Google Hits A New Low? What Do You Think?

1. 64

   LucidDreamsposted 11 years ago

   I am not completely sure if this information is 100% accurate but it is from a marketer I tend to trust. What do you think about this.........http://mattsmarketingblog.com/seo/google-stoops-to-a-new-low/

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   1. 92

      Sherry Hewinsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting post

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         LucidDreamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Sherry, does it mean anything though?

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2. 0

   GoldenThreadPressposted 11 years ago

   I saw that too and it only happened just recently. It's like the information we are seeking is sandwiched between two huge chunks of ads. My question is: How are we going to be able to find any information on the Information Highway?

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3. 64

   LucidDreamsposted 11 years ago

   My guess is, either people will flee Google getting tired of the ads versus real search results, or they will continue to use them, FOR SOME REASON and we will have to find other ways to distribute content to consumers who need it.

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      John-Roseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What if people don't realize? We realize this because this affects us and our writing in a negative way, but the average Joe may think of it as an improvement.

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      1. 64

         LucidDreamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Yes I know, scary thought! We will have to adapt somehow, just not sure what the answer is yet!

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            Dale Hydeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Well I guess we could adapt and buy a Google ad, or Google ads, lol.  Seems that is the way to go these days to get views. Look at Amazon....Ebay.... the huge sites... Where do they get the traffic and how? Those ads that we all are referring to.

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               mattforteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Those sites get most of their hits from their brand names. Directly typing the URL into the address bar.

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               1. 67

                  Dale Hydeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I don't know about that. I can search for Bluetooth headsets and see Amazon and Ebay at the top.  That is just an example.  Just searching for items will pull those two up in the search results.

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                  1. 86

                     mattforteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Just because you see something on the top of a search does not mean that is the source of most of their views. They advertise because ads bring in enough extra dollars to pay for itself. We all know what Toyota is...but they still make commercials.   Plus those ads are generally paid per click, not impression...so you seeing that ad probably didn't cost them a dime.
                     Fact of it is...almost everybody who has a computer knows what Amazon is....and if they want to buy something online, they often check amazon first. They don't do a search hoping for an Amazon ad to pop up...they type in amazon and do a search there. Ads are to pick up that extra "impulse" sale...if you think that is their number one generator of traffic...then you have a lot of learning to do. Learn how the internet works and your views will probably increase.

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      2. 92

         Sherry Hewinsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I suppose if they don't notice, that would mean they don't care. Maybe people really are not looking for us. Maybe Google is right and people are just looking for stuff to buy.

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   2. 62

      Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      There is no solution. It's called search engine optimization, not Google optimization. The only reason you see most of your search results coming from Google is because most people use Google. If everyone in the world stopped using Google and switched to Bing today, you would see most of your results from Bing. As internet marketers, which we all are unless you have ads disabled, it really doesn't matter which search engine people use.

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4. 49

   Doodleheadposted 11 years ago

   I just found some ad from Google in my "space" as I was browsing asking for me to revise my "preferences".  I deleted every "interest area" and then they asked for "comments" and I told them to stay out of my life and that I did not want their targeted ads as they invade my privacy.

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5. 64

   LucidDreamsposted 11 years ago

   Whoa, I don't know about that?

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6. 59

   John-Roseposted 11 years ago

   It's frustrating isn't it. I honestly didn't even realize that Google made the ads white until I read the article. I don't think that the rest of the world will realize that our hard work is at the bottom of the page; below paid ads and recommendations. John

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7. 64

   LucidDreamsposted 11 years ago

   Yes, it is frustrating John, I'm not sure either. I guess we will have to wait and see. With all of the updates and changes with Google results. makes you wonder how your content can get found. Where there is a will there is a way.............

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      John-Roseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You are right there...

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      1. 67

         Dale Hydeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I just did the same Google search that is displayed in the article and am not seeing any of that here in Southeast Texas as of yet.
         
         
         Opps..had to pop back in and edit this.  I forgot I have AdBlock running lol.  I turned it off and see the ads at the top now. I see three and they are "slightly" pink in color.  Then the whole column of ads running down the right hand side of the entire page. A total of 11 Google Ads reside on the search page.

