An example of how the SERPs are messed up

retsek · 10-18-2011, 07:51 AM

I found this really funny.

In a leaked list of Guidelines for Google Quality Raters ...they specifically mention this site: pregnancysymptoms.net as a example of a site that is of "low quality. The writing quality is poor and, even though the article is on a medical subject, it does not appear to be written by a person with medical expertise or even reviewed by a medical expert. Users wouldn’t be able to trust information found in this article. Even though the article is topical, the page is low quality and would not be helpful for most users."

Even though this site has obviously been rated and hasn't been updated since 2009, it still ranks #8 for a 200,000+ Exact Match keyword. A great site like BabyCenter.com (which my wife found extremely helpful during her pregnancy) is ranked below it ...all the way back to Page 2.

Mike Anthony · 10-18-2011, 08:22 AM

Depends on what serp you are looking at. For its domain keyword "pregnancy symptoms" that page is on page two in position 11 and the baby center site is on page one above it.

Interesting thing about what you wrote is that simply remaining topical and having unique content isn't enough. the raters are human beings and can tell where the quality of writing is low.

36burrows · 10-18-2011, 08:46 AM

Yeah I'm seeing this kind of stuff across a lot of different keywords. Somethings gotta adjust, this is ridiculous.

nicktyler · 10-18-2011, 08:51 AM

Whats the point in having the ratings if it is not goingto have any effect. I think it will become more important to the ranking in future along with the plus1's and the like.

stelweb · 10-18-2011, 08:52 AM

This is nothing compared to some sites i see in the career niche. Hideous sites with absolutely no original content ranking on top. It is unbearable. They could at least make it a bit good to look at. I am sure they make at least 1000 USD off the top spots they have. So why not invest a part of that money and get a decent web site design. Maybe they need someone to create a WSO titled " how to invest money and get a custom web site design".

Zeb · 10-18-2011, 09:00 AM

Where did you get the info about the leaked guidelines in the first place?

retsek · 10-18-2011, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeb

Where did you get the info about the leaked guidelines in the first place?

Oh ..here's the full PDF.
http://searchengineland.com/figz/wp-...lines-2011.pdf

very informative. the examples and cases they use are also helpful.

but really none of it isn't already known.

10-18-2011, 07:51 AM	#1
retsek Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 1,017 Thanks: 6 Thanked 294 Times in 172 Posts	An example of how the SERPs are messed up I found this really funny. In a leaked list of Guidelines for Google Quality Raters ...they specifically mention this site: pregnancysymptoms.net as a example of a site that is of "low quality. The writing quality is poor and, even though the article is on a medical subject, it does not appear to be written by a person with medical expertise or even reviewed by a medical expert. Users wouldn’t be able to trust information found in this article. Even though the article is topical, the page is low quality and would not be helpful for most users." Even though this site has obviously been rated and hasn't been updated since 2009, it still ranks #8 for a 200,000+ Exact Match keyword. A great site like BabyCenter.com (which my wife found extremely helpful during her pregnancy) is ranked below it ...all the way back to Page 2.

10-18-2011, 08:22 AM	#2
Mike Anthony SEO D'Artagnan War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 4,980 Thanks: 476 Thanked 1,090 Times in 701 Posts	Re: An example of how the SERPs are messed up Depends on what serp you are looking at. For its domain keyword "pregnancy symptoms" that page is on page two in position 11 and the baby center site is on page one above it. Interesting thing about what you wrote is that simply remaining topical and having unique content isn't enough. the raters are human beings and can tell where the quality of writing is low.
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10-18-2011, 08:46 AM	#3
36burrows HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 457 Thanks: 131 Thanked 70 Times in 55 Posts Contact Info	Re: An example of how the SERPs are messed up Yeah I'm seeing this kind of stuff across a lot of different keywords. Somethings gotta adjust, this is ridiculous.
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10-18-2011, 08:51 AM	#4
nicktyler Advanced Warrior Join Date: May 2011 Location: London Posts: 708 Thanks: 8 Thanked 56 Times in 55 Posts	Re: An example of how the SERPs are messed up Whats the point in having the ratings if it is not goingto have any effect. I think it will become more important to the ranking in future along with the plus1's and the like.
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10-18-2011, 08:52 AM	#5
stelweb Active Warrior Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 44 Thanks: 18 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: An example of how the SERPs are messed up This is nothing compared to some sites i see in the career niche. Hideous sites with absolutely no original content ranking on top. It is unbearable. They could at least make it a bit good to look at. I am sure they make at least 1000 USD off the top spots they have. So why not invest a part of that money and get a decent web site design. Maybe they need someone to create a WSO titled " how to invest money and get a custom web site design".

10-18-2011, 09:00 AM	#6
Zeb Ultimate Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Where The Heart Desires... Posts: 517 Thanks: 21 Thanked 60 Times in 56 Posts Contact Info	Re: An example of how the SERPs are messed up Where did you get the info about the leaked guidelines in the first place?