If! this post were announcing that Google had decided to do away with thier supplemental results index entirely, I might be smiling. But it is with a frown that I write this post.
I don’t make it a habit to criticize search engines but sometimes I just got to rant or I’ll bust. You know what I mean.
Unfortunately, Google has recently decided to kick the entire SEO community square in the groin, by disabling the ability for us to see which of our Web pages need more work, and/or updating, in order to be worthy contenders and be listed in Googles “main” database/index. In other words, we can no longer see which pages are in the inferior Google database, the one known as “supplemental” index, or the “this page sucks so it ain’t going public in Google” database. Suddenly, supplemental pages are no longer labeled as such in Google. Some of us clever SEO’s do know of a way (or perhaps ways) to determine this valuable information, but it involves a process which takes 50 times longer to get our findings, which means that the consumer has to pay for (many) more SEO hours to get this information, which was like free candy for an SEO in the past. This is a real low blow from Google (and it really blows), one which by design hinders SEO analysis of sites who are struggling or falling in Google. This action makes it much harder to troubleshoot basic Google search marketing issues which commonly plague sites across the Web. The deliberate omission of this very important data marks a sad day in the history of search marketing. The trend I am seeing with my old friend Google, regarding the subject of “SEO” and organic positioning is not one I want to dwell upon. Thank God for search diversity and new search technologies and environments, which give us hope that we can succeed online without being strong armed into revenue shares with the moguls who already own the Web and who strive to own the world. And you all know those (plural) of whom I speak! The search scenario and even the search arena is fast changing friends. You must stay on your toes, be ever vigilant and saavy or fall into the poorhouse with the masses.
Bad news comes and goes but Google will be here at least till Armageddon. So we’ll make the best with what she’ll give us while we search for, and innovate, even better, more personal, accurate and affordable, if not free solutions. I don’t want to hurt Google or any business nor anyone or anything, I just want to help my clients evolve and prosper and to feed and educate my children. Is it too much to ask that I also be able to be employed by my spherical self, rather than be ultimately forced to work for some huge mega-merged cubical corporation?
And so, Mr. Web Guru wept (but in the now, I smile and I am happy).
Robert