#Core Update

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Google is (still) losing the spam wars to zombie news-brands

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me TONIGHT (May 3) in CALGARY, then TOMORROW (May 4) in VANCOUVER, then onto Tartu, Estonia, and beyond!

Even Google admits – grudgingly – that it is losing the spam wars. The explosive proliferation of botshit has supercharged the sleazy "search engine optimization" business, such that results to common queries are 50% Google ads to spam sites, and 50% links to spam sites that tricked Google into a high rank (without paying for an ad):

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/03/core-update-spam-policies#site-reputation

It's nice that Google has finally stopped gaslighting the rest of us with claims that its search was still the same bedrock utility that so many of us relied upon as a key piece of internet infrastructure. This not only feels wildly wrong, it is empirically, provably false:

https://downloads.webis.de/publications/papers/bevendorff_2024a.pdf

Not only that, but we know why Google search sucks. Memos released as part of the DOJ's antitrust case against Google reveal that the company deliberately chose to worsen search quality to increase the number of queries you'd have to make (and the number of ads you'd have to see) to find a decent result:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

Google's antitrust case turns on the idea that the company bought its way to dominance, spending the some of the billions it extracted from advertisers and publishers to buy the default position on every platform, so that no one ever tried another search engine, which meant that no one would invest in another search engine, either.

Google's tacit defense is that its monopoly billions only incidentally fund these kind of anticompetitive deals. Mostly, Google says, it uses its billions to build the greatest search engine, ad platform, mobile OS, etc that the public could dream of. Only a company as big as Google (says Google) can afford to fund the R&D and security to keep its platform useful for the rest of us.

That's the "monopolistic bargain" – let the monopolist become a dictator, and they will be a benevolent dictator. Shriven of "wasteful competition," the monopolist can split their profits with the public by funding public goods and the public interest.

Google has clearly reneged on that bargain. A company experiencing the dramatic security failures and declining quality should be pouring everything it has to righting the ship. Instead, Google repeatedly blew tens of billions of dollars on stock buybacks while doing mass layoffs:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Those layoffs have now reached the company's "core" teams, even as its core services continue to decay:

https://qz.com/google-is-laying-off-hundreds-as-it-moves-core-jobs-abr-1851449528

(Google's antitrust trial was shrouded in secrecy, thanks to the judge's deference to the company's insistence on confidentiality. The case is moving along though, and warrants your continued attention:)

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-2-trillion-secret-trial-against

Google wormed its way into so many corners of our lives that its enshittification keeps erupting in odd places, like ordering takeout food:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/24/passive-income/#swiss-cheese-security

Back in February, Housefresh – a rigorous review site for home air purifiers – published a viral, damning account of how Google had allowed itself to be overrun by spammers who purport to provide reviews of air purifiers, but who do little to no testing and often employ AI chatbots to write automated garbage:

https://housefresh.com/david-vs-digital-goliaths/

In the months since, Housefresh's Gisele Navarro has continued to fight for the survival of her high-quality air purifier review site, and has received many tips from insiders at the spam-farms and Google, all of which she recounts in a followup essay:

https://housefresh.com/how-google-decimated-housefresh/

One of the worst offenders in spam wars is Dotdash Meredith, a content-farm that "publishes" multiple websites that recycle parts of each others' content in order to climb to the top search slots for lucrative product review spots, which can be monetized via affiliate links.

A Dotdash Meredith insider told Navarro that the company uses a tactic called "keyword swarming" to push high-quality independent sites off the top of Google and replace them with its own garbage reviews. When Dotdash Meredith finds an independent site that occupies the top results for a lucrative Google result, they "swarm a smaller site’s foothold on one or two articles by essentially publishing 10 articles [on the topic] and beefing up [Dotdash Meredith sites’] authority."

Dotdash Meredith has keyword swarmed a large number of topics. from air purifiers to slow cookers to posture correctors for back-pain:

https://housefresh.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keyword-swarming-dotdash.jpg

The company isn't shy about this. Its own shareholder communications boast about it. What's more, it has competition.

Take Forbes, an actual news-site, which has a whole shadow-empire of web-pages reviewing products for puppies, dogs, kittens and cats, all of which link to high affiliate-fee-generating pet insurance products. These reviews are not good, but they are treasured by Google's algorithm, which views them as a part of Forbes's legitimate news-publishing operation and lets them draft on Forbes's authority.

