST recovering from an atrocious 2022 and now this. Other than one suspicious eve when Google must have been updating and I got inquiry after inquiry in a short span...I have had ZERO new inquiries in the last week. Two of the three most important pages of my site have lost all their traffic, and my home page is also way down, and individual pages that were bringing in tons of traffic are totally blitzed. This has nothing to due with rank...my rank is still holding strong. It has to do with the removal of images from organic search so that these links get lost and de-emphasized. In some cases the rank has dropped one or two spots, but the traffic has dropped 90%.

[BigKat]

Glad you're so nonchalant about it...I'm not.

Not nonchalant, but accepting there is nothing within my control that will impact the SERP layout. No amount of SEO, new design on our site, better images/video, links, etc. will allow us to rank above the ads and boxes that have decimated organic traffic. Shoppers are moving to different search engines and sources to find what they are looking for, which I find positive and will likely also carryover to other sellers and those who run informational sites down the road. IMO Google violated their users trust, in prioritizing ad revenue above answering queries, and this will continue to push users to leave Google so long as Google continues down this path.

[Soulofmonk]

Is Google Analytics down?
Edit/Update: now it's back

[superclown2]

IMO Google violated their users trust, in prioritizing ad revenue above answering queries, and this will continue to push users to leave Google so long as Google continues down this path.

I have posted several times that, because of the massive amounts of lawsuits they are facing, I believe that Google will go all out to maximise profits even if it means destroying their future as a 'search engine' (if you can call them that).

Since all their 'other bets' have, collectively, been a mega expensive failure I suggest that those of us who can afford to do so sit this out until they fall, or accept the inevitable and try a different business. Sorry but this is the reality of the situation.

[ichthyous]

Shoppers are moving to different search engines and sources to find what they are looking for, which I find positive and will likely also carryover to other sellers and those who run informational sites down the road.

This is entirely dependent on the product and the price point. This may be the case for some items, perhaps lower priced ones or ones that are easily found elsewhere. What I sell is unique and a high price-point. My customers come from Google...about 80% of them. My traffic from other search engines is so negligible that I don't focus on whether customers come from there. Social media does not send actual customers with decent budgets. Email and my own network of contacts built over the last 20 years is the rest. Real world bricks and mortar partnerships have left me flat and wasted a lot of time and money...they aren't nearly as profitable.

IMO Google violated their users trust, in prioritizing ad revenue above answering queries, and this will continue to push users to leave Google so long as Google continues down this path.

That is self-evident and has been the case since 2010...it has just gotten a lot worse since about 2020. Sundar Pichai's compensation as CEO this year is $200,000,000. Compensation for Google's highly overpaid employees is being extracted from small and medium sized businesses around the world...they are literally killing us off to pay themselves higher and higher amounts. That is the problem with the total dominance of a few tech monopolies. They will need to be cracked up sooner or later for the good of society. That is coming with AI, which is going to kill off highly paid upper level jobs so fast that it will cause a massive backlash.

I also read a recent NY Times article about Google and the comments were a surprise...they were just scathing...hundreds of them. So people are noticing the decline in Google's search quality...but are they adopting other search engines? Not really. Google's market share actually inched up since MS announced Bing was integrating AI. Without Google, I am out of business...as are most of us here.

[ErrlyBird]

Seeing big drops again. We recovered to the same levels as before the March core update now taking big swings again. Our mobile traffic is up a bit and desktop traffic is way down. Conversions seem to be steady but much less impressions and clicks shown in GSC. Not sure what's going on but I could really use some stability for a while. Our company is going through a lot at the moment and this is certainly not helping.

[ichthyous]

The entire extent of my traffic loss is USA / Canada, and concentrated in a few high traffic parts of the site. USA is -45% this morning, and my most important landing page is -88% today. The home page seems to be recovering, as are a couple of other landing pages...but it's up and down. I do not understand why such steep losses...I search and find myself right where I always was, no ranking changes reported...but GSC shows a big divergence between clicks (way down) and impressions (increasing).

[BigKat]

This is entirely dependent on the product and the price point.

Not entirely. If one is strictly in B2C sales, then they are more likely to be highly dependent on search engines for sales. Additionally, are comparable products sold on Amazon/advertised on Google not so dissimilar from what you sell that it would compel shoppers to look elsewhere?