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            Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It's not just Google. The same search in Bing shows just as many ads, 4 on top, 2 on the bottom, and 5 on the side.

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8. 85

   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   I have nothing ladylike to say......

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      LucidDreamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Your awsome!!!!!

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9. 64

   LucidDreamsposted 11 years ago

   Interesting, maybe it is still being tested in certain areas? Did you clear your cookies first? just curious, you know Google......

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10. 86

    Daughter Of Maatposted 11 years ago

    Nothing Google does surprises me any more. They are a multi-million dollar company and all they care about is their bottom line.

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    1. 64

       LucidDreamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       So true.....Yet I need them to make some money! This is the main reason I am working on other avenues. what else can you do?

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          Daughter Of Maatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Indeed!! And I think Google wants to keep it that way! How else will they make their money?
          
          Honestly, I have yet to figure out other ways of gaining traffic. Bing and Yahoo can't seem to find me, and I'm really not great with social media.

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             JayeWisdomposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             I feel your pain, Daughter of Maat....I'm not great (or even good) with social media, don't like Facebook and am "technically challenged."  Not a good combination!  My traffic kept falling until it is down 2/3 from September, and my earnings are following suit.  Depressing, to say the least.

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    2. 85

       DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       "Nothing Google does surprises me any more. They are a multi-million dollar company and all they care about is their bottom line."
       
       With that statement, you are so right, Daughter of Maat!  Sadly, THAT describes EVERYTHING that is wrong with our entire economy these days!  It is why jobs have gone offshore!

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11. 64

    LucidDreamsposted 11 years ago

    I'm not great with social media either. I recently decided to pin my hubs and then re-tweet them, hopefully this may help a little. Who really knows these days? I will continue to build personal sites and hope that I can get some traffic. I still post here now and again, just like today and the hub I wrote, you never know what could happen!

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12. 86

    mattforteposted 11 years ago

    So there are some obvious ads before the search results. Big deal. Google is a business...a successful business. They are successful because of things like this. Who cares? Not like they're hiking up oil prices, charging you to use your debit card, or illegally foreclosing on your home. It's their space to use as they see fit, deal with it.
    
    I did that "affiliate marketing" search twice. First time all I saw was Wikipedia smack at the top, followed by other listings. Did the same search again...got ads, Wiki at the bottom, scrolled  down and had my search results. My life was not severely impacted by using my finger to roll a wheel on the mouse.
    I don't like some of the things Google does. However, I also don't like the fact that the restaurant charges about 300% markup on my soda...but I'm going to order it anyway. That's life.
    
    As for people always whining about targeted ads...what's the big deal? How is it *truly* an invasion of privacy? Half the stuff they use to target you (facebook likes for example) you make public yourself. The rest of it...well, it's not like Joe from company A is like "Ok so Charles likes chocolate ice cream" then shows up at your door trying to sell you chocolate ice cream. Nor does he tell your wife you've been lying your entire life when you told her you loved vanilla. It simply caters ads to you. Go watch a movie and the same thing happens. Oh you're watching Avengers? We're going to show you a Batman trailer because you must like comic movies.
    God forbid they advertise things you might actually want and purchase...rather than advertising tampons to the 35 year old guy trying to find football memorabilia. The day you go searching for a gift for your wife, only to see that perfect give pop up in an ad since you'd been searching for related items...causing you to click said ad and purchase the product. When you give it to her and she rocks your night you won't be cursing out targeted ads will you? I can't remember a time when a targeted ad reduced my quality of life...
    
    </end rant>

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       DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       The point is, we hate ads, period!  When we want to look up a particular piece of information online, or connect with family or friends on social media platforms, we are there to do just that--NOT read ads.
       On FaceBook, in particular, on almost every sidebar ad, I continually click to 'hide this ad,' and check "uninteresting" in the reasons box.  In spite of the fact that the resulting dialog box claims that, "we will try not to show you this ad again," they don't try very hard.  I see the same ads come back, and the next time, I click on "repetitive" for the reason.  They aren't "getting it."  I don't want to see any ads.
       That is why I prefer Firefox over IE  when using FaceBook--first, it's more stable, and more importantly, it blocks the ads from showing!
       Yeah, yeah--I know--it's a free service, paid for by the ads.  But only if you click on said ads, which I don't.

