4 ms·

Google takes aim at SEO-optimized junk pages and spam with new search update

34 points by mfiguiere 3y ago

RecycledEle 3y ago
It would be interesting to search for answers to questions, then to use an AI to test if the pages offered as search results answer the questions, and which ones do the best jobs. The AI might even be able to tell us how hard it is to find the answer on each page. Google could even change page ranks based in the results. This could greatly improve search results. I can imagine an AI help system that fixes itself by actually trying what it suggests and learning how to do so it knows when it is about to give bad advice. (There are AIs that claim to be able to use PCs right now.)
paulddraper 3y ago
Junk pages...are those the 5 or 6 pages labeled "Sponsored" on every search?
- 6510 3y ago
  They could adjust advertisement rates to page quality. I forget where I see it but I vaguely remember a scheme where rates were lowered if the advert got a lot of clicks.
  - somedude895 3y ago
    Costs per Click go down the higher the Clickthrough Rate is, which makes sense: Google prefers your ad, since it makes more money off more clicks. Page Quality also supposedly influences CPCs. That currently depends mostly on the pages loading speed and whether the page actually relates to the keyword you're buying, so basically the same way they rank organic search as well. So yeah this Search Algorithm change might have an impact on ads as well.
  - nhggfu 3y ago
    rate lowering you say? "Google changed ad auctions, raising prices 15%, witness says" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37820192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37820192
nuancebydefault 3y ago
I just googled "how install mouse driver windows" and still most of result pages are heavily interleaved with ads and popups. In fact I almost forget how used I am to navigating through all the garbage... Really looking forward to google's search improvement.
- biomcgary 3y ago
  or just use chatgpt
  - kardos 3y ago
    How long do you think it will be until ChatGPT starts showing ads?
    - datavirtue 3y ago
      Hmmm...we are paying for it, and it's for business use, so never.
      - wewtyflakes 3y ago
        Hah! You can trust that the businesses will follow the money. There will be LLMs that spit out ads, and there will be LLMs to remove them, and you will pay for both. Just give it time.
      - bdjsiqoocwk 3y ago
        Exactly, like Amazon /s dumbass
        snapcaster 3y ago
        Using the /s tag and calling someone else a dumbass is rich
      - _aavaa_ 3y ago
        LinkedIn Premium would like a word.
xhkkffbf 3y ago
Several of my friends had their blogs delisted. Like the number of indexed pages went straight to zero. I believe there was some claim that the https wasn't provisioned correctly.
thepaulmcbride 3y ago
While Google makes money showing these ads to us, I don’t expect these changes will be for our benefit.
- rafark 3y ago
  They have to. I mean, google wants to sell ads. If the service (google search) was crap, less people would use it. Kind of like bing or the other search engines that barely anyone uses outside of a few tech circles. It’s not perfect but google search is still pretty good if you compare it to other search engines engines and the god awful search functionality of pretty much any site. Even big sites like amazon or reddit are terrible.
ChrisArchitect 3y ago
[dupe] More here on official post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079
achr2 3y ago
Try kagi.com and never look back.
josephd79 3y ago
Some legit sites are gonna be wiped out. Happens every time
rasz 3y ago
Good example is pcguide.com. It got turned into spam linkfarm on ~25 February 2019. Prior to that it was a treasure trove of old timey DOS/BIOS/PC Hardware information frozen in time in 2001. Google was usually returning it at the top of results for relevant questions. Example content https://web.archive.org/web/20190127153310/http://www.pcguide.com:80/ref/hdd/bios/sizeMB504-c.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190127153310/http://www.pcguid... Then someone in 2019 bought this property just for a domain with great google rank, and turned it to typical stolen content referrer scam SEO garbage dump. Testing now by searching for typical garbage query "Best AI website builders in 2024" still returns it on first/second page, once again google talks but fails to deliver.
sfn42 3y ago
Search engine optimization-optimized junk pages?
moi2388 3y ago
Just block affiliate links and ads and it will go away. Oh wait..
ChrisArchitect 3y ago
More discussion on official post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079

