Google is now an exclusive catalog
Vincent Schmalbach provides a great synoposis on how Google’s search strategy has pivoted over time. It appears that now Google’s default strategy is to not to index your content at all. There needs to be a strong, compelling case for Google to index one of your pages.
This brings us to the current state of affairs: Google is no longer trying to index the entire web. In fact, it’s become extremely selective, refusing to index most content. This isn’t about content creators failing to meet some arbitrary standard of quality. Rather, it’s a fundamental change in how Google approaches its role as a search engine.
When I explored the dramatic shift in web traffic for my website from Google Search last year, I found that it was a new order rather than a de-indexing. Many of the search terms I ranked highly in are now dominated by larger websites, mostly user-generated behemoths like Stack Overflow and Reddit. It might be a different story if I made a brand new website. I may not even make the cut now!
Vincent hypothesizes on the factors that compel Google to index your content such as: extreme content uniqueness, being perceived as a high authority in a niche subject, being a well-known brand, and your content being temporarily indexed to avoid missing out on breaking news and emerging topics.
Granted, facing a future where AI can generate infinite amounts of human-like content, some drastic changes have to be made by Google. Yet, if Vincent is correct, the consequences of Google’s choices appear to be generally 💩. Users will get more homogenous results from larger websites whilst overlooking a lot of the web. Content creators will have a much harder road. If your business heavily relies on clicks for advertising revenue, then your business may be in jeopardy.
I hope that there is another path, a better way forward.