Google Search Algorithm Requiring More Specific Keywords

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   eugbugposted 21 months ago

   One of the problems in getting an article listed in SERPS is that Google now appears to require a more specific set of keywords when a search is performed. They did mention this at the time and said their algorithm would generate results more closely matched to a search term. One of my articles is called "A Complete Guide to Using Plumbing Fittings for Joining PEX Pipe, PVC and Copper". Previously if I searched for "plumbing fittings", it appeared high up in SERPS in the top ten results. Now, it's not listed in two pages of SERPS, totalling nearly 200 results. All these results are for stores or manufacturers. Traffic for this article has fallen from nearly 400 views per day peak in 2018 to 20 per day now.
   I don't know whether there's any way of overcoming this, but it's probably partially responsible for the overall drop in traffic.
   
   

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      bravewarriorposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      Google now prefers long-tail search terms, Eugene. They rank questions and sentences higher than the two or three word searches of yesteryear.

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         eugbugposted 21 months agoin reply to this

         Yes, that's the term I was looking for.

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         OldRosesposted 21 months agoin reply to this

         Can you please point this out to the editors?  I have always titled my articles as answers to searches framed as sentences and the editors keep trying to shorten them.

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            bravewarriorposted 21 months agoin reply to this

            This article in Semrush, written in June 2023, explains why long-tail keyword searches rank higher than broad search terms.
            
            https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-cho … -keywords/

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      Jan Stepanposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      So it builds on the assumption that people want to access what they search for right away and don't like to scroll and view/read different sites and articles.
      
      I guess it's particularly relevant to modern search engine users. Everybody is so busy or at least like to pretend to be that they want instant results that are exactly what they searched for.
      
      I remember times when one did search for the whole afternoon to find the best article or site, and it wasn't an issue or viewed as odd. Bear in mind I am still very young.  
      
      With AI, more precise, spot-on searching will be even more enhanced. People will come for the exact thing and won't bother surfing around and searching for themselves.

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      Kenna McHughposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      Stores and manufacturers are dominating the Internet. Pretty soon, box stores no longer exist.

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   Rupert Taylorposted 21 months ago

   I've never troubled myself with SEO and Caren's experience underlines why this is a wise choice. Spend a bunch of time trying to create an ace SEO title and then someone comes along and changes it. If that doesn't happen, Google changes its algorithm and all your hard work is for naught.
   
   It feels a bit like my collection of ties. One the very rare occasions on which I put on a tie I check to see whether the fashion is for wide and narrow and then I wear the opposite.
   
   On reflection, it doesn't feel much like my tie strategy, but there you are.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 21 months agoin reply to this

      I see not using SEO as like going to a posh restaurant or event WITHOUT a tie. They may not let you in, and if you do manage, you run the risk of getting kicked out later.
      
      I'm talking specifically about platforms/publications that rely on search engine traffic, of course.
      
      I'm not saying that humans writing to please the machines and mathematical formulae is a desirable state of affairs but there isn't really a way around it when search engines are involved.

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         bravewarriorposted 21 months agoin reply to this

         If you want traffic, conversions, sales or to build a list, SEO ranking is the key to getting there.

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   eugbugposted 21 months ago

   I finally got a reply back from Danny Sullivan on Twitter, he said to give him an example of articles not turning up in searches and lots of stores and manufacturers preceding them even if they are listed in SERPS, so I gave him the link to this guide. I suggested that the search engine should put a lot of the results into the "shopping" tab.

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      bravewarriorposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      To what guide are you referring, Eugene?

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         eugbugposted 21 months agoin reply to this

         The plumbing one I mentioned at the top of this discussion topic.

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   Miebakagh57posted 21 months ago

   I never worry myself in doing SEO. But when it comes to crafting the title of an article, I'll give into Google Suggest these days.                                  Everyone here is aware that Google is dynamic and changing. The trend then is to follow suit.                               Thank you, Eugene. This thread is an eye-opener. And thank you too bravewarrior, for the samrush link. It's a rea. I'll began to do long tail keyword study for my edited stuffs' sub-titles. Thank you everyone for your inputs.

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