May 2024 Google Search Observations

[Billy85]

When I checked my site, 90% or so were some Spam links, but I wouldn't disavow them because I've heard that some sites were worse off after disavowing.
Almost every site has to deal with this and from what I understand, Google only regards those that are listed in your search console?

I also think it has also to do with the amount of people that click on it, meaning, if you try to build backlinks and nobody is clicking on it, google disregards them or gives that link less relevance.

[edited by: not2easy at 1:30 pm (utc) on May 2, 2024]
[edit reason] split thread cleanup [/edit]

[Markedd]

By the way, if anyone thought that the 301 redirect may work, well, l am not sure it will. Since I had nothing better to do about a month ago, I moved approx 20 articles with some updated info to a fresh domain. With the 301 redirection. I don't deny that there is traffic, but just as much as if I would have left them on the main website. And all that comes from the redirection itself, the new website is nowhere to be seen. Maybe a very early conclusion, but I am not sure new websites will rank at all right now and in the near future unless they get lots and lots of quality backlinks quickly. I may mess around with backlinks as well just to see what happens as soon as I have some money to burn.

[RedBar]

After 26 years in the Google SERPs I think I've almost just been blown out for whatever reason!

My Sunday traffic after 14 hours is at 13.2% v 2024 average.

All my former well-ranking pages have just about gone, I have one at #3, a couple at #10, some in the 20-30s with the remainder all gone. This is for both .com and .co.uk results.

Obviously something is happening, we'll see what transpires or do I take this opportunity and retire from this utter farce?

[Micha]

@RedBar I'm sorry to hear that. But welcome to the most annoying club in the world. But what do you mean by withdrawal? Closing websites is not an option, is it?

[Markedd]

@RedBar It depends on whether you have the funds for one or more years before we know whether Google won or not. I am optimistic that websites will remain relevant outside Google, but it seems everyone that has access to broader data and better prediction systems insists that the future is AI. Honestly it feels forced towards the public and there is a wise word to never force a fart (sorry for the language, but couldn't find a better way of putting it).

[RedBar]

Closing websites is not an option, is it?

Nooooo ... Is this an update blip I am seeing this weekend or something else I've sort of seen several times however not to the extent that many of my rankings have completely disappeared altogether ... Or is it the continuation of the US localisation purge of foreign companies since I see that many of my major bulk competitors are missing too.

It depends on whether you have the funds for one or more years

That's not an issue whatsoever it's more of a can I be a$$ed with this continual game-playing by G. AI does not concern me one iota, it's the current buzzword used to try and impress others that one is "up-to-date" and "on trend" :-)

The fact is that the G SERPs are very good for finding and learning about a lot of stuff however if one's subject query just so happens to stray into the commercial world then G's classified ads delivery machine takes over and for the most popular widgets simply drowns-out the results page with a myriad of paid-for promotions.

You do know you have me to blame for all this? I started this ad experimetation back in the early 90s with Altavista!

[Whitey]

Something new or strengthening recently:

I just did a regional localized brand name search.

[brand name] [service type] [location]. Here’s what I saw:
- 8 of 10 positions for the brand / location
- content carousels for the brand linked to their website
- linked different content sections to the brands key information for the 8
- Google reviews and a Google “rate this panel”

In the top 30 results, it is mostly the brand. eg Brand news, carousel of nearby brands, best products of brand, alternatives to brand etc etc

Of the top 30 results, only 2 are returned for quality independent meta search comparison sites. Some of the big meta and niche sites are now GONE.

Nooooo ... Is this an update blip I am seeing this weekend or something else I've sort of seen several times however not to the extent that many of my rankings have completely disappeared altogether ... Or is it the continuation of the US localisation purge of foreign companies since I see that many of my major bulk competitors are missing too.

@redbar - can you expand some more on the "localisation purge" that you are seeing or hearing about. I haven't come across any commentary on this, but am interested to know.

I'm hearing back from an SEO that an iconic household brand leader in our region has lost a lot of traffic recently. Their search traffic is now mainly comprising of [ their brand name ] +kw

As mentioned above, I'm seeing intermediaries [ meta search ] mostly gone from brand name searches for [brand name] + [location] searches in a vertical that i monitor, with up to 25-30+ listings on Google's self created SGE platform results templates.

[Micha]

@RedBar, that wasn't meant seriously either, nobody is going to throw away their website that quickly.

What I just noticed: According to Search Console, the indexed URLs have dropped by almost 10k. That would explain why the clicks and impressions have dropped so much, because among them are some articles that were always in the top 3 (and which you can't actually find on Google anymore, as a test showed).

In general, there still seems to be a lot of movement on Google, at least the visibility index of the pages I monitor has dropped a lot from yesterday to today.

So it's the usual madness, but it would be really nice if things finally settled down.

[mosxu]

@RedBar,

Sorry to hear that,
It sounds like G really likes you to advertise:))

[Dooku]

dragging people like DS, JM and the higher-ups into the streets and going gadafi on their asses!

It's going to be more mundane than the picture you presented for the near future. Why I think that?

