Google inaccurate results: Common or error?
-
Hi all,
While searching for our primary keyword, I can see 2 websites on second page results which are non-related to the keyword or industry but their company name is this keyword. Like if I want to rank and searching for "SEO", there are 2 websites which called "seo trucks" and "seo paints". I wonder how Google is ranking these websites for high competition keyword with 1 million searches per month. So the keyword in URL and this keyword mentioned across the website being their brand name taking over the other potential ranking factors like backlinks, relevant content, user clicks, etc.....
Thanks
-
Google is incredibly good at entity detection (i.e. figuring out when someone is searching for a "thing"). When there is a canonical right answer for that thing (e.g. the company website in the case of a company), it will often rank very well despite not necessarily having any of the "traditional" ranking factors in place.
Typically, when the search is unambiguously for the thing in question, the company will rank #1 even if there are much stronger websites and pages about that company. You will rarely find that a company is outranked on their own company name when it's sufficiently distinguished from other entities even if it's a really small company and there are (for example) major media stories about it.
There are a variety of other factors - like query sequences (e.g. a user searching [seo] followed by [seo trucks] in your example) that Google can use to associate more specific sites with more general queries as well.
Most importantly - I'm not sure there's a great deal you can do about it, not any general lessons you can apply to your own attempts in this market / keyword space - so I wouldn't spend too long worrying about it!
-
Thanks for the response Micheal. These 2 websites have very less traffic compared to the other websites which are trying to rank for the keyword. I have noticed that 10% of the traffic to these websites comes with search of that keyword. So, is that the only factor influencing a boost in rankings? Usually there is a lot of content about this keyword on many other websites; even though these 2 websites which are just got the keyword as their company name. Do u think the keyword in their domain name is major reason?
-
So, why do you consider the result inaccurate? If they are coming up that close to the top then perhaps a number of people are using that keyword to search specifically for those businesses. Google believes that their content is good, and, that you may have been looking for them, albeit with them on the 2nd page Google hedged its bets that you were not.
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
-
Google's Search Algorithm update to 'Local Snack Pack'
Hi there - I was wondering if anyone else has noticed a big shift in the Google Local 'snack pack' in the past 48 hours? We have noticed a big change in clients results - specifically today. Has anyone else noticed any changes or perhaps data on possible changes? I am aware of this update: https://www.seroundtable.com/big-google-search-algorithm-ranking-update-29953.html but perhaps there maybe another update since. Any input would be much appreciated! Phil.
Algorithm Updates | | Globalgraphics0 -
Have there been any google algorithm updates in the past 2 weeks?
Hi guys - we have noticed a site we work one has taken a hit on its rankings over the past week. We have been through all the usual reason - hacking, duplicate content, back links, other sites copying text etc - but can not find any reason why its rankings have been affected. Has any one else noticed unexplained changes in rankings with sites about a week ago? Thanks in advance! Phil
Algorithm Updates | | Globalgraphics1 -
Thoughts on Google's Autocomplete hurting organic SEO?
A client sent over an article about how Google's Autocomplete eliminates your chance for clicks. Saying that if your competitor is higher than you, the user will bypass the page one organic rank and click on a specific business from the autocomplete which in turn presents an entire page one result for that business. So in a sense they are wondering why they're doing organic SEO if potential customers are just going to bypass the page one organic results. I would love to hear thoughts from like minded people on this as I have to start proving my case with articles, facts, data, and research.
Algorithm Updates | | MERGE-Chicago0 -
Google not crawling click to expand content - suggestions?
It seems like Google confirmed this week in a G+ hangout that content in click to expand content e.g. 'read more' dropdown and tabbed content scenarios will be discounted. The suggestion was if you have content it needs to be visible on page load. Here's more on it https://www.seroundtable.com/google-index-click-to-expand-19449.html and the actual hangout, circa 11 mins in https://plus.google.com/events/cjcubhctfdmckph433d00cro9as. From a UX and usability point of view having a lot of content that was otherwise tabbed or in click to expand divs can be terrible, especially on mobile. Does anyone have workable solutions or can think of examples of really great landing pages (i'm mostly thinking ecommerce) that also has a lot of visible content? Thanks Andy
Algorithm Updates | | AndyMacLean0 -
Same Meta description is being shown on Google?
Not sure why this is happening but when you this command into Google site:"mywebsite": + "key phrase" It brings up pages from my website which have the key phrase but I have noticed that Google is using the wrong meta description for all of them even though these pages all have their own unique meta description Does anyone know why this would be happening? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | webguru20140 -
Google Page Rank not improving
Hi All, I have a site live with a homepage rank of 5, Ever since relaunching (on the same domain) 6 months ago the inner page rank has remained at NA. Its crawled pretty consistently, Can anyone think of a reason this may be happening? www.glowm.com
Algorithm Updates | | thebluecubeuk0 -
Multiple Listings in Results fading Local SEO
Lately I am noticing multiple listings for results seem to be fading away. Example is one domain being listed twice for a search phrase The Home page for example and an Internal Page. Is anyone else seeing this? Safe to say Google wants to see 10+ individual domains per results page?
Algorithm Updates | | bozzie3110 -
When Google crawls and indexes a new page does it show up immediately in Google search - "site;"?
We made changes to a site, including the addition of a new page and corresponding link/text changes to existing pages. The changes are not yet showing up in the Google index (“site:”/cache), but, approximately 24 hours after making the changes, The SERP's for this site jumped up. We obtained a new back link about a couple of weeks ago, but it is not yet showing up in OSE, Webmaster Tools, or other tools. Just wondering if you think the Google SERP changes run ahead of what they actually show us in site: or cache updates. Has Google made a significant SERP “adjustment” recently? Thanks.
Algorithm Updates | | richpalpine0