My customers come from Google...about 80% of them.
That is self-evident and has been the case since 2010

Not being disrespectful, but knowing Google has been increasingly monetizing their users and SERPS with ads since 2010 has given us the time to adjust to Google's increasing greed. I concede, not all businesses will be able to adjust in the current environment and where it appears to be going. Regardless, this is more of a business model concern for all of us knowing that between Amazon and Google it is very difficult to be found without appearing in at least one of those properties. Either we adapt our business models, and diversify the products we sell, or we succumb to the abused dominance Amazon and Google inflict on economies. I'm with you in the belief that these companies need to be broken up/regulated for the good of free markets, though I'm not sure if it will ever happen because of massive lobbying efforts that help provide the funding to keep dysfunctional politicians in power.

[ichthyous]

Either we adapt our business models, and diversify the products we sell, or we succumb to the abused dominance Amazon and Google inflict on economies.

Unfortunately it is not so easy for some businesses. Amazon does not carry what I sell, which is basically a luxury item for upscale / wealthy customers. Amazon tried several years back, but nobidy used it and it was the only class of items that failed miserably on their platform. Buyers want exclusivity and cachet in my niche. It's not mass market at all. Things like journalists and publications writing about me and my items are gold, search is gold, but Amazon, eBay, etsy occupy a different universe. Businesses in my niche don't typically concern themselves with search too much as they have networks of wealthy patrons and collectors...they sell via retail locations, foot traffic, and trade fairs. I dont have that so i pick up the ones who want to browse online. Of course, the pandemic murdered a lot of the retail locations and the fairs for several years.

I totally agree that diversification is key, but my partnerships thus far have not panned out as much as I would have liked at all...and have cost a small fortune. So after years of trying desperately to diversify away from search here I remain...still dependent on Google. I'm hammering away at social as a way to gain visibility, but instagram for example has made visibility almost impossible unless you pay. And also they have converted to a tiktok clone so you need to pump videos all day long.

[edited by: ichthyous at 4:47 pm (utc) on Apr 24, 2023]

[superclown2]

I'm not sure if it will ever happen because of massive lobbying efforts that help provide the funding to keep dysfunctional politicians in power.

Absolutely: and in many parts of the world this would be illegal. However it doesn't work the same in Europe and when (and I stress WHEN) change comes it is far more likely to come from this side of the pond. Our Competition and Markets Authority is sharpening pencils at this very moment; Google will be regulated whether they like it or not.

[BigKat]

@ichthyous

I am 110% empathetic of your situation which many find themselves in, including the company I work for to some degree. Though all businesses are different, most of us see Google SEO dying (or dead already) and along with it their livelihoods. There are no words I can use to describe the suffering many are now experiencing for having poured so much money and effort into creating and maintaining their businesses only to have a dominant search engine take it away. It's not fair, likely unlawful in many countries and will have a major negative impact in most industries. And with Google setting the pay to play bar so high, it's the example other search engines and social media sites are following which limits new entrants from succeeding and existing businesses from thriving.

I will say what has bought us some time, and not without a decline in sales/pain, is that I work for a specialized manufacturer. We largely control distribution which keeps our items off of Amazon, other marketplaces and from distributors who would sell our items using Google Ads. We sell B2C, B2B and B2G which gives us some diversity in what customers are looking for and where they find us at. Some of the items we sell directly competes with what the Chinese are selling on Amazon and Google is heavily advertising in their ads. And what these Chinese sellers are dumping on consumers fails to meet current safety standards. Neither Amazon or Google seem to care about the safety of the products they present to their customers/users, but professionals do and continue their search elsewhere (beyond Amazon and Google). At least from my perspective, I'm happy that my company has not given in to jump back into Google Ads or sell on Amazon again. In a sense, my company is doing their part in holding their ground against the abuse of these market leaders. In doing so, my company is helping to educate shoppers to look beyond Amazon and Google which I hope helps train shoppers they are best avoiding Amazon and Google entirely. Still, I know our sales are down and what my company is doing right now could change tomorrow.

@superclown2

I fully agree Europe is far more likely to demand Amazon and Google make changes to protect their markets. But I am doubtful such changes will carry over to the USA. Simply put, USA politicians appear bought and paid for. Just today I saw a pic of Schumer (Senate majority leader) and Adams (NYC mayor) photographed with the Chinese including one person who has been accused of operating Chinese police stations on USA soil. It's hard to believe such politicians would demand less ads in search and/or more diversity in the products or information displayed. If anything, these pictures illustrate how blind these politicians have become in their own personal quests for power/money.

