The quality of Google search results is decreasing?
SAs time goes by, more and more users, analysts, and experts are aware that the quality of Google’s search results has fallen sharply, although the company does not agree with this assessment, as quoted by Gizmodo. The search giant’s PR team claims its superior product as the best in its class, but recent research shows otherwise.
Recent Research: Surprising Analysis
A year-long study by a team of analysts from the University of Leipzig, Bauhaus Weimar University, and the Center for Scalable Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence investigated 7,392 product review searches on Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. The results show that the pages with the highest ranking are better optimized, have more affiliate links, and generally have lower quality copies.
monetization through product reviews and news summaries
The monetization method for many websites is through product reviews and news summaries. It contains special links to purchase products from retailers such as Amazon, BestBuy, and Walmart. If a user makes a purchase after clicking on one of these affiliate links, the website earns a commission. Everyone can publish articles about the same product, so whoever gets more attention on his website gets more money.
outperform and improve position in search results
To outperform others and rank higher in search results, websites use search engine optimization (SEO). Often, the top search lines are occupied by those who are successful in SEO and fill the internet with “garbage.”
“SEO is a continuous battle, and we saw a recurring SPAM pattern in and out of search results when search engines and SEO engineers alternately adjust their parameters.” – Write the researchers.
Algorithms and Continuous Changes
Google and its competitors are constantly adjusting their algorithms to block SEO steps. According to research, these efforts are ineffective and the changes made often produce temporary positive effects, but spammers find new loopholes.
However, research found that Google search results were much better than Bing and DuckDuckGo, and the search results increased during the study. A Google spokesperson told Gizmodo that the study did not reflect the full picture of the overall search performance.
“The studies mentioned focus on product review content and do not reflect the overall quality and usability of the search for the billions of searches we see every day.” – said the company representative. “We have made special improvements to address this problem, and the study itself shows that Google has been improving over the past year and performing better compared to other search engines.” “More broadly, many third-party companies have measured search engine results for other types of searches and found that Google’s quality is much higher than others.”
Differences of opinion: What are the experts and users say?
Experts and users have different opinions. They claim that Google’s overall search has deteriorated significantly in recent years, although the company is trying to fix the problem. “We’ve never seen Google in such a state,” said Lily Ray, senior director of SEO and head of organic research at Amsive Digital.
Not only that, in recent years, Google has increased the number of ads that appear at the top of the search results, increasingly favoring the results that link information from their own services, even when there is better content from third-party sources.
Conclusion
The decline in the quality of Google search results is a controversial phenomenon that triggers dissent among experts and users. Although the company argues that improvements have been made and the quality is superior, research and responses from a number of experts imply the opposite. In the constant battle of SEO, the challenge for Google and its competitors is to keep adjusting their algorithms so as not to provide a gap for the content of “junk” and spam reviews. Whether this effort will be successful or not, time will give the answer.
