rickhz
Well-known member
I asked Google's Gemini what I can do to regain lost ranking after their March update. Per usual, nothing, but lip service...
My questions are red and in quotes.
"What specific things can I do to help www. xyzforum .com recover from Google's March search update? " ( I had my actual URL in there when I asked the question.)
Based on the information available regarding Google's March 2025 core update, and considering the specific context of a forum website like www. xyzforum .com, here's a breakdown of actionable steps to aid in recovery:
Understanding the Update's Impact:
"My forum is as old as Google having started in 1996. The information on the forum is invaluable to those looking for information to fix and maintain their Ford Explorers and Ford Explorer based vehicles. On multiple occasions we have been invited by Ford Motor Company to be part of the launch of the new Ford Explorers. Why doesn't Google Search see this as a positive and valuable resource? "
It's understandable that you're concerned, especially given the long history and valuable content of your forum. While age and expertise are significant assets, they don't automatically guarantee top search rankings. Here's a breakdown of potential reasons why Google's algorithms might not be fully recognizing your forum's value, and how to address them:
Factors Influencing Google's Evaluation:
"Now that Google has trained it's AI using forum's like mine to scrape from are they forsaking the very forums that they have gleaned data from?"
The relationship between Google's AI development and the online forums that contribute to its training data is complex and raises valid concerns. Here's a breakdown of the key considerations:
The Role of Forums in AI Training:
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Rebuttal -
Over the years I have deleted 10s of thousands of worthless posts. Mainly posts over a certain age with 0 replies have been deleted to keep the percentage of informative threads to worthless threads high. I am one of the few forum owners that I know of that does this, yet as usual Google doesn't seem to appreciate the effort. I have done the same with our registered membership deleting anyone who has been registered for 10 years or more with zero posts. I did that to free up usernames since we were approaching half a million registered members when I began the deletions.
My questions are red and in quotes.
"What specific things can I do to help www. xyzforum .com recover from Google's March search update? " ( I had my actual URL in there when I asked the question.)
Based on the information available regarding Google's March 2025 core update, and considering the specific context of a forum website like www. xyzforum .com, here's a breakdown of actionable steps to aid in recovery:
Understanding the Update's Impact:
- Forum Content Revaluation:
- The update appears to have significantly recalibrated how Google values forum content.1 While platforms like Reddit maintain strength, many other forums are experiencing decreased visibility.2 This indicates a shift towards prioritizing higher-quality, more valuable forum contributions.
- Focus on User Value:
- Google's core updates consistently emphasize content that is "relevant, satisfying" for users.3 Therefore, the primary focus should be on enhancing the user experience and the value of the content provided.
- Content Quality Audit:
- Identify and Remove Low-Quality Content:
- Scrutinize forum threads for spam, irrelevant posts, and excessively short or unhelpful contributions.
- Address and potentially remove duplicate content.
- Prioritize threads with in-depth discussions, expert advice, and valuable resources.
- Enhance Existing High-Quality Content:
- Encourage users to provide detailed responses and contribute to comprehensive discussions.
- Moderators should actively guide conversations and ensure they stay on topic.
- Add value to older threads by updating them with current information or relevant links.
- Identify and Remove Low-Quality Content:
- Improve User Experience:
- Site Structure and Navigation:
- Ensure the forum is easy to navigate, with clear categories and subforums.
- Optimize mobile responsiveness for seamless user experience on all devices.
- Engagement and Moderation:
- Implement robust moderation practices to maintain a positive and helpful community atmosphere.
- Encourage user participation through contests, polls, and featured discussions.
- make sure the site is fast, and that pages load quickly.
- Site Structure and Navigation:
- Technical SEO Optimization:
- Site Speed:
- Optimize website loading speed to improve user experience and search engine rankings.
- Mobile-Friendliness:
- Ensure the forum is fully responsive and provides an optimal experience on mobile devices.
- Technical SEO Audit:
- check for any technical problems that may be hindering the sites ability to be crawled and indexed by google.
- Site Speed:
- Community Building:
- Foster Expert Contributions:
- Encourage experts in the Ford Explorer community to contribute to the forum.
- Highlight valuable contributions and recognize active members.
- Create Exclusive Content:
- Develop original content, such as guides, tutorials, or FAQs, that are exclusive to the forum.
- Foster Expert Contributions:
- Patience:
- Recovering from a Google core update takes time. Avoid making hasty changes and focus on long-term improvements.
- Google's Guidance:
- Adhere to Google's guidelines for creating helpful, people-first content.4
- Monitoring and Analysis:
- Use Google Search Console and other analytics tools to monitor website performance and identify areas for improvement.
