August 2024 Google Search Observations

[christianz]

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System: The following 2 messages were cut out of thread at: [url=https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/5108712.htm]https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/5108712.htm[/url] by engine - 3:31 pm on Aug 1, 2024 (utc 0)

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Traffic drop since yesterday / today. Not sure who is gaining right now - SEO spam or Googlespam (SGE etc).

[Micha]

@delorean Rule no. 1 don't listen to everything Google says. Rule no. 2. always think of the users, if the codes no longer work, get rid of them and rule no. 3. do what you think is best.

[Conro]

@delorean If the page has no backlinks and does not get visits, if it serves no purpose except to take up space you can delete it. On the other hand, if it has backlinks, receives visits, you can leave it like that or update with new content

[Juniya]

http[b][/b]s://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-05/google-loses-doj-antitrust-suit-over-search

You would ASSUME Google knew they would not win this case? Or did Gemini tell them that they can actually win this case? The case is still technically on-going as the Judge now has to come up with 'remedies' on how to fix this monopoly.

Either way, in the next couple of years, this is probably going to be the biggest change to the online ecosystem since the introduction of ChatGPT lol.

[saladtosser]

Anyone else think this latest news will result in google doubling down next update and squeeze even more out of the SERPS? Sadly this seems to be their ongoing logic...

[universenet]

At the end, Google chrome will be split from Google and will be sold to someone,
And maybe something more will happenjng

[Juniya]

@SaladTosser -- Ya at this point we shouldn't be surprised if they did come up with more and more crazy updates just to squeeze whatever they have left.

@Universenet -- I was thinking things might go the way how Microsoft 'separated' itself from IE.

[universenet]

@Universenet -- I was thinking things might go the way how Microsoft 'separated' itself from IE.

Juniya
Microsoft is not monopolist (for now) in this search engine bussiness,
when company starting to be monopolist law is for that company diferent of others
similar like in telephonic companies,
in some way they will decide some step that some of google part need divide from mommy.
Example I can do what I want if I have search engine website, because nobody care about
but when someone is biggest in this bussines is diferent and goverment react diferent
This is not because us, it is because other big fishes like microsoft, apple, what want do that job too so they are who complain against google, but for us? nobody listening us mostly...

[sudo]

@delorean delete em.

[einen]

If Google didn't have monopoly, and there were say 4 search engines each with 25 % market share, we wouldn't have to talk about SEO updates at all, we would barely notice, that is how it should be, SEO update crushing someone's business is just stupid.

[EditorialGuy]

If Google didn't have monopoly, and there were say 4 search engines each with 25 % market share, we wouldn't have to talk about SEO updates at all, we would barely notice,

More likely, SEO would become even more complicated, because SEOs and site owners would need to make bets on which search engine delivered the most useful traffic for a given site. Having four search engines (to use your example) would also mean more spam, because site owners and SEOs would crank out multiple versions of pages or sites to rank well in the different search engines.

(I should add that I'm not defending Google's monopoly. I was publishing on the Web in the early to late 1990s when search engines included InfoSeek, Excite, AltaVista, Webcrawler, and a bunch of other SEs that I've long since forgotten. It was nice not to have been dependent on an omnipotent search engine for traffic.)

[Conro]

It is not necessary, spammers already do it and search engines have no difficulty dealing with spam. Just try the various search engines, even the most outraged stranger is much better than Google. By now google is useless, you look for one thing and answer with something else and it is the only one like that, but it remains the most used because of its illegal monopoly for which it was condemned

[Shepherd]

... think this latest news will result in google doubling down next update and squeeze even more out of the SERPS?

Not that google needed much motivation...

It did seem that testing for the next update stopped/reverted shortly after the court ruling was announced. Probably just my imagination.

[superclown2]

More likely, SEO would become even more complicated, because SEOs and site owners would need to make bets on which search engine delivered the most useful traffic for a given site.

That theory holds water if (a) you knew exactly what that search engine's algo was and (b) it stayed constant, unlike Google's, which seesaws. Back in the old days i knew that if I put a good useful site up I would get steady business from somewhere. Right now, as Dylan said, the first one now will later be last.

site owners and SEOs would crank out multiple versions of pages or sites to rank well in the different search engines.

You think they don't do that now?

[KaseyM]

Traffic is in the doldrums at this point. I hope a core update hasn't already rolled out.

[ichthyous]

USA traffic stopped cold at 9am and dropped off a cliff...it has stayed at -40% for three hours

[delorean]

Starting August, some of my pages are gradually being deindexed. Do some of you guys experiencing the same?

[RedBar]

It's August and many in my widget industry are on holiday, some for the entire month! Traffic is where I expected it to be at -20%

[RedBar]

I was publishing on the Web in the early to late 1990s when search engines included InfoSeek, Excite, AltaVista, Webcrawler, and a bunch of other SEs that I've long since forgotten.