[mhansen]

One thing that always centers me, is that I KNOW where Google stands - and also where I stand in their system. Their mission, and subsequently their legal fiduciary responsibility, is to make money for their shareholders. To do that, they have gathered and stored so much data about every person, every website, every app, and every transaction that occurs across the web. ALL of this, with not only our (Webmasters/Site owners) explicit permission, but encouragement and helpful training with bot exclusions, sitemaps, GA/GSC data, defined goals, conversion metrics with $$ values, gmail use, Chrome usage, metadata, JSON, AMP, etc. The powerplay in their pocket is when they have a website owner using email, GA, GSC, Ads, YT, and basically all of their measurement tools, to run their business. Now, they just need to parse through that data to return the zero-click results as close to 100% as possible, and keep their billions of daily users within the Google ecosystem as much as possible. (Ads, video, PAA, maps, widgets, etc).

In simple terms, If you have a website with a defined goal and a monetary value associated to it in GA, you can bet your last dollar, Google is hyper-suggesting every keyphrase that gets to that conversion page, as an Ad to its ad partners. That is, if they don't already add it to the Ad campaigns automatically. Your 1,500 monthly visitor, long-tail query that was doing so well, is now not only seeing ads in front it, but the smart Advertiser is also adding content to get those visitors as well. In reality, Google likely no longer even needs this data, since it scrapes it from the Chrome users as they browse the web.

A few years ago, people were shocked when Amazon took the highest value products selling on their platform, sourced manufacturers, and started selling those exact products that were not protected by Trademarks for less money. It's basically the same thing Google is doing, but they still get to use OUR data and content, wrap it in ads and reap the rewards, cutting us out of the picture and claiming fair use. THAT practice needs to end, but it's going to get worse with the use of AI.

If you are in a market that has little to no ad demand, instead they show pictures, videos, widgetry and basically anything else they can, to keep the user in their walled garden. I'm confident (no proof) that Amazon and a few other +$10B/year spenders have ad accounts that allow Google to show their ads on all queries, even though the query does not match a product, just to keep an advertiser top and center.

If the user does manage to get out of the loop and click on an organic result, 99/100 times today, it is to a website that is running some form of ads linked to Google. You only need to go through the data of a handful of websites using Cafemedia, Adthrive or some other major "Google Ad Partner" to compare their SEMRush history and see that Google quickly whitelists many of these websites after major updates when they lose a substantial amount of their traffic. (And Goog loses the ad revenue) They may not get all of their traffic back, but they get a lot of it and Google goes right back to feeding them with the crumbs from those zero-click searches, so they can display their high value ads.

It's not Googles fault that we are all in this mess, it's ours. Trademark what you can, then sue the hell out of them when they violate it, like Getty images did for so long.

[RubicCubed]

Umpteenth review update is finished: [status.search.google.com...]

Nothing positive to say, so I won't for now.

[ichthyous]

It's not Googles fault that we are all in this mess, it's ours. Trademark what you can, then sue the hell out of them when they violate it, like Getty images did for so long

Copyright, not trademark. Copyright is automatic for creative works, but they have to be registered in a timely fashion in order to get any damages. And that takes time and effort and if the content isn't unique the copyright can be invalidated. I do it, and have for twenty years and it brings me in a separate six figure revenue stream. But, not as easy as it sounds...you have to get an attorney in each jurisdiction in the US to pursue a wide range of infringements...i have 6 separate firms working my cases. That's not easy and the attorneys don't always want small infringement cases. On top of that if the infringer is overseas you can pretty much kiss it goodbye. UK, Europe have much lower compensation than us and you have to pay the attorney up front, not on contingency. Still, if you have a lot of unique content that you can prove is yours then it's worth the investment in time and money to register your works and pursue infringements.

[RedBar]

18 days consistently now at my new lower average level. My first week of April was fine and then off a cliff edge. I very much doubt there may be any improvement for me without a radical Google alteration.

And as if to prove my point that G is selecting specific types of business sites in my widget sector and especially so in the USA, my UK-focussed hotel venue so far this month is at 156.5%.

That's localisation for you.