SERPS rarely contain actual search phrase

highly irrelevant search results

[oldskool79]

Google no longer seems to return results that contain the actual phrase that was searched for unless you place the phrase in "quotes".

For example, if you search for repair broken widgets none of the SERPs on the first page will even have that phrase in them. The sites might have those words, but nowhere near eath other.

Perhaps this is to prevent some type of keyword spamming, but if you ask me it's getting a little rediculous. It take me 3 times longer to find what I'm looking for than it used to in the 'good old days'.

[Brett_Tabke]

? I'd check your browser or addons.

"repair broken widgets" = 0 results
repair broken widgets = 22,200 results. (all of which on the top page have those three words right in the snippet)

[cabbie]

I have also noticed that Google are not returning the exact requested phrase first or sometimes even in the first 100 results.Its making it alot harder to find sites that are ripping my content off.:(

[Marcia]

I've been noticing some big differences with occurrences of phrases.

>>making it alot harder

It's also making it harder to have pages compatible for both Google and Yahoo. It's almost getting necessary to make separate pages for each of them.

[androidtech]

I think the weird one is the stark difference between search results based on the use (or not) of plural nouns in the search phrase (widget vs. widgets). It's as if Google as really toned down the use of "broad matching" ( to borrow an AdWords/PPC term) in trying to help the searcher find things.

[cabbie]

>>>almost getting necessary to make separate pages for each of them.

Marcia, you are making my head thinking about that scenario.I am just a simple webmaster trying to make a simple website.Woe is me if i have to start being calculative and sneaky.:(

[glengara]

Not so sure, may be a fluke, but "link anchor text" results are not too dissimilar...