34 points by mfiguiere 3y ago

It would be interesting to search for answers to questions, then to use an AI to test if the pages offered as search results answer the questions, and which ones do the best jobs. The AI might even be able to tell us how hard it is to find the answer on each page. Google could even change page ranks based in the results. This could greatly improve search results. I can imagine an AI help system that fixes itself by actually trying what it suggests and learning how to do so it knows when it is about to give bad advice. (There are AIs that claim to be able to use PCs right now.)

paulddraper 3y ago

Junk pages...are those the 5 or 6 pages labeled "Sponsored" on every search?

6510 3y ago
They could adjust advertisement rates to page quality. I forget where I see it but I vaguely remember a scheme where rates were lowered if the advert got a lot of clicks.
- somedude895 3y ago
  Costs per Click go down the higher the Clickthrough Rate is, which makes sense: Google prefers your ad, since it makes more money off more clicks. Page Quality also supposedly influences CPCs. That currently depends mostly on the pages loading speed and whether the page actually relates to the keyword you're buying, so basically the same way they rank organic search as well. So yeah this Search Algorithm change might have an impact on ads as well.
- nhggfu 3y ago
  rate lowering you say? "Google changed ad auctions, raising prices 15%, witness says" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37820192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37820192

nuancebydefault 3y ago

I just googled "how install mouse driver windows" and still most of result pages are heavily interleaved with ads and popups. In fact I almost forget how used I am to navigating through all the garbage... Really looking forward to google's search improvement.

biomcgary 3y ago
or just use chatgpt
- kardos 3y ago
  How long do you think it will be until ChatGPT starts showing ads?
  - datavirtue 3y ago
    Hmmm...we are paying for it, and it's for business use, so never.
    - wewtyflakes 3y ago
      Hah! You can trust that the businesses will follow the money. There will be LLMs that spit out ads, and there will be LLMs to remove them, and you will pay for both. Just give it time.
    - bdjsiqoocwk 3y ago
      Exactly, like Amazon /s dumbass
      - snapcaster 3y ago
        Using the /s tag and calling someone else a dumbass is rich
    - _aavaa_ 3y ago
      LinkedIn Premium would like a word.

xhkkffbf 3y ago

Several of my friends had their blogs delisted. Like the number of indexed pages went straight to zero. I believe there was some claim that the https wasn't provisioned correctly.

thepaulmcbride 3y ago

While Google makes money showing these ads to us, I don’t expect these changes will be for our benefit.

rafark 3y ago
They have to. I mean, google wants to sell ads. If the service (google search) was crap, less people would use it. Kind of like bing or the other search engines that barely anyone uses outside of a few tech circles. It’s not perfect but google search is still pretty good if you compare it to other search engines engines and the god awful search functionality of pretty much any site. Even big sites like amazon or reddit are terrible.

ChrisArchitect 3y ago

[dupe] More here on official post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079

achr2 3y ago

Try kagi.com and never look back.

josephd79 3y ago

Some legit sites are gonna be wiped out. Happens every time

rasz 3y ago

Good example is pcguide.com. It got turned into spam linkfarm on ~25 February 2019. Prior to that it was a treasure trove of old timey DOS/BIOS/PC Hardware information frozen in time in 2001. Google was usually returning it at the top of results for relevant questions. Example content https://web.archive.org/web/20190127153310/http://www.pcguide.com:80/ref/hdd/bios/sizeMB504-c.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190127153310/http://www.pcguid... Then someone in 2019 bought this property just for a domain with great google rank, and turned it to typical stolen content referrer scam SEO garbage dump. Testing now by searching for typical garbage query "Best AI website builders in 2024" still returns it on first/second page, once again google talks but fails to deliver.

sfn42 3y ago

Search engine optimization-optimized junk pages?

moi2388 3y ago

Just block affiliate links and ads and it will go away. Oh wait..

ChrisArchitect 3y ago

More discussion on official post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39607079