"My forum is as old as Google having started in 1996. The information on the forum is invaluable to those looking for information to fix and maintain their Ford Explorers and Ford Explorer based vehicles. On multiple occasions we have been invited by Ford Motor Company to be part of the launch of the new Ford Explorers. Why doesn't Google Search see this as a positive and valuable resource? "
It's understandable that you're concerned, especially given the long history and valuable content of your forum. While age and expertise are significant assets, they don't automatically guarantee top search rankings. Here's a breakdown of potential reasons why Google's algorithms might not be fully recognizing your forum's value, and how to address them:
Factors Influencing Google's Evaluation:
- Algorithm Shifts:
- Google's core updates, like the March 2025 update, prioritize "helpful, people-first content." This means algorithms are increasingly sophisticated in assessing the quality and relevance of information.
- Even with valuable historical data, if the presentation, organization, or user experience doesn't align with current Google standards, a site can be affected.
- Content Freshness and Relevance:
- While historical data is valuable, Google also prioritizes fresh, up-to-date content. If older threads dominate your site, they might be seen as less relevant to current search queries.
- Even if the information is still accurate, the way that information is presented, and the context of that information, changes over time.
- User Experience (UX):
- Modern web standards emphasize mobile-friendliness, site speed, and intuitive navigation. If your forum's UX is outdated, it can negatively impact your rankings.
- Google places a high value on how users interact with a website.
- E-A-E-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness):
- Google's E-A-E-T guidelines are crucial for evaluating content quality. While your forum has experience and expertise, Google's algorithms need to recognize it.
- This could mean that the forum needs to better highlight the expertises of its members, and that the site needs to show google that it is a trustworthy source of information.
- Forum-Specific Challenges:
- Forums can be challenging to moderate, leading to issues like:
- Spam and low-quality posts.
- Outdated or inaccurate information.
- Repetitive or redundant content.
- Forums can be challenging to moderate, leading to issues like:
- Highlight Expertise:
- Create profiles for expert users, showcasing their credentials and contributions.
- Implement systems for users to recognize and validate helpful answers.
- Modernize UX:
- Ensure your forum is fully mobile-responsive and loads quickly.
- Improve navigation and site structure for easy information access.
- Content Curation:
- Actively moderate and curate content, removing outdated or low-quality posts.
- Create summaries or "best-of" threads for popular topics.
- Structured Data:
- Implement structured data markup to help Google understand the context of your forum's content.
- Content Updates:
- Where possible, update older threads with current information.
- Create new content that addresses current issues and trends.
- Leverage your Ford partnership:
- Find ways to show google that your forum has a real world connection to the Ford motor company. This could be things like links from the Ford website, or other ways to show the relationship.
"Now that Google has trained it's AI using forum's like mine to scrape from are they forsaking the very forums that they have gleaned data from?"
The relationship between Google's AI development and the online forums that contribute to its training data is complex and raises valid concerns. Here's a breakdown of the key considerations:
The Role of Forums in AI Training:
- Data Source:
- Forums are rich sources of human-generated text, containing diverse opinions, discussions, and problem-solving information.1 This makes them valuable for training large language models (LLMs).
- LLMs learn patterns, language nuances, and real-world knowledge from this data.2
- Knowledge Base:
- Forums often serve as repositories of specialized knowledge, particularly in areas like technical support, hobbies, and communities of interest.3
- Content Value vs. Search Visibility:
- There's a concern that Google's AI-powered search features, such as AI Overviews, might reduce the need for users to click through to individual forum pages.4
- This could potentially decrease traffic to forums, impacting their ability to sustain themselves.5
- Content Attribution and Compensation:
- Questions arise about how content creators and forum communities are credited or compensated for their contributions to AI training data.6
- There are discussions about fair use, copyright, and the ethical implications of using user-generated content for commercial purposes.7
- Impact on Forum Communities:
- If forum traffic declines, it could weaken the sense of community and reduce the incentive for users to contribute valuable content.
- The quality of information that is available online could be negatively impacted if the communities that create that information are negatively impacted.
- Google's response:
- Google has stated that AI overviews are designed to help users get to web pages, and that they are seeing higher quality clicks.8
- Google has also stated that they are working to reduce the amount of less than helpful information that AI overviews produce from user generated content.9
- The relationship between search engines, AI, and online content is constantly evolving.
- It's likely that new models and practices will emerge to address the concerns raised by content creators and online communities.
- It is important for online communities to be aware of how their content is being used, and to advocate for fair practices.
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Rebuttal -
Over the years I have deleted 10s of thousands of worthless posts. Mainly posts over a certain age with 0 replies have been deleted to keep the percentage of informative threads to worthless threads high. I am one of the few forum owners that I know of that does this, yet as usual Google doesn't seem to appreciate the effort. I have done the same with our registered membership deleting anyone who has been registered for 10 years or more with zero posts. I did that to free up usernames since we were approaching half a million registered members when I began the deletions.
