Google and Scroogle

Last week, one of the industry newsletters published a nifty link to a website called Scroogle. Curious, I clicked through and it did exactly as promised: It compared the results from before and after the last Google indexing, to show you which sites have lost their top 100 rankings, for which keywords. The way it works is simple: You go to Scroogle and type in a search phrase, such as "internet marketing". Scroogle gives you a search result showing that 46 sites were dropped from the top 100 listings -- almost half! Then it lists the ones that were dropped, along with their former ranking.

I had some fun with Scroogle. I typed in some of the main keywords in industries I know to be competitive on the internet, and lo and behold, they showed attrition rates averaging 50%. The lowest of these "prime keywords" had lost 36 sites; the highest was a staggering 89 out of the top 100. 89% of websites formerly listed in the top 100 for that keyword had been dropped.

Beneath the list of dropped sites, Scroogle also shows the current Google listings, giving you an immediate side-by-side comparison of before and after. In some cases the new top listings were very sound, but in others, I was extremely unimpressed by what I saw. It was a quick and easy way to see for myself what people were screaming about, and evaluate how accurate the complaints were, across a broad range of internet categories. Once I was done with some of the major fields that our company has promoted, I went for a few weird and esoteric search listings, like "pink fuzzy bunny slippers" (my personal favorite example of a non-competitive search term) -- NONE of the top 100 listings are missing. Very interesting, very informative, and very much backs up the prevailing theory that certain key marketing phrases were targeted by Google's latest update, probably because those industries are the most likely to have hired internet marketers to try to manipulate their rankings.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: From the standpoint of an ordinary citizen searching for something on the internet, I'm all in favor of good quality, relevant search results. I'm not a big subscriber to the conspiracy theories that swirl around Google and their dominance of the search engine world. I still firmly believe that a high quality website, well-designed, informative, and easy to use, will always present itself well not only to users but also to search engines. I would like to believe that Google stands behind their changes and that they are truly acting in the best interests of the public who use their search engine in such huge numbers.

The only thing that concerns me right now is the fact that you couldn't search Scroogle Sunday and see for yourself. Any search term entered pulled up a page stating that the search had been blocked by Google. I have no idea what the reality is, but the search is back today, alive and kicking, so if anyone wants to get a great personal experience on just exactly how the new Google algorithm has affected your favorite search terms, I strongly suggest you pay it a visit and see for yourself.

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

Comments

[Donnie Svederus]

Wow, bad news for keyword spammers. I didn't know that websites could get dropped off search engine lists, I have a hard enough time just trying to get on the list. I like scroogle because it shows you how not to over optimize a site, and shows you who got knocked off. This is great information Laura, thanks. It seems the future web creators and SEO companies are going to have to respect the search engines.

-Don

[Charles H.]

Google is a private enterprise and can do what they want to make their site more relavent. Just like when Walmart decided to only sell music with clean lyrics people cried censorship. Since then Walmart not only has thrived but is quickly taking over the discount goods market and grocery business nationwide.

The comments in newletters and forums that crack me up about Google are: "Should Google be regulated" and "How Google lost my homework and I got an F"!

People are blaming Google for the downturn in their web business for a service that they don't pay for. Try to tell your local newspaper that you want free advertising and see how far you get. Maybe we need a Google based Internet welfare system for those who are too lazy to learn how to advertise their online business. Guess I get tired of the "everyone owes me something" attitude.

-Charles

[sam]

Hey,
How's your listings now?
Sam

[Laura Seeley]

After hearing of yet more Google shake-ups today, I took a look around. The listings got a bit juggled, but by and large, our sites are holding strong on their first page listings. I haven't had a chance to look into the new search results too closely, so I can't offer an opinion at this time about which sites were dropped, or why. However, I really don't anticipate much trouble for our clients. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll repeat once more: A well-designed site that avoids exploits will probably always perform fairly well!