82 replies to this topic

[blackpool]

Blackpool, have you ever thought that maybe Google knows what you are up to........

Could you define what you mean by that seafoam?

All I am doing is checking results in search engines regularly like any other normal individual would do.

If you've never seen that happen before (one day there, one day not) you obviously have not been watching Google as closely as I have lately.

These crazy results are happening all the time. Not just with me but with many others as well.

Google will pick just certain sections of the text, and not the main body. In one case, it was the address of the client at the very bottom of his web page

Wyoming, this is normal for Google. If it hasn't been in the past, then you just might have "hit the nail on the head" with that one. If so, then that's probably why Google is all cocked up at the moment.

I've noticed Google is not reading the same section (table) of a page twice (if it did we would all make sure the sections it did read, were optimised) and I am sure that's the problem. It is different for every single page and more alarmingly it seems to change from one crawl to the next.

It seems to me that there are certain, unfortunate individuals who have designed their websites in a certain way who are now being inadvertently penalised by Google.

Google is now reading allsorts of different sections of the pages and it seems that not only is it ignoring the keywords meta tag (it has done for a while and we all know that) it is now starting to ignore the DESCRIPTION TAG as well!!!!

It now seems, if you have a website built with tables, you have to mention your keywords in every single table or cell which would then be classed as spamming by the other search engines.

I tell you....... it's crazy what's going on. One page (story websites) about a search term, now appearing at the top of Google which took minutes to put together!

What Google fails to realise is this....... It's business is built on the backs of professional web designers and wouldn't even be there but for us guys!

Forums all over the world like this one are in uproar at the moment because of all what's going on.

It seems to me that the only way around it (if Google persists in the way it is at the moment) is to completely redesign one's websites ......... and that is going to piss an awful lot of people off!!

[seafoam]

Could you define what you mean by that seafoam?
All I am doing is checking results in search engines regularly like any other normal individual would do.

Well, that comment was kind of in jest, and I certainly have no evidence to suggest it is happening! But, its not inconceivable that a search engine could recognise search patterns that suggest the user (real or automated) is checking ranking. Furthermore the terms being searched may make it possible to figure out which websites' ranking the user is monitoring. Unlikely, but ya never know.

If you've never seen that happen before (one day there, one day not) you obviously have not been watching Google as closely as I have lately.
These crazy results are happening all the time. Not just with me but with many others as well.

I don't check on a daily basis, but often enough I think to notice any disasters. My sites seem fairly stable, except for my most competitive keyword phrase, which I think would really need a site of its own to do well.

Is there any similarity between the sites that are seeing these ups and downs?

My guess is that the keywords are highly competitive, with lots of sites all optimizing hard and regularly. This would mean that a small change in the Google algorithm has a massive effect on the rankings of many competing websites. Or a small change by all your competitors could have an equally dramatic effect. Or a small change in the sites that are linking to the sites. Essentially a complex, competitive system is going to exhibit chaotic behaviour.

If one were feeling paranoid you could ask whether these disappearing sites use AdWords or a Froogle feed. I prefer the previous suggestion though.

[qwerty]

You guys are confusing me here. Are you suggesting Google is only reading/indexing parts of a page? Unless you're talking about absolutely enormous documents, I've seen no reason to believe the spider would stop before going through the whole thing.

And are you further stating that different snippets from a page are coming up when you search on the same keyword phrase, or on the domain name? The fact that it's not giving you the contents of the description meta tag on the SERP just means that it found content in the visible portion of the page that it considered to be the most relevant to the query.

[msdetta]

I live in a portion of a state next to another state that has an extremely large big city. Part of my geographic area is very urbanized, but if you go 15 miles east or south you're in farm country though the sprawl is starting to expand there too.


Pre-Florida, if I searched for geographic location, state, web design, I was #1 in Google. My exact city, state, keywords had my site on page 2. Now this search returns a page and a half of directories, and the second page even has a country club and a DJ service. My site is in oblivion.

These keywords are in my keyword tag, my description includes them, and they are all within the content of the web page. Thank goodness I'm in 2 of those directories.

On the other hand, Yahoo likes me. If I search geographic area, state with those keywords, I'm #14 and #17. If I search for exact city, state, keywords, I'm #2 and #5.

If I wanted a directory result, I would add directory to the keyword search string. What in the world has Google done to us? END

Anyone have any suggestions? I'd appreciate hearing other ideas.

[Randy]

Hi Diane,

I read somewhere a week or so ago that Google appeared to be aggressively spidering for physical location (ie address, zip and phone number) information. I can only assume this is because they're working on something with LocalRank.

No clue if it would help to have that info on your main page for these local-type searches, but it would be easy to test and see. Can't hurt, and it looks like Google may be headed towards something like this for local searches.