This side-hustle for Forbes comes at a cost for the rest of us, though. The reviewers who actually put in the hard work to figure out which pet products are worth your money (and which ones are bad, defective or dangerous) are crowded off the front page of Google and eventually disappear, leaving behind nothing but semi-automated SEO garbage from Forbes:

https://twitter.com/ichbinGisele/status/1642481590524583936

There's a name for this: "site reputation abuse." That's when a site perverts its current – or past – practice of publishing high-quality materials to trick Google into giving the site a high ranking. Think of how Deadspin's private equity grifter owners turned it into a site full of casino affiliate spam:

https://www.404media.co/who-owns-deadspin-now-lineup-publishing/

The same thing happened to the venerable Money magazine:

https://moneygroup.pr/

Money is one of the many sites whose air purifier reviews Google gives preference to, despite the fact that they do no testing. According to Google, Money is also a reliable source of information on reprogramming your garage-door opener, buying a paint-sprayer, etc:

https://money.com/best-paint-sprayer/

All of this is made ten million times worse by AI, which can spray out superficially plausible botshit in superhuman quantities, letting spammers produce thousands of variations on their shitty reviews, flooding the zone with bullshit in classic Steve Bannon style:

https://escapecollective.com/commerce-content-is-breaking-product-reviews/

As Gizmodo, Sports Illustrated and USA Today have learned the hard way, AI can't write factual news pieces. But it can pump out bullshit written for the express purpose of drafting on the good work human journalists have done and tricking Google – the search engine 90% of us rely on – into upranking bullshit at the expense of high-quality information.

A variety of AI service bureaux have popped up to provide AI botshit as a service to news brands. While Navarro doesn't say so, I'm willing to bet that for news bosses, outsourcing your botshit scams to a third party is considered an excellent way of avoiding your journalists' wrath. The biggest botshit-as-a-service company is ASR Group (which also uses the alias Advon Commerce).

Advon claims that its botshit is, in fact, written by humans. But Advon's employees' Linkedin profiles tell a different story, boasting of their mastery of AI tools in the industrial-scale production of botshit:

https://housefresh.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Advon-AI-LinkedIn.jpg

Now, none of this is particularly sophisticated. It doesn't take much discernment to spot when a site is engaged in "site reputation abuse." Presumably, the 12,000 googlers the company fired last year could have been employed to check the top review keyword results manually every couple of days and permaban any site caught cheating this way.

Instead, Google is has announced a change in policy: starting May 5, the company will downrank any site caught engaged in site reputation abuse. However, the company takes a very narrow view of site reputation abuse, limiting punishments to sites that employ third parties to generate or uprank their botshit. Companies that produce their botshit in-house are seemingly not covered by this policy.

As Navarro writes, some sites – like Forbes – have prepared for May 5 by blocking their botshit sections from Google's crawler. This can't be their permanent strategy, though – either they'll have to kill the section or bring it in-house to comply with Google's rules. Bringing things in house isn't that hard: US News and World Report is advertising for an SEO editor who will publish 70-80 posts per month, doubtless each one a masterpiece of high-quality, carefully researched material of great value to Google's users:

https://twitter.com/dannyashton/status/1777408051357585425

As Navarro points out, Google is palpably reluctant to target the largest, best-funded spammers. Its March 2024 update kicked many garbage AI sites out of the index – but only small bottom-feeders, not large, once-respected publications that have been colonized by private equity spam-farmers.

All of this comes at a price, and it's only incidentally paid by legitimate sites like Housefresh. The real price is borne by all of us, who are funneled by the 90%-market-share search engine into "review" sites that push low quality, high-price products. Housefresh's top budget air purifier costs $79. That's hundreds of dollars cheaper than the "budget" pick at other sites, who largely perform no original research.

Google search has a problem. AI botshit is dominating Google's search results, and it's not just in product reviews. Searches for infrastructure code samples are dominated by botshit code generated by Pulumi AI, whose chatbot hallucinates nonexistence AWS features:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/01/pulumi_ai_pollution_of_search/

This is hugely consequential: when these "hallucinations" slip through into production code, they create huge vulnerabilities for widespread malicious exploitation:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ai_bots_hallucinate_software_packages/

We've put all our eggs in Google's basket, and Google's dropped the basket – but it doesn't matter because they can spend $20b/year bribing Apple to make sure no one ever tries a rival search engine on Ios or Safari:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-payments-apple-reached-20-220947331.html

Google's response – laying off core developers, outsourcing to low-waged territories with weak labor protections and spending billions on stock buybacks – presents a picture of a company that is too big to care:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

Google promised us a quid-pro-quo: let them be the single, authoritative portal ("organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful"), and they will earn that spot by being the best search there is:

https://www.ft.com/content/b9eb3180-2a6e-41eb-91fe-2ab5942d4150

But – like the spammers at the top of its search result pages – Google didn't earn its spot at the center of our digital lives.

