Search engine giant Google is continuing its streak of negative reviews from independent publishers who accuse the firm of taking part in unjust practices to make more money.
In a recently published article by HouseFresh, Google was said to purposefully get rid of small companies, publishers and independent writers from its search results page so that bigger companies could showcase their content. And the matter is believed to have gotten worse with time.
Plenty of publishers were slammed including the likes of BuzzFeed and Rolling Stone as well as others who might not have the best expertise and talent but were still given more coverage online when compared to other smaller entities.
Despite knowing the truth behind these big companies, it’s shameful to see how Google continues to show these organizations support with better rankings across its site.
So what you get in the end is a search results page that is full of nothing but SEO material and is curated for the sole purpose of ranking highly on the search engine.
A piece was rolled out this week that spoke about how independent publishers such as HouseFresh end up being so unnoticed that they disappear from search. Moreover, search traffic also dropped 91% as noted in the past couple of months.
Meanwhile, another post was published that showed how smaller-scale articles used to get 4000 visitors per day and are now getting just 200.
When further investigation was prompted, it was a little startling for some people to witness how rankings were below par on Google but the feedback attained from readers was positive with client demand being high. So in reality, thanks to sponsored posts, we’re seeing meaningful content go down the drain and big media sites reign supreme.
For now, tech giant Google is yet to comment on the matter. But this type of information is very fascinating, to say the least. You’re getting to see internet trends that rarely anyone speaks about until they actually do start impacting their business online.
Product reviews not getting credit and engagement where they are due is worrisome because you’re saying hello to a monopoly where only the big fish can hunt the smaller species and benefit in the long term.
Image: Housefresh
Whatever the case may be, the reality is that SEO content is getting rolled out across various platforms at the speed of light. We’re seeing the use of AI tools give rise to so many stories and the fact that product reviews are getting curated through automation is a little bit unfair we believe.
Let’s not forget the excessive targeting of leading search spots on Google by giant media outlets which impacts smaller places. There’s a massive decline in traffic for those working independently and on most occasions, it’s enough to shatter outlets as a whole.
The decline in search traffic for Google has impacted so many incomes and the ability to attain sustainability. It’s sad to see hard work get zero credit or success where it’s due and scams continue to be marketed as they come from bigger firms.
But the battle is one and we’re excited to see what the future of search holds as such matters cannot die down without a fight. And it’s a long time coming, that’s for sure.
So if Google is not in the mood for ranking reviews, then broken results would have to do in terms of putting takedowns in the limelight before funds are wasted on overhyped endeavors.