[blackpool]

I read somewhere a week or so ago that Google appeared to be aggressively spidering for physical location (ie address, zip and phone number) information. I can only assume this is because they're working on something with LocalRank.

Randy I think you may be spot on there and very well said

When I thought about what you said, for a minute....... I thought yes that's right!

I have implicated a test like this only today and I'll let you know what transpires.

I have seen searches to definately agree with that and it's another stride to prove to me that the BIG players on Google are being pushed towards PPC as the smaller, more personal websites, top of the rankings.

I have actually looked at a couple of my own pages and yes the more personalised ones WERE doing well.

But, hey you guys in here SSSHHHH!! keep it secret ........we can all make a fortune with this if we keep it a big secret....like Google does!! Gee this forums good

[blackpool]

Oh and hats off to Diane (new smilie needed) :hats off: for starting a very interesting thread

[msdetta]

Hello Randy,

I've heard (on another forum) that the local Google is getting its info from the Yellow Page ads. Unfortunately, I'm not in those ads. I did use the addurl submit for the local Google, but it will probably take a bit of time to get put in there.

If Google were agressively spidering local information, why wouldn't they pick up the information from the "About" web page. Isn't having this information on an "About" page very standard???

I do have the city and state in the content of my main page. I also have the geographic location mentioned too because it is how people refer to our area.

I've heard it mentioned by MANY people that the search results since Florida are forcing them to consider purchasing the Google Ad Sponsored Links.

:hats off: to you Blackpool as you're the one who started this interesting thread to which I just _had_ to add my very few

[blackpool]

Right that's it.... I'm off to buy shares in Yellow Pages !!!!!!!

[Randy]

I haven't seen enough information yet to tell me one way or another yet Diane. Hence my "maybe this will help?" type of post.

What I read was pretty similar to what you read I suspect. I got it second hand (a few times) but this was supposedly hinted at by a Googleplex resident. It had a lot to do with Yellow Page schtuff, but also hinted that the normal Googlebot crawls were actively looking for that type of localization information. Which would lead me to believe that it's not just going to be a Yellow Pages thing, but something we'll see more in the regular SERP's for those special searches.

Too early to tell though, and there are far too many assumptions in the equation for my taste. Not to mention that I haven't tested it at all since none of my sites want to be a part of the Localization quite honestly. They don't lend themselves to testing any of the possible theories.

It's something to keep your eye on though if you target those local market searches. If the initial indications that BP is seeing holds true, it may indeed have an effect if that type of info is included in a site. Several times for consistancy.

[blackpool]

Hey msdetta, think about what Randy said.........He is spot on!.
I believe he is anyway!

I've just done some searches based on the postcodes/zipcodes and telephone numbers thingy stuff and believe me (or Randy)...............IT FIGURES BIG TIME!!!!
Try it yourself.

It makes sense when you think about it.

The sites with that extra bit on the end (postcodes/zipcodes and telephone numbers come top every time!!!!

Randy, you're a genius!

Now........ I love Google again!!

[msdetta]

Well I can only be found in the local if my put my firm name in for the search, then the About page information is there.

None of my normal keyword search terms include my firm. Matter of fact, if I use city+state, the ones that come up are in the nearby other state.

If I do an additional keyword (affordable) keyword1 + keyword2 with city, state and zip or with geographic location -- I get auto dealerships!

Randy, I'm going to try your tip of adding the city, state, zip to every page and see what happens.

Blackpool, I would normally place this type of information in a javascript as it's repetitive. This definitely won't be a solution for the local Google.

thanks for hearing me out and making suggestions!

[Randy]

Make sure to let us know how it turns out Ms. And anybody else who wants to try to target their local market.

This is all so recent there's no really good information that I've found, and I don't have a site where I can test it since all of mine are more global in nature.

The results --good, bad or indifferent-- could be telling.

[bkernst]

I'm going to try your tip of adding the city, state, zip to every page and see what happens.

That is how I have been getting my main traffic! Anybody looking for the location is in the area.

Bernhard

[OldWelshGuy]

If it works then it is not the same in the Uk. I have a wedding car hire company who obviously are locally targeted, I always have, and always will have name address telephone at the foot of every page, why? well apart from the fact that under UK business law (Business disclosure) you have to, I feel that having the area of operation on all pages will help the SE's to theme your site.

The last 2 weeks though, the site has dropped down the SERP's, I am not unduly worried as the site is only 2 months old and went in at #1 for about 20 search terms, but has now been replaced by a host of crap directories, many of which are simply categories with no content. Thank god Yahoo & MSN see fit to place the site at #1 for the chosen phrases, and send traffic to the site.

The client does also get business from these crap directories, as I have submitted him to everyone that appeared above him.