It cheated.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/03/keyword-swarming/#site-reputation-abuse

Image: freezelight (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spam_wall_-_Flickr_-_freezelight.jpg

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

[the-rankon]

Google Core Update: Role of E.E.A.T  in Dec 2024

Check out this blog to know about Google's recently rolled out core update 2024. See how it again focusses on content quality and user experience putting the concept of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in the spotlight.

[walldesign12]

Google Releases a core algorIthm update in November 2024

Content source:  https://www.wallcommunication.com/blogs/google-releases-a-core-algorithm-update-in-november-2024

Google's search engine is a powerful tool that helps people find the necessary information. To keep it running smoothly and ensure users get the best results, Google regularly updates its search algorithm. A healthy online presence requires Google Core Updates, which boosts search rankings, quality content, and best practices. Google rolled out a major November 2024 Core Update on 11th November. This update affects how websites are ranked in search results, so it's important to understand what this means for you.

Using this update will help websites improve visibility, user experience, and results by understanding and adapting to these updates. As a digital marketing agency, we can explain the November Core Update 2024 and how to change your plans to benefit.

What is Core Algorithm Update?

Core algorithm updates to Google's search algorithm affect website rankings worldwide. These improvements promote high-quality content and demote low-quality pages to improve search results.

Key Points of the November 2024 Core Update

Global Impact: This upgrade affects search results worldwide, therefore any website can be affected.

Quality Focus: Google prioritises useful, informative material above pages built solely for search results.

Initial fluctuations: Your website's rankings may vary after the update. This is typical.

Recovery Time: Your website's rankings may take months to recover. Content improvements can help over time.

Monitoring: Monitor your website's traffic and rankings with Google Search Console to observe how the update affects you.

How to Handle the Update

The November 2024 Core Update offered various modifications for website owners. If you see rankings changes on your website, follow these steps:

Analyze Your Traffic: Use Google Search Console to compare your traffic data before and after the modification. Look for pages with large decreases in traffic or rankings.

Improve Content Quality: Make sure your material is useful, informative, and well-written. Create high-quality content using Google's standards.

Change Sustainably: Opt for long-term gains over temporary remedies. Improve readability, update old material, and arrange your content.

Focus on E-A-T: E-A-T is Expertise, Authority, and Trust. Google wants to give reliable information. Websites that display E-A-T rank higher. Critical sites like health and finance need this.

Local Search Improvements: This update improves local search results for local companies. Google seeks local relevance. Local businesses must optimize their Google My Business listing.

[dubaiseocompanyuae]

Google’s March 2024 Core Update: 5 Things You Need to Know

Check out our blog for everything you need to know about Google March 2024 Core Update! This Google algorithm update is shaking up the search engine results. Here are five key points:

Content Quality Matters More: High-quality, useful content is more important than ever. E-A-T is Crucial: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) are vital for ranking. User Experience: Google is focusing more on how users interact with your site. Mobile-First Indexing: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly as Google prioritizes mobile content. Link Quality Over Quantity: Quality backlinks are better than having many low-quality links. Want to stay ahead of the competition? Read our full guide and make sure your website is ready for this important Google algorithm update. Don’t miss out—read more!

[inqnest]

Google core update March 2024 rolled out and updated the manual action policies that hits hard number of websites that are actually relying heavily on AI generated content. About 1446 websites getting penalized within 2 days after Google's core update and few of the websites completely de-indexed from Google and organic traffic went millions to zero. Get updated yourself about new Google's Core Update March and save your digital asset now.

[forgettable-au]

FORGETTABLE-AU (page 97-100)

* Where could she be?

[BEGINNING] [PREVIOUS] [CONTINUE]

[digiligodigital]

Google Algorithm Updates 2023

Product Reviews Update (February 2023)

Google’s recent product reviews update, rolled out over 14 days in February, expanded language support to ten languages, including Dutch, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, Russian, Portuguese, French, German, and Polish. This modification aims to enhance Google’s product review mechanism, optimizing the ranking and display of product quality ratings on SERPs. The goal is to provide users with more reliable and beneficial product quality reviews.

