Very Strange Search Results!
-
Having just done a search on Google.co.uk for 'payday loans' I am baffled as to why the top two organic results (image attached) are even associated to the keyword.
The KW isn't present in the title, metas, or content. Nor do any backlinks use relevant anchor text.
I'm guessing this is an algorithmic 'f*ck up', do you agree?
-
Many thanks Ryan, that explains a lot!
-
Google is fully capable of errors, but in my experience practically all the results people ask about are not an issue with the algorithm.
In this case, look at the Google cache for the first result, KSKQ. It is likely the site was infected by malware and presented different content to Googlebot.
The second site on your screenshot actually shows Google's warning the site may be compromised.
In short, the content you are seeing on the site is not the same as what Google sees when it crawls the site. When this happens it is either an intentional act by the site in which case it will likely draw a quick penalty, or it is a site which was compromised and this is the result. Google will likely remove the site from search results until the malware is removed.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
QA for Sitelinks Search Box
hi all, I have added the suggested code to my homepage as follows: This was added 10 days ago. I continue to see on Google SERPs a search box sitelink, but it produces a page of results on a secondary SERP page for my site instead of bringing people directly into my site to the search result page relative to their query. Is there a time lag from the time the code was implemented to when it is functional on Google? Is there any way to QA the code to ensure it works correctly and if Google has yet to include it in their latest cache?
Algorithm Updates | | dsinger0 -
Same search term shows #1 on Bing but #140 on Google?
Hi, I am using the search term of my website domain i.e. "Series Digital" on both Bing and Google. Bing shows my website as the top most link. But on Google, my website appears on page 14!! Why is this happening when I am using the string within the " "?
Algorithm Updates | | Cloudguru990 -
How Do I Optimize with Google's Video Search?
Hi everyone, I am looking here https://developers.google.com/webmasters/videosearch/schema and I don't fully understand. Could someone please explain, step by step, what I have to do to optimize for Google video search? I.e. Step 1 do this Step 2 do this. I don't fully understand Thank you!
Algorithm Updates | | jhinchcliffe0 -
Google's Local Search Results for Broad Keywords
I have a question regarding Google's local search results for broad keywords. Since Google is changing their algo to reflect local results for broad words, would it be beneficial now to start going after those words as well? For example: we have a client ranking for 'miami security alarm', but I would like to know if it would be beneficial to start optimizing for 'security alarm' as well. Also, since Google's keyword research tool reflects searches on a national level, how would I be able to find out how many searches a broad keyword is receiving on a local level? Thank you in advanced!
Algorithm Updates | | POPCreative0 -
Getting squeezed out of SERP by local results
Hi All, I wanted to get some opinions on a phenomenon that I know others are dealing with... We have a client who is an online-only business (though they do have an office/warehouse location). The on-page is great, and the site has good domain authority for its niche. The issue is that Google is localizing most of their search terms - And our client is getting squeezed down and out in the SERPs by the local listings. How is everyone dealing with this issue? It seems like we'll never get the site to out-rank the local listings in a given geo. Thanks, Lee
Algorithm Updates | | vectormedia0 -
Changing the # of results per page in Google search settings displays totally different results. Why is this?
Curious what's going on here. This is the first time I've seen this before. What's happening is this ... In Google, I search for "mobile apps orange county" and get a standard list of 10 results. I go to Google's search settings in the top right corner of the page (button is grey with a gear) to change the number of results per page from 10 to 50 (also did 100). When I go back to Google and search again for "mobile apps orange county" I get a much larger list but with completely different results. This time around the top 10-12 are dominated by the same website (ocregister.com) What's going on here that Google would now show different results? Why is this one website all of a sudden dominating the first 12 results? Thanks everyone! ByteLaunch
Algorithm Updates | | ByteLaunch0 -
Do search engines penalize for too many domain aliases?
I have a main domain name and 20+ related alias domains pointing to it. Is there a danger, penalty or concern that I should be aware of related to alias domains? I saw something on Google "Apps Administration" under "What is a domain alias" saying "you can add up to 20 domian aliases" but I don't use Google Apps. Please advise... Thank you, Chris
Algorithm Updates | | caliboyz0 -
Why am i seeing a "conduit" line for search engine sources in Google Analytics ?
Among Google, Yahoo, Bing etc... One of the line is "Conduit". I never heard about this engine but, accordingly to Google Analytics metrics, it is the engine that bring the best traffic to my site in terms of pages per visit.
Algorithm Updates | | betadvisor0