First the buzz about G killing off small websites and only thinking about short term shareholder value seems to be picking up online:
A few examples of YT vids appearing more an more:
[youtube.com...]
[youtube.com...]

And one YT vid below I find particularly relevant to the underlying fundamental issue at hand of unbridled greed of which G is a good example and making even the different generations prey on each other. Take especially note of this vid:
[youtube.com...]

So, to refer back to the quote above from Salladtosser's post asking for opinions;
People, this is not going to end well if this continues, and it all depends on the fact if a certain tipping point will be reached in the next 12 months.
I have seen some very dark messages on a different forum that got me worried a lot, the kind of posts like "going gadafi on their asses!"
In the past I always thought these posts are all jokes and fun.....but lately some are becoming really worrying.

[saladtosser]

Just to be clear I'm not advocating for that haha, I just see it as a possibility. I'm one of the ones who will die in a corner quietly so as not to bother anyone lol

Isn't there a movement happening already called "eat the rich"? I wouldn't want to be the public face or even associated with a company that negatively impacts *anyone* personally, I think it would put myself and my family in the firing line, nor would I want to be associated with a company or individual who does that on a moral level either...as content creators by our nature we build, create and improve not destroy!

[Billy85]

It's funny how some people are saying to start YouTube and to diversify traffic.

Yes, it's always good to have multiple traffic sources, but I've seen so many sites like Retro Dodo facing "extinction", despite having massive YouTube & Social Media following.

And let's be honest, YT has not only become pretty sh*tty for creators, it also belongs to the same greedy Company that are creating these problems. They can pull the same sh*t and they pulled sh*t in the past. And in a way you become even more dependable on Big G.

Search engines are the most effective, because it's supposed to show people what they are looking for.

[Markedd]

@Billy85 I know and I am one of those that moves their content to YouTube because there is no other way for my type of content to reach people. It may be by design, but I have no proof about it.

[Micha]

I can just see that the big publishers in Germany are losing a lot of visibility, all of them. And even if it's mean, I just had to grin a little. Let's see when they realize this and go on the barricades, maybe something will finally move here...

@markedd one question, does that work? I also hear that it's better to go to YouTube, but at the same time I also hear a lot of complaints that it doesn't work.

[Markedd]

@Micha It depends on what the websites are about. For me, yes, it makes perfect sense since I can use the article as a script successfully. The upside is far more engagement and the possibility to build a loyal community. The downsides are that you're on a Google platform, so no communication, risk of termination with no recourse and lots of control over what you say (don't upset the big boys or else). I always dreaded the idea of not having my own platform, but it's not me who made Google have multiple monopolies on what people view and search. I wonder what people think about the chat AIs. How ignorant can you be to think that a big corpo has your best interest in mind and rely on them to curate the info on the web for you, as a user, to digest. I can't fathom what's wrong with people nowadays.

[tom_010101]

@micha... Thats sounds interesting. What german pages you mean? I see it on motor1.com

Sistrix is from 16 fallen to 9

[Micha]

@tom golem, Süddeutsche, Faz, Spiegel, Stern, Heise, T3n even Tagesschau have lost a lot of visibility according to Sistrix. Golem has been hit particularly hard, but the website also has many "Amazon is currently selling ..." articles.

[Cyril TechWebsites]

At least the first article I found that's fully covering our problems:
[msn.com...]

And this one is specific but still good:
[usatoday.com...]

[Whitey]

@Cyril_TechWebsites

Google has created an ecosystem that is always tilted in its favor; its dominance gives it disproportionate power over what people see in the marketplace for ideas, goods and services.

What else will Google do to further impact all our lives ... and our pockets? 

Scott Stein is vice president, general manager of USA TODAY.

I hope that the coverage get's get's noticed across the media and regulators. G needs to be held accountable for it's actions and impact on people.

[NeapTide]

Shouldn't google have made separate tabs for SGE and Traditional search just like: Search / SGE / Images / videos / news etc?

Even bing. com has:
Search / Co Pilot / Images / Videos etc. They have not f**ked up their traditional search engine with generative contents.

Do google even read recommendations of users or do they just listen to bureaucratic idi*ts running Google monopoly these days?

[superclown2]

Here are two new ones on me, here in London:

A 'Things To Know' box under the mandatory four ads, with five sub-boxes which together take up nearly all of the space on my desktop; and further down (under of course PAA, Related Searches and three youtube videos packed with ads) a block of four ads, side by side.

Yep. Google is determined to destroy organic .

[superclown2]

You do know you have me to blame for all this? I started this ad experimetation back in the early 90s with Altavista!

You probably helped AV to self destruct :-)

Hopefully history will repeat itself.

[Micha]

The massacre continues, more and more store owners I know are complaining about completely collapsed sales, no more orders have been coming in since the weekend, despite advertising on Google. It simply can't go on like this.

Well, and as far as my website is concerned, I don't need to talk about Google traffic anymore, it's been at a minimum since the weekend and not even worth mentioning. On the other hand, my podcast is bringing me more and more visitors. But at least it's the same for all news sites in Germany; the visibility index at Sistrix shows an ever-increasing loss for the big publishers. So I'm in good company.