Core Update (March 2023)

Released on March 15, the major update by Google stirred the web community, focusing on page speed, mobile-friendliness, and content quality. Faster-loading websites are favored in SERPs, while slower-loading pages may experience a decline in ranking. Additionally, websites inaccessible to mobile users risk lower rankings. Google aims to boost high-value websites across all languages and geographies.

Reviews Update (April 2023)

In April 2023, Google introduced an update to the “E-A-T” (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) content quality pattern, adding an “E” for “experience.” This update emphasizes the importance of firsthand experience when producing review-based content. Web administrators and editors are encouraged to use terms like “from my experience” and “as per my personal experience” in their topics.

Core Update (August 2023)

The second modification to the search engine’s “broad core update” in 2023, revealed on August 22, aims to enhance Google’s overall evaluation of content. Google suggests that this modification could have a reverse impact, with previously uncredited sites performing well in search outcomes.

Helpful Content Update (September 2023)

In September 2023, Google added guidelines to its Helpful Content Platform records, including reducing restrictions on AI-produced content, allowing content from third parties on subdomains, and providing additional suggestions regarding decreasing site traffic. Google also offered a set of queries to help determine if a website was affected by this algorithm change.

Spam Update (October 2023)

October’s Spam Update extends detection for various spam categories and languages, covering languages like Hindi, Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. Therollout is expected to take two to three weeks, and users are encouraged to provide feedback through Google’s spam reporting service.

Core Update (October 2023)

The third core update of 2023, announced in October, aims to improve search quality by reducing offensive, low-quality content in SERPs. This targeted effort spans various languages to enhance overall search outcomes.

Core Update (November 2023)

On November 2, Google introduced another broad core update, focusing on delivering more trustworthy and relevant search outcomes. The completion of this update is expected to take a few weeks.

Reviews Update (November 2023)

November’s Review update aims to recognize and credit excellent reviews, emphasizing articles, blogs, and other works that offer unique research and incisive remarks. Website owners are encouraged to consult the Google help portal to write reviews that showcase expertise, provide evidence, and examine topics in detail. The update is set to conclude in two or three weeks.

To know more about Google algorithm update

[pebblegalaxy]

Decoding Google's 2023 Core Updates: Enhancing Search Quality and Relevance

Decoding Google's 2023 Core Updates: Enhancing Search Quality and Relevance #Googlealgorithms #GoogleCoreupdates #SEO #Searchrankings #Websiteoptimization #Google

In the dynamic realm of online presence, staying ahead of the curve requires a keen understanding of Google’s ever-evolving algorithms. The year 2023 witnessed a series of pivotal shifts as Google rolled out four core updates, each a force shaping the landscape of search rankings. From March to November, these updates not only reflected Google’s commitment to enhancing search quality but also…

[firstpageseoagency]

Google Nov 2023 Update: Major Shifts In SEO Dynamics

The Google November 2023 Core Update, the fourth major algorithm change of the year, has been a pivotal event in the SEO landscape, significantly affecting the strategies of webmasters and digital marketers. The uniqueness of this update lies not only in its content but also in the frequency of major updates Google has released this year, challenging the adaptability and resilience of the SEO community.

Understanding the Core Update’s Essence

Google’s core updates are designed to refine its search algorithms, ensuring the delivery of more relevant and authoritative content to users. The November 2023 Core Update, like its predecessors, focused on refining Google’s machine learning systems and ranking processes. It aimed to redefine what constitutes a ‘quality’ website in the eyes of the algorithm, potentially carrying forward some legacy ranking philosophies while introducing new quality benchmarks. The immediate aftermath saw fluctuations in rankings across various websites, indicating the update’s significant impact.

The Update’s Specific Focus

The November 2023 Core Update specifically targeted the product and service reviews system. Google aimed to enhance the quality and relevance of product and service reviews on the internet. The update was designed to reward high-quality reviews that offer valuable insights, well-researched content, and comprehensive perspectives on products or services. It primarily affected single-page content, such as articles, blog posts, and standalone content offering insights into a product or service, including head-to-head product comparisons and recommendation list.

Impact on Various Sectors and Content Types

The update has led to noticeable trends in ranking changes. Some sites reported improvements, while others faced declines. Particularly, sectors like health, finance, and e-commerce, known for their YMYL (Your Money Your Life) content, were under scrutiny for potential volatility. The use of SEO tools and analytics platforms became crucial for webmasters and SEO professionals to make informed decisions in response to the update.