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          mattforteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          It's not about whether or not you click the ads. It's about the fact that Google is a business. Trying to get Google or  FB to not show you ads is like asking your bank not to charge interest on your home loan...or asking the NFL to stop playing commercials during football games. It's never going to happen, unless somebody decides to donate billions of dollars a year to these businesses for your sake.
          
          Better yet, it's like asking you to make all of your hubs "non commercial." You'd never make a penny on HubPages. And unless you're here to write bad poetry and spread it to the world (Which I still don't understand..isn't that what LiveJournal is for?) then you probably wouldn't be willing to write on HubPages much longer, if at all.
          
          Also...all of the browsers can block ads not just FF. However, using that tool takes away from the potential income of the sites you are visiting. (and yes, it affects our hubs as well)

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       Tealparadiseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Actually, there was a big hilarious (not to the people involved) story about how many stores predict that you're pregnant by what you buy.  So they start sending pregnancy stuff to whatever address they have connected with you.  (replace with "a parent" "a bachelor" "have cats"  etc) 
       
       Anyway, basically Target outed a teen mommy-to-be to her parents with targeted ads!

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13. 64

    LucidDreamsposted 11 years ago

    Hi Dale,
    I am seriously looking to buy traffic to some landing pages I already have and try to convert cpa offers. I will still write and see how things shake out meanwhile, but I need to recover AND start making some more money and this may be the only way at the moment!

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       Dale Hydeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       It may well be the only way at this point in time.  I have considered what you speak about.  You know I run some third party ads on some photo blogs I have....from that experience I have learned you can make money from third party ads without Adsense or HP, and also that the views on the photo blogs far surpass any views I have ever received on HP.  Go figure.  These blogs have hardly any text on them.

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14. 61

    RichusFridumposted 11 years ago

    Can Google ever hit any low? i mean, Its GOOGLE

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15. 72

    jacharlessposted 11 years ago

    goo has peaked, as the saying goes. Scrambling and scrubbing multiple projects, algo changes every month or so is a sign of things to come. Biggest rumor around is their  g+ program is not working and will be dumping that like they did buzz. DoM is right, they have only  the bottom-line on their mind. Same as FB now.
    
    But, fear not Padawan's and Jedi Knights!
    New, more modern, progressive engines are on the rise --or on the way.

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    1. 62

       Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Somebody, some day, will overtake Google, but it won't be anytime soon.
       http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 … 28032.html
       When I setup my first website, I got $100 credit for Google for ads, and $50 each from Facebook and Bing. I set each of them up for $5 a day to compare them. Google brought almost twice as much traffic as Facebook for the same $5. I'm not sure if I even got one click from Bing, I think every penny was spent on impressions. Google is at the top because they are the best. No one else can compete when it comes to selling ads.
       
       The only reason we, and other internet marketers, complain about this is because it directly effects us. Your average person searching for something could care less if the top results are organic or paid, as long as they find what they are looking for. As long as the paid results provide that, there won't be a change.

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          Tealparadiseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          It may even seem "better" to the end user.  SEO optimization has gotten out of control.  Before I realized what a "content mill" was, I was already checking URLs and going "Ugh, it's about.com SKIP.  Ugh, it's squidoo, SKIP."
          
          With all the work people on these sites put into getting to the top of google, they ought to at least write some real content to go with it!  But that's another issue.
          
          I'm just pointing out that though Hubpages has quality control, high-frequency internet users already have a negative impression of content farms and don't want to see them in search results, especially when they push down the 1st hand source.  It's in google's best interest to make things difficult for farmers....

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             Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             They do quite a bit to keep it down. You can't respin articles to repost any more, auto-blogging is pretty much dead. Don't get me wrong, there is still a whole lot of garbage out there, especially still ranked high. But you can't really blame Google about that, there isn't a lot they can do without going through each page by hand to rate the content. That's what SEO was supposed to be about, but too many people abused it to cheat the system.

