"Google May 2020 Core Update" affecting your xF Forum?

sub_ubi said:
It's easier to control online discussion if there are only a few corporate platforms.
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Which is why forums as a discussion platform will never die, but they just may not show up in search results. People always want what they can't have. Might have to start doing things the old way - referrals. Hmm, maybe a referral sugar add-on could be useful. 🤔
 
Mr Lucky said:
An other thing you can do is attempt to improve your content. It's user generated so it's not that easy, but when someone searches for information, often they don't want a load of off topic guff, people bickering etc.

You can do quite a lot of forum curating to help SEO.
  • Encourage on-topic posting (discourage or move off topic posts from within important threads)
  • Merge threads that are about basically the same things (similar threads addon is good)
  • Encourage people not to start a new thread about the same topic as an existing one.
  • Get rid of trolls.
  • Encourage meaningful thread titles that include words that are right on topic.
  • Have easy navigation so that people who find your forum are encouraged to stay there (engaged) and look around.
  • Search for old threads that only have one post. I just delete them because usually it's a question that nobody answered, so it's useless to Google.
  • Not just threads, post some useful well written articles on pages or resources., structure them like proper articles with headings and subheadings, articulate writing, good original clear images, internal and external linking.
  • Look at the competition and work out why they do better in Google.
  • Think about search questions.

It's true I don't think there's any great xenforo SEO addon (equivalent of Yoast) , I'm waiting for that but meanwhile just do your best at having great content.
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DigNap15 said:
If that is true, then my forum has no chance
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Which implies that if you can't or won't try to improve the usefulness and useabilty of you forum as a hub of information, then maybe it's time to stop worrying about Google not viewing it as a hub of useful information.
 
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If someone searches for a New Zealand poltical forum, then Google should them all..
Not censor mine, just because I don't fit their global leftist elitist view of the world and my members mention Amercian politics or corona virus.
 
@DigNap15 you sound like a child having a tantrum because your breakfast cereal doesn't taste like you thought it would from the picture on the box - the world isn't the way you want it to be - that's just the way it is.

For the love of Pete, just accept it and move on. Google is not going to change their algorithms to make sure your forum comes out on top.
 
Google hates forums. It's a fact i learned the hard way and regret using forums over WordPress. But i am too long gone and can't switch now. Maybe some employee of Google was banned on a forum and now hates forums, i don't know but it doesn't make sense why they hate it so much. It's not a new trend now but it has gotten worse lately.

What i find funny and sad at the same time is all these updates really target the innocent naive people who haven't a clue about how to game the system yet they get sent into oblivion.

I see absolute trash ranking better than mine. Absolute garbage sites with stolen content from me ranking better because they use WordPress. Absolute garbage YouTube videos which link back to my site rank better than me. All made by 12 years old with broken English. So Google's excuse of your site isn't the best resource is just nonsense. Those thieves are using my resource yet i get pushed down. Isn't that stupid?

This update it seems like targeted forums specifically. I have seen link powerhouses forums from before Google was a thing with absolute gem of information get sent into oblivion and scammers with WordPress with a crap thousand words article probably written by a non-English speaker with keywords stuffed into it rank at the top.

Pinterest ranks better, can you believe it. Just one keyword and it ranks #1 :LOL:

We should all be using Pinterest now, upload pictures of our puppy and tag it #how to lose weight#

That's another thing, giant corporations who have direct contacts with Google are completely dominating even for keywords that don't make any sense.

It seems like Google is going back to 2000s era. The sites dominating are using a lot of keyword stuffing.
 
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My observation when searching my forums common search term, blogspot and wordpress based site are prioritize on 1st page result whereas mine at the 2nd page, with almost the same content.
 
My personal problem with Google Search is that increasingly I can only find what I am looking for using the "verbatim" option instead of "all search results".

Example:

Imagine I'm a former engineer wishing to find information on the General Dynamics Model 785 (an early design for what became the F-16 fighter plane). I don't know advanced Google search syntax.

I search for

General Dynamics Model 785

and Google basically shows me:

PDFs of Senate proceedings or reports containing these keywords in any order (so the number 785 is there, but embedded in a phone number, page number and nowhere near the other keywords).

Search results deleting the number 785 which is vital to the search, without it it's hopelessly generic info on General Dynamics in general.

My forum page containing info on the General Dynamics Model 785 is nowhere.

Switch to "verbatim", and hey presto, my site is #1 and #4 for a topic and a PDF article respectively.

My forum used to be very highly ranked on keyword searches as the ONLY place that contained the specific content people were looking for. This specific search used to work fine. Now, it seems like "obscure" searches are automatically "corrected" to return popular searches.
 
I assume by verbatim you mean putting the search query between quote marks.

That's always been true for search engines when it's something quite specific, although you may be right that it's become more true in recent years.

I find the same thing when searching for device drivers or other specific products.
 
Matthew S said:
<conspiracy>Do you serve Google's ads? Do they?</conspiracy>
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I'll one up ya on this. How many were getting revenue removed (25% or greater) each month starting in January this year for "invalid traffic" and are these the same people getting hit by this update? When I had seen they took off more than 40% from my revenue earned back in Jan, I switched my weight on Adsense so it only shows about 10% of the time now...looking at what they've been taking off, it looks like that's how much they shaved off in terms of traffic coming from them.
 
djbaxter said:
Oh dear. Here we go with the conspiracy theories now. sigh
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I agree with everything you have said in this thread about making compelling content. (y)

That said, it is hard not to wonder if they also prioritise sites that make them more money. 🤔
 
Matthew S said:
I agree with everything you have said in this thread about making compelling content. (y)

That said, it is hard not to wonder if they also prioritise sites that make them more money. 🤔
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Facebook aren’t even subtle about it. They have knobbled your ability to promote yourself on their platform so effectively even your actual friends and family might not see your post until you pay them for the privilege.
Having said that, you have to be realistic. Is your forum really the number one match for that search? Maybe you didn’t deserve the missing traffic.
 
No, this is "verbatim".
Verbatim.webp

In a search result, click tools, then hit all search results, and click verbatim. It simply means "only return results for the actual keywords I used, don't autocorrect them to ones with more results or delete some of them, I know what I'm looking for". Its different to putting quotes around the keywords- this means "search for this entire string exactly as written".

In my example, I want results that contain all the keywords but not necessarily all next to each other.. I don't want to see results for more popular keywords or results excluding one of the keywords I've specifically chosen to locate the content I want.

Google's indexing of the internet remains great, but the search algorithm is increasing geared to Joe Public, and his inability to formulate search terms, combined with Google's belief in its own infallibility (you must have meant this....).
 
AzzidReign said:
...looking at what they've been taking off, it looks like that's how much they shaved off in terms of traffic coming from them.
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That's actually funny. I have 70% of traffic from Google. Adsense shaved 75% from my estimated earnings for May ...
 
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