I would just like to finally understand what Google is actually trying to achieve with this. The company definitely can't make money this way, more and more users are unhappy, we website owners are unhappy anyway, etc. I just can't see any logical goal.

[Mark_A]

Reducing results from Organic SERPS can cause people to increase PPC advertising.

That is my theory for what Google is doing.

They are making organic be unreliable and holding out the offering of PPC.

[EditorialGuy]

Shouldn't google have made separate tabs for SGE and Traditional search just like: Search / SGE / Images / videos / news etc?

It certainly would make sense for Google to have a separate tab for "Web," now that the main search window has turned into the proverbial kitchen sink.

[RedBar]

For simplicity's sake let's say G used to have 10 blue links, when advertising was first introduced we still had 10 blue links plus s few ads.

I've just looked at the G SERPs for one of my most popular widgets and all I SEE is a mass of image advertising starting with:

A scrolling image ad gallery of 13 ads
1 blue link
A block of 6 images
PAA
4 blue links
A block of 16 image ads PLUS view more products which led to 32 more image ads!
3 blue links

That's about where I would say a traditional 10 link page would end.

In total 58 images ads v 8 blue links.

I assume that the more one pays for an ad, the higher the cost?

I know I've written this before however the Google classified ad system is well and truly in full-effect and has been for quite a few years and is being tweaked all the time. "Improving" the current G SERPs will only alter after intensive G testing.

I am old enough to remember with our family business back to the 50s that we used to advertise in about 50-60 regional newspapers with, basically, no way of knowing how effective that advertising was other than "hoping" it kept the company brand in front of potential buyers ... I must stress that this was not random advertising, it was in a specific sector of a newspaper's classified ads.

IMHO the current G SERPs is simply the modern version of what we used to do with local / regional newspapers.

What's the point of this post?

Welcome to the norm, I can't even call it new norm since it's been this way for at least 10-12 years and as to what may happen with all the "new stuff" proposed, in reality it is more of the historical same yet even more refined, learn how to use it to your best effect, thinking / hoping that things will reurn to the noughties is pointless.

[Fluff_Nutz]

Placing and creating a new tab for web search/AI would make logical sense. For users, publishers and even lawsuits. Unfortunately Google do not do logic. This is becoming more and more apparent.

So, until they inevitably kill themselves off. We need to diversify. As mentioned by RedBar and many others before. I am currently creating as many of these diversifications as possible. Never even used this latest one I signed up to but, apparently, it works. Can't have too many of these and its literally our only option until a new search arrives, depending on their motives. But I agree G ''search'' is definitely not an actual search engine any more.

Social platforms do seem to be working, slowly, thus far too. But I guess it depends on the kind of site and content. Mine is usually always in demand so growth can be rather fast if its actually found.

Also, users don't want AI forced down their throats. They especially don't want ads neither. Oh and it gets boring seeing the same sites all the time. Most people enjoy seeing underdogs. Those that work hard. Most, so called, top sites scrape content and that, too, is evident. If this is the, so called, norm now. Then the demise of Google is, as said, inevitable. Grab some popcorn and watch them crush themselves.

I now find myself creating content knowing it will happen. It's a matter of when and not if. When I see Google so far down my traffic source list I also see them as just a basic company. No different from anyone else, the equivalent of a dying monster. My focus is where it should be, on diversification.

[Micha]

I'm watching Google I/O right now and so far it all sounds like websites are just playing the role of input generators for Google's AI and are otherwise useless. I especially see this statement from Google as a kind of threat: "Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful".

[Billy85]

In a way, I doubt AI / LLM won't be reliable for a long time.
They have millions upon millions of different data sets, it mostly does not understand the content, it doesn't know what's true/false, it doesn't know which sources to get the information from, it's pretty expensive and slow.

It will be good for certain things like translations, but I doubt it will be the main source users will rely on.

[superclown2]

In a way, I doubt AI / LLM won't be reliable for a long time.

Absolutely. Garbage in, garbage out.

I use ChatGTP a lot for creating scripts but I've yet to get one that I haven't had to finish off myself. CSS in particular still seems a mystery to it with constant elementary errors.

Like a well trained monkey it can repeat what it's taught, but innovation is beyond it. And like New Bard or whatever it's latest name is it's taught from data on the Web which is the biggest cesspool in the universe.

I wonder how long it will be before it becomes fashionable to feed these engines with absolutely ridiculous data? Perhaps someone will offer a prize for the person who achieves the best 'hallucination' every month.

*Please note: this would be possibly illegal and a completely irresponsible thing to do and my comment is purely theoretical and in no way an encouragement to anyone to do such an irresponsible and possibly illegal action. And anyway who would judge what the funniest one was?*

PS anyone here remember the 'French Military Victories' Google bomb?

[RedBar]

So, until they inevitably kill themselves off.

Just remember that G is not a juvenile start-up looking for seed funding, it is nearly a 26 year old, extremely wealthy, established company in existence for longer than 50% of many people's working lives ... A 20 year old in 1998 is now approaching 46 years of age.

Plus it has immense influence and powerful connections within the US government that are very unlikely to go away