I'm the same as EG and trying to keep up with all the different SEs was a nightmare. I do remember there was one specific site but can't remember the name, whereby one could submit a domain and then they would submit to all the search engines they knew of. And then there was the ODP / DMOZ which started off with all good intentions and then certain things happened ... Weren't the ODP listings used in G until 10+ years ago?

Do I remember having to pay to get a Yahoo! listing? Or was it another SE?

[Conro]

I'm noticing that from google in the mobile version is blocking the continuous scrolling of pages. Do you notice the same from mobile?

[ichthyous]

I spoke too soon, at noon sharp the USA traffic started surging again and it looks like it will be up for the day. These mysterious hours-long periods where traffic vanishes are getting quite annoying. Can it really be the case that nobody in the United States was searching for three hours in a row earlier today? Non-USA traffic (except for Canada) has been strong lately, but again, no sales at all.

[EditorialGuy]

Do I remember having to pay to get a Yahoo! listing? Or was it another SE?

Yes, you had to pay for a Yahoo! directory listing, although there may have been some exceptions. The fee was substantial, as I recall.

Yahoo! Search, the SE part of Yahoo!, didn't have a fee. (Its results were imported from Google after Google came along. I'm not sure what Yahoo! did for crawled search, or if it even had crawled search, pre-Google.)

Paid search (as opposed to paid directories) included AskJeeves and GoTo (later Overture). I think there may have another search engine, whose name I've forgotten, that interspersed paid results with organic results. The search landscape was big and messy back in the olden days!

[Hollywood]

I have been here on this website for a very long time (20 years), I am sure some won't believe this idea I have, but I am absolutely sure that Google knows each website owner and is filtering results to send pro Trump business less business.
Have you noticed a decrease in website traffic or search visibility for your business lately? It's due to Google filtering results based on political affiliations.

As a long-time user of Google My Business, webmaster tools, GSC, etc... and all else Google, I have observed a trend where businesses like me who are pro-Trump are receiving less online visibility and income. This includes fewer hits, less website traffic, and lower rankings on search results and maps. Truly ask yourself... IMO Google IS purposely filtering out business websites associated with pro-Trump business owners.

If you also strongly believe that your business is being affected by this bias like me, it's important to monitor your online presence closely and consider reaching out to your senators and congresspeople for your disclosure of what you are finding and thinking! Remember, maintaining a fair and unbiased online presence is crucial for the success of ANY business and ANY country.

~Hollywood

[Micha]

@hollywood and how do you explain the game to the rest of the world? Fortunately, we in Germany have nothing to do with the megalomaniac grandpa and he is (also fortunately) not an topic on my site.

So, now to the state of my pages: It's strange at the moment, traffic on my news page has been low all day, but from about 7pm it skyrockets, and has been doing so for three days. I don't need to pay attention to the keyword ranking at the moment, it changes several times a day.

Until yesterday the store was doing pretty well, but today the traffic is high, but sales are once again zero.

[EditorialGuy]

If we're to give credence to Hollywood's conspiracy theory (or is it meant to be satire?), Google must have slipped my file card into the Deplorables drawer by mistake.

[Hollywood]

I probably won't have more to say for a few years. One day Google will be replaced, I will be on that thread, on that free, non-biased technology.

[KaseyM]

Google isn't that smart.

The current algo states that if you're an Indian newspaper or Reddit you get top ranks. Everyone else fighting for scraps.

[ichthyous]

As a long-time user of Google My Business, webmaster tools, GSC, etc... and all else Google, I have observed a trend where businesses like me who are pro-Trump are receiving less online visibility and income. This includes fewer hits, less website traffic, and lower rankings on search results and maps.

Based on what proof are you basing this belief? What hard numbers, metrics? And why mix your political beliefs with your business at all? It's a recipe to lose customers, trust me. I'm considered a leftie by American standards (or a centrist by any other country's standards)...I have always had plenty of GOP/conservative customers. Do I want to turn away their business because of their political beliefs? F-no I take their money too! Don't mix business and politics, it's a recipe for losing money.

[Billy85]

@Kasey
I feel like the Algo is getting worse and therefore dumber.
I think they lost control on how to rank the best pages due to the complexity of the Algo and on top of that, they do everything to maximize profits aka saving money.
I just learned yesterday, that Google have trouble processing the current hreflang logic (whether on purpose or not) and that's why the SERPS are often littered with these trash results from India or that's why my site is getting outranked by sites from outside Europe that are pretty much irrelevant for Germany.

This update only seems to be a continuation of their current trash path, as I lost rankings yet again.

[Conro]

Does anyone have Google stock? Sell before they're worth nothing

[sanjeevk89]

Seeing a drop in some of my websites in Australia. Keywords have been fluctuating for the last two weeks.