|
|
|
|
|
|
by sangnoir
1105 days ago
|
|
|
> That's also the reason why any recipe you find on the internet is buried at the bottom of the page. I mostly agree with what you said in your comment, but you're wrong here. Ad monetization is the reason for recipes being at the end: it's related, but not directly Google's fault. Having the actual content at the bottom means the proprietor can serve more ads interspersed with filler content, and since it takes longer to read the page, most visitors will stay longer than a few seconds decreasing the bounce rate (which improves SEO, amd more importantly, means you get paid for the ads as the time spent will hit the time-threshold for an ad impression) |
|
|
but ".. you're wrong here" - not necessarily - both things can be true..
and consider this: Google is choosing to put a bunch of web sites in the top results that instead of giving you the answer you seek (the recipe) - the sites contain the recipe but make you scroll past a bunch of other info - and ads - before you get what you want.
I've seen interesting debates about 'this increases engagement on-page time which the google algo likes ' - and things from googlers that say that's not the thing.. I've seen other guesses as to why..
regardless of the why - google is choosing to reward these sites with top position - they are long winded and include lots of ads.. so both things are true.
and the cynic in me leans toward people's paychecks and stock values are based on a thing.. and the search engine providing sites at the top that increase ad views, and they make money as an ad company.. and the old adage of do the best for the user is not at the forefront.
I've seen it in many other search phrases - things mysteriously happen that include censoring, that also increase the ad spend needed to reach customers.
One can blame in on this or that or point to whatever - but the truth of the outcome is the truth of the outcome - must of what people are searching for is buried and there has been in increase in ad visibility -
maybe that's not a bad thing for some, but it is what it is, and it's also an opportunity ripe for disruption with the likes of chatgpt type things - which is good and bad imho.
Also an opportunity for a more fun search engine - let google be the wanna be high brow prude censor machine it has become, and I think it will be the solid choice as a replacement for the yellow pages for quite some time.. but the best way to search and find many things connected to web, it is not.
Google, it's the new yellow pages. Both useful tools for the masses, and both an expensive must have for many local brick and mortar businesses.