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16. 87

    JayeWisdomposted 11 years ago

    I do hope you're right about the "new, more modern, progressive engines" being on the way, James. How do we know they will be more responsive to our writing wares and not focus on their "bottom line" like Google?  Jaye

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       jacharlessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Easy, they are being designed specifically for UGC [user generated content] or products, or other things. Not  just lumped together in the mixer of bake-me-a-link as fast as you can -and clean up the leftovers in ten or twenty years, like some engines we know of. Products now are being built for longevity -extended longevity, not just to be the first out there or make the most money.
       
       Since we are not driven by corporate tenancies, will have an edge. Plus we have had about 20 years  to watch and see what other search engines -big and small did//did not do. So when we finish building this new engine, will have an even better vantage and better parameters to offer people.
       
       The engine will be driven by actual drivers -not automated pilots, not rely on Advert fuel sources.
       Etc
       James.

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          Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Simply being better than Google isn't enough. I'm sure there have been plenty of search engines that have been better/more efficient than Google. As Microsoft found out, trying to become number one is a waste of money. They should be fighting for number 2, because when Google implodes, the only way it will fall from number 1, that will be who takes over.

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             jacharlessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             Totally agree Sapper.
             Our intent is to not be Goo at all, which is essentially what other engines have done. With an altogether new approach to linking machines, sites, mobile, docs, products, people, the original idea of search engine has become defunct, and eventually extinct. It is inevitable. But, they [Goo, Bing, DMoz, Excite, Lycos, etc] did what they were supposed to do: prepare the world for search engines and then fade out for more fluid, exact and long-term products. Goo is one of the last of the 1st Generation engines. They are essentially a protype that worked for the moment.
             
             Yet, because the initial fad//fascination with 1st Generation internet has not yet ended -even as Goo pushed revenue into everyone's eyeballs with AdSense, post dot-com bubble- Goo still exists. I joke, but my 4 year old will only be reading about Goo & FB when he is 18. Neither will exist by then, or worse, will be so archaic, no one will bother using them -like My__ and Netscape or AOL.
             
             James.

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                Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                Not arguing that Google will fall, and fall hard. The main point I'm trying to make in all my posts here, which looking back I probably should have just came out and said instead of dancing around, is that not only is Google not doing anything wrong, they are dong what they are legally required to do. As an American publicly traded company, they are required by law to maximize profits.
                
                But I do agree with you, Google will eventually be a thing of the past. I just don't think it will happen anytime too soon.

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17. 66

    rb11posted 11 years ago

    Lets give Goo credit. They slowly implemented changes that negatively impacted millions of websites over the last several months. Then they recently started to populate more self-interest products above the fold. Now, why is this brilliant? It's brilliant because they knew that you, us, others, would create so much chatter and content for them for Free. The same discussion going on here is rampant across the web - good or bad it stimulates traffic. Google has built up such a powerful brand that I do believe it will survive the short-term negative feedback.
    
    Lets look at the bright side...
    
    We have to admit that we became complaisant, spoiled to a degree. It almost became routine(ish) - find a topic, get a few keywords, write content, and do some promotions (backlinks). Do you really think, if it wasn't for the fact that folks hoped to make a few bucks from affiliate sales or adsense, that all this content would have been produced? I don't think so, so now that Goo has changed the game, what do you do now?
    
    Googles new low can be a new high for us..
    
    Know it or not Google is forcing us to learn again, and this is a good thing. We'll have to learn about new ways to market, advertise, maybe even review out business models. Some folks will drop out of IM completely, while others, once we get through the anger stage, will use our energies to reinvent our businesses. I for one am not angry with Google anymore. I am slowly weening away from checking my adsense account - I guess in all honesty I hold a little sliver of hope that it would come back to life, but I'm 95 percent ready to move on, and in a weird way I have to credit Google for this push.
    
    So lets use this as an opportunity to build our businesses bigger, better, more profitable, more sustainable - best of luck to all..

