Google Gone Wild Part Deux

Posted on August 29, 2009
Filed Under Search Engine Optimization |

The latest Google algorithm change is becoming so farcical, it reminds us of that old Charlie Sheen movie, Hotshots! Part Deux. If you’re a webmaster, all you can do is sit back with a buttery bag of microwave popcorn and laugh…or cry, depending if you actually think this train wreck is funny!

Let’s get straight to some real world results. Type into Google the phrase Columbus Ohio gym. We’re not going to debate the relevance of certain web directories that show up in this search, we’ll save that for another day. However, depending on the hour you perform this search, the website www.columbuspreschoolandgym.com might appear in results 8-12.

The domain name does have the words ‘Columbus’ and ‘gym’ so there’s nothing wrong here correct? WRONG! Look closely at this website and you’ll find it is a kid’s gym and preschool (say what?). The only problem is that this ‘gym’ is located in New York, New York!!! Do you really think someone searching for a gym in Columbus, Ohio cares about a toddler’s ‘gym’ in New York city?

Further inspection shows that the word ‘Ohio’ does NOT appear in either the title, description, keywords, or the actual text on the website. More troubling perhaps is the fact that this particular website doesn’t even contain description or keywords tags! The title is even paltry reading simply ‘Columbus Preschool and Gym’. We won’t even discuss that the website was created in FrontPage (eek).

So what does this tell us about Google’s algorithm change? It tells us at the very least that things are in chaos at everyone’s favorite search engine. Not only are the organic results erratic at best, but the local map results are also having their share of problems. Type into Google the phrase Columbus Web Design. Results A-J not only change at an almost hourly rate, but if you click on ‘More results near Columbus, OH’, the results don’t even match what you previously saw!

Stay tuned while we ride this crazy train and try to figure out what the heck Google is thinking.