The web is filled with content designed for Google, not humans.
  • HidingCat@kbin.socialOP
    131·
    10 months ago

    The animations showing the transformation of a page into a blah-SEO clone really sold the article for me. Really reminds me of how shitty the “modern” web is nowadays. I also think it’s time I signed up for Kagi.

    • Rooki@lemmy.worldEnglish
      16·
      10 months ago

      Google imperfected the web. As in made it unsafer, privacy is a joke. The “old” internet was good, but it couldnt get monetized.

      Google showed us all that advertisments arent your friend, rather they are harmfull, just because of google there are so many users that use especially for youtube or google adblockers, so that they dont have to see “Milfs in your area” on a “Childrens Platform” ( youtube ).

      If you search for something for example “docker postgresql” first results are ads ( malicious spam, virus, trojaner ) then there comes like 50 blog posts about postgresql and sometimes with docker in the title. After scrolling to page 2 there it is after another 2-3 ads there is your wanted page… oh wait no its just a dynamic page that insert {search query} into the title and has some icon detection. After that you go to another search engine DuckDuckGo… first result it is your wanted page. Or even use a open source search engine collector like SearXNG that asks multiple search engines for a result.

      • LWD@lemm.eeEnglish
        6·
        10 months ago

        And almost everything you’re talking about is prior to GPT generated content filling the internet. At least when you are reading a blog, it was written by a human being who put care into their work, and if they’re wrong, it’s probably a typo.

        We badly need a search engine that’s got human-generated content on the other side, and if anybody is writing SEO tutorials, all they should be able to say is “Don’t be misleading with your content”

        • Rooki@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          10 months ago

          A bit before that too. Those ad problems are there already since the start of google ads. They dont get monitored or reports dont get through.

          My idea is just to use a forum ( like lemmy ;D ) Those are mostly human created and you can just ask if you still dont know.

          • HidingCat@kbin.socialOP
            3·
            10 months ago

            Yes, that’s why before Reddit went to shit we all added “reddit” to the search terms. I do miss the old web a lot.

            • LWD@lemm.eeEnglish
              1·
              10 months ago

              The thing that made Reddit valuable was that it was a bastion of user-generated content. To a great extent, it still is… Unless you happen to be avoiding their website for ethical reasons, which is understandable.

              That’s also why they’re trying to hold on to it by any means necessary; they know that the software itself isn’t any good without the data that has been generated using it.

              I hope Lemmy search functionality gets better. Right now, it’s pretty slow from an instance, and I haven’t ever seen its stuff pop up in a conventional search engine.

    • Geek_King@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      10 months ago

      I started using Kagi yesterday! It was a huge shock to get great results on a search at the top. Plus having those horrible spammy “Best VPNs of 2023 on bestvpns.com” all get grouped together under a heading of “Listicles” is just perfect. I’m telling co-workers about Kagi and not a single one is interested, but I’ll keep using it damn it!

      • HidingCat@kbin.socialOP
        2·
        10 months ago

        Sounds great; yea, I’m getting sick of the shitty SEOed the hella out results I’m getting from Google search nowadays. If I’m searching for anything that’s not pure facts (which likely leads me to a wiki page anyway), it’s just going to be a shitshow of bland pages as described in the linked article.

  • LWD@lemm.eeEnglish
    91·
    10 months ago

    Good article, but expect down votes from people who did not read the title. If you feel like changing it, I think Lemmy lets you.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.eeEnglish
      4·
      10 months ago

      I think you mean read “past” the title.

      And you would be correct, because why would anyone red past a title so full of BS?

      Google didn’t perfect the web, anything but. If it’s a hyperbolic title, we’ll then it fails to get me to click because it’s not interesting: I already know Google didn’t perfect the web, so I doubt the author has anything I’d care to read.

      Now, if it said “How Google Fucked the Web”, I may click.

      Thing is, I knew from the first year of Google how they were going to fuck the web, simply by being so much better at search, everyone would default to them, which is a bad thing.

    • noodlejetski@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      10 months ago

      yeah, it’s already happening. shame as it’s such a well written (and designed) article.

    • HidingCat@kbin.socialOP
      1·
      10 months ago

      I didn’t realise it, I just pasted the link and let Kbin figure out the data. I guess it read from an internal working title instead of the actual title (which isn’t much better, it’s “The Perfect Webpage”)

      I do feel like this is why I don’t really hang around the fediverse that much; it’s like the opposite end of the spectrum of right-wingers who go nuts when “communism” or “socialism” is mentioned, just that it’s any mention of “capitalism”. Kneejerk reactions either way.

  • Scrubber0777@lemmy.mlEnglish
    5·
    10 months ago

    People should read the article, despite what the post title might suggest.

    It’s about Google SEO steering web contents into repetitive-buzz-word-filled articles.

    A deeper dive into how its homogenising the internet and its affect on content creators.

    Poor choice of post title though.