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       Doodleheadposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Google is pushing away my productivity.  I will not commit to the internet as it is like this.   As a small businessperson it takes me too much money for the return on Adwords.   Witness the number of clicks one gets on Google.  Imagine if you are the advertiser the number of ads needing to be placed to get results.
       
       Even though one does not have to "pay" unless clicks on ads result, it still is very time and labor intensive to place the ads and deliberate about the ads.   For me and many others it is a battle against the powers that be.  There is a place for advertisiing for the small business person that is not connected to Google.
       
       Google is alienating many small businesses in their behavior.   After they barraged me with numerous ads to re-start my Adwords ads and I kept not responding, then they started calling me on the phone after they sold or rented my name out.
       
       I wonder if anyone can get ranked "number one" anymore unless they lay out $100,000 first.

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18. 86

    mattforteposted 11 years ago

    If you all stopped whining about Google and spent that energy ranking you would be fine. I had, and still have a hub ranked #2 for one search, ranked 5 for another, and on the first page for several others. It does fine.

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       JayeWisdomposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Please explain to me why my "best" hub, which formerly pulled in more than 450 views per day, but now gets between 115 and 155 daily , is STILL ranked near the top of the first Google search screen.  If it still has that ranking, what happened to the traffic?  (Please keep in mind that I'm "technically challenged.")  There is nothing wrong with my article. It's still the same excellent article that was earning twice as much before the end of September.

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          mattforteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          If you are logged in to google plus your site will always rank because you have probably +1'd it. If not, then that probably isn't the search term that brought you traffic

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          rb11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Your question gives me the opportunity to expand a little more on why I am spending less time on SEO for marketing and exploring other avenues for time and resources (above comment). Traffic to your "best" hub can be dwindling for several reasons. Lets list a few:
          
          1. Search patterns change
          2. More ads push organic results closer to, or below the fold
          3. Drastic reduction in traffic if ranking falls from the first three positions (page 1)
          4. Data Centers
          
          Let me expound briefly on the data center issue. From the way I understand the system, depending on location, Google has several data centers throughout the U.S (and world) for search feeds. I have tested this myself by doing a local search for one of my sites which ranked on the first page, position four. I had someone in another state do the same search where my site showed up on page three. With all the recent changes Google has made these inconsistencies could be even more drastic.
          
          On the other hand I am getting steady searches from Canada, Australia and other countries consistent with past performances. Again, the question is - do we put the majority of our eggs in one basket depending on Google for traffic under the circumstances? It's hard to imagine what Google goes through trying to rank all that data, and it would be silly to think that as a business they would not sway to the side of larger customers. In this case we are left to find new ways to promote/market our properties. For myself, Google will still be a traffic source, but it will be maybe 10 percent of the marketing plan going forward.
          
          Best of luck in the future.

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    Doodleheadposted 11 years ago

    Some of us are much less talented than you are matforte.   Some of us do not understand how if SEO is now "non-existent" how it is that you can still utilize SEO methodology for ranking success.  If you want to stop us from whining then please explain to us how we can rank too if we are not permitted by Google to use keywords, long keywords, repeat text keywords, and so forth. 
    
    We are prepared to stop whiniing if you will teach us your methodologies.

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       Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       http://sapper.hubpages.com/hub/SEO-to-use-or-to-not-use
       http://sapper.hubpages.com/hub/Proper-keyword-research
       Basics to get you started. Past that, anything and everything you could possibly ever want or need to know about SEO is a Google search away.

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          Tealparadiseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          So if I'm reading this right.... I should actually do okay by just writing my articles normally and including the phrases I think people would use to search for them?   YAY, NO SEO FOR ME!!!!

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             Sapperposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             No. There is a whole lot more to SEO than exact match keywords. They are a small part of a much bigger pie.

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20. 67

    safiq ali patelposted 11 years ago

    For me the hubpages advertising programme pays much more than google anyway. But we do depend on google somewhat for traffic to our pages. Though I have found that posting links on facebook relevant pages yeilds a good amount of traffic. More than google even. The said thing about facebook is that they do not pay revenue for traffic. Where as google will. Let's not be too cynical we still have a place and some use for google.

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