I have used Google search for years. I was a great search engine. But as the years progress it gets worse and worse. And I notice a pattern. It is becoming more and more obvious that they are trying to waste your time. I already started using a different search engine years ago. I had enough of these so called focused advertisement. When I started using Mac we could also use DuckDuckGo, and that works fine. Not always but generally it is good. Also until recently.
I decided to go back to Google search. As some searches didn’t come up with satisfying results. However as I use to run my own webshop, I know a thing or two about how to rank in Google.
How to rank in Google?
To rank in google nowadays means you just need to add as much fluff to a subject as you can. Which in turn means you can add more google adsense advertisement banners. Where Google use to filter this fluff garbage out of the search results. These days as a searcher you need to waste as much time on a page as you can. Looking for the information you are trying to find. Waste as much time on a page as you possibly can. Because in fact that is the only thing google can measure. Time on a page and see where your pointer is. They can measure more but that is the gist. Pagespeed, whatever other recourses are loaded en from where. Not relevant to the average Google user.
As google has been able to measure these behaviours of people, they know that you waste your time on the page. And as you didn’t find it, you go back. So you go back to the search results and look for the next best result. Well that is what you think. However Google is using that opportunity to show even more advertisement right? And giving the searcher the opportunity to click on it so Google can make even more money. Because they can show the advertiser (using Google Adwords) that someone has clicked on it.
So to rank on Google search engine?
“make a page that is actually useful” That means, use synonyms, different wording as some people make sentences differently. Also keep in mind that ‘non native’ English speakers might use your page. So keep it as simple as you can. Don’t educate, because that is not what your page is about right? Make sure you use the right keywords and the synonyms, do you research I can not emphasise it enough. That also means you can build in more fluff so people stay on your page longer. Make the content your are writing as long as you can. Create question headers 2 and headers 3 because that is what ranks well. Anyway, long story short. It is time wasting what it is all about. Nothing more. Good luck!
Edit: 15 July 2024
It most likely has something to do with AI generated texts. Google bots are simply not advanced enough yet to filter out the fluf generated by AI.