Google’s Guidance and Expert Advice

In response to the update, Google reiterated the importance of creating high-quality content. The guidelines emphasised E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in content evaluation. Google advised against attempting to reverse engineer changes to recover rankings, instead focusing on holistic improvements and adherence to SEO best practices. Industry experts echoed this sentiment, emphasising the need for in-depth, well-researched content and highlighting the increased importance of technical SEO factors like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and structured data.

Recovery and Improvement Strategies

For sites negatively impacted, the first step is a thorough assessment of the site’s performance post-update. This involves a content audit to identify areas where the website may not meet Google’s standards, attention to technical SEO aspects, and refining the site’s backlink profile. A long-term SEO strategy, aligned with Google’s guidelines, focusing on producing excellent content and ethical SEO practices, is essential for sustainable improvement.

Conclusion

The frequency of Google’s core updates in 2023, especially the November update, has created a challenging environment for SEO professionals. While the specific focus of this update was on product and service reviews, its broader implications across various sectors highlight the ever-evolving nature of SEO. The key takeaway is the continuous emphasis on high-quality, user-focused content and the importance of technical SEO aspects in adapting to these updates.

The Google November 2023 Core Update has once again stirred the SEO waters, challenging webmasters and content creators to adapt and maintain their online presence effectively. This dynamic nature of search highlights the importance of staying abreast with SEO best practices and being prepared to pivot strategies in response to these significant updates.

Source: https://www.firstpageseoagency.co.za/google-nov-2023-update-major-shifts-in-seo-dynamics

[medresponsive]

Google’s October ‘23 Core Update May Boost Search Experience

Google’s October 2023 core update is a global update that impacts all regions and all languages. It is expected to reward great web pages. An experienced digital marketing services company, MedResponsive is up to date with changing Google algorithms and updates, and we optimize our digital marketing strategies accordingly. https://www.medresponsive.com/blog/googles-october-2023-core-update-completed-rolling-out/

[ribbittrobbit]

these kids are incredibly stressed out

[buzztagmedia]

Google's Algorithm: What's New in 2023

The year 2023 has brought about significant changes in Google's algorithm, with a focus on providing more relevant and valuable results to users. One of the key updates is the October Core Update, which aims to uncover hidden gems of information from hard-to-find sources across the web, including forum threads and blogs. This means that businesses and content creators need to ensure their content is not only high-quality but also easily discoverable by Google's content system.

In response to these changes, website owners should consider several essential strategies to adapt to Google's evolving algorithm:

Content Quality: Emphasize the creation of high-quality, informative, and valuable content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience.

Search Intent: Align your content with user search intent. Understand what users are looking for and create content that directly addresses their queries.

User Experience: Optimize your website for a better user experience, including faster loading times and mobile-friendliness.

Link Building: Build authoritative backlinks to your website, which can enhance your website's credibility and authority.

Monitoring and Analysis: Regularly monitor your website's performance, analyze the impact of algorithm updates, and adjust your strategies accordingly.

In conclusion, Google's algorithm updates for 2023, particularly the October Core Update, emphasize the importance of quality content, user experience, and search intent. Adapting to these changes is essential for businesses and website owners looking to maintain or improve their online presence. Staying informed about these updates and making necessary adjustments is the key to success in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing.

[searchengineexplorer]

https://searchengineexplorer.blogspot.com/2023/09/google-wraps-up-august-2023-core-update.html

Google Wraps Up August 2023 Core Update: What It Means for You

Google has officially completed the rollout of its August 2023 Core Update. This marks the second core update of the year, with the process commencing on August 22, 2023, and concluding 16 days later on September 7, 2023.

This Core updates impacting the website rankings.💡 Analyze data for improvements.🔍 Stay informed for online success. 📈 SEO experts to assess the impact.

[esprei]

req: more of your future emmet! in france!

oh... how unfortunate... bonus:

don't worry, Emmet! I'm sure you'll have a great time :D

[l1-b1]

Apologies for the inactivity! I tend to sorta forget I have a tumblr

But! I did a little redraw of a Jaya artwork from 2022! I don’t do a lot of redraws so this was super fun and I love seeing how my designs for Jay and Nya have changed since I drew the original piece! Crazy to think I drew the original piece 3 long years ago