How Google is killing independent sites like ours - HouseFresh
housefresh.com
And why you shouldn’t trust product reviews from big media publishers ranking at the top of Google.

How Google is killing independent sites like ours::And why you shouldn’t trust product reviews from big media publishers ranking at the top of Google.

  • thehatfox@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    9 months ago

    SEO has been a plague in search engines for almost as long as they have existed. Unfortunately combatting it is an endless cat and mouse game, as there will always be some who will devise new ways to game the system. With how commercialised the web has become there’s enormous incentive to do so.

    I’m also not convinced Google has much intention of really fixing it. They already have a monopoly on search, and as an advertising company are unlikely to want to upset the big media companies exploiting their search engine.

    • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      9 months ago

      Google actually has an incentive not to make search too good. That means less time looking through search results, seeing ads, and less time hopping between 5 different sites trying to find what you need, seeing ads on each one.

      Ad networks are a plague.

      • don@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        Google actually has an incentive not to make search too good.

        This is sometimes ominously referred to as perverse incentive.

    • Burn_The_Right@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      They don’t have a monopoly on good search results. I rarely use Google anymore and I do not miss it at all.

    • Zerfallen@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      I moved from Google Search to Kagi, and I really like it. It’s a bit expensive though the experience is really nice, and you know where you stand with them as a customer, regarding their priorities/motivations.

      • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        2·
        9 months ago

        I’d use Kagi, but anonymous searching is impossible because you need an accoint to use the search, due to it being a paid service. I just have to take their word that they maintain privacy. I don’t trust any company’s word for shit. Also AFAIK it’s not open source, so I can’t self host it either.

        Also, it’s quite expensive when other options are free. I get why they do it this way, but it’s just not for me.

  • Makeitstop@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    Lying about testing a product in order to get people to buy it so you can get your affiliate revenue sounds like fraud to me. Seems like the kind of thing that should lead to lawsuits and potentially criminal charges. Not that anyone would actually try to do something about this or most other problems facing consumers.

  • anon6789@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    It’s frustrating there are so many bad reviews when it’s not like basic material testing is that complicated. If a few of these media conglomerates just ripped off the things Project Farm does to branch out what products are tested, that would be immensely helpful. As a bonus, much of his testing is actually interesting to watch, so you’d actually be generating double the content, the review and the test itself.

    I do enjoy Project Farm is testing more household items these days. The trashbag torture tests this week were good. He tests enough catagories that with whatever item he’s testing, you can see what is the best value for daily use or what to get when you really need something to work no matter what you throw at it.

    • OminousOrange@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      I’ve purchased a few things after listening to him yell at me for 20 minutes. The reviews are useful, but I wouldn’t watch for pleasure.

  • deafboy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    Does anybody even open articles like “N best X of YYYY!”, or “N things that will X your Z!”

  • SomeGuy69@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    Just add “Reddit” tag to everything and cross link multiple posts talking about that content. Basically do the work for me of having to filter through so many threads and answers. Yeah sucks to be this co depending but this would generate clicks and catch people who search for “product x Reddit”. Of course you lose those who filter by site:reddit.com. I also hope Lemmy gets big to get rid of this Reddit codependency, because I want way less manipulated information but not from Reddit which becomes more and more astroturfed. I think it’s a pipedream to get completely rid of it but at least these responses are useful most of the time and not SEO optimized.