Is Google Making Life Harder For Aggregators?
-
Theres been a bunch of updates recently which have hurt aggregators:
-
Reducing the number of search results to 7 for branded search queries
-
The DMCA update which penalises those with trademark related takedown requests against them.
-
At least 2 'domain diversity' updates, the most recent last week, which seeks to reduce the ability of sites to dominate SERPS e.g. a site which may have 2 search results on page 1 now may have 1.
Plus Its commonly believed that Google favours big brands over smaller brands e.g. Marriott over examplehotelaggregator.com.
Is this a deliberate ploy against aggregators in favour of brands i.e. does Google believe a brand site is a better search result than an aggregator?
A brand site returned above an aggregator for a branded term may be seen by Google as a better fit, a better search result that should be higher. But is that true? Consumers like to see unbiased reviews and lowest prices and that isnt always available at the brand site.
Thoughts please.
-
-
If Google tried to avoid aggregators & removed 2 domain results from serps, so what will be in the results then?
-
For something a long those lines Google mixes in shopping results to try and bring the best results. But for a hotel kind of search I would much rather get the hotel itself.
-
- Reducing the number of search results to 7 for branded search queries
If a searcher typs in a branded query then there is a higher probability that his is looking for the brand and not Joe Aggregator.
- The DMCA update which penalises those with trademark related takedown requests against them.
This is good. Yes!!
- At least 2 'domain diversity' updates, the most recent last week, which seeks to reduce the ability of sites to dominate SERPS e.g. a site which may have 2 search results on page 1 now may have 1.
Enjoy this. This is actually working against the big brand.
Plus Its commonly believed that Google favours big brands over smaller brands e.g. Marriott over examplehotelaggregator.com.
Sure... most people want something trusted. They know Marriott. I you want examplehotelaggregator.com to rank then work on your brand.
Is this a deliberate ploy against aggregators in favour of brands
Only the aggregators are thinking that it is. The brands are not thinking that way and the average searcher is not thinking that way.
does Google believe a brand site is a better search result than an aggregator?
Yes.
-
This. The aggregator's big win could be fulfilling their role in the form of a media publisher and community hub, serving as a nexus for honest and objective opinions. Aggregators are a form of retailer except that the customer purchase is information exchange. When they abandon this opportunity and instead supply subjective info that doesn't put the consumer first, well, this is what makes the organic results such a polluted mess.
-
"When you do a search would you rather get the official companies or a site with a news feed or aggregation ran by a 3rd party source?"
- As I say in many cases the branded site isnt going to be your first port of call. E.g. Who buys their Wilson tennis racket from Wilson.com when you can get the same product may times cheaper elsewhere (random example, im not picking on Wilson!) and with honest reviews e.g. 'the strings on this racket are poor'?
-
I would say so. Google has been taking a lot of actions to bring back better quality results. When you do a search would you rather get the official companies or a site with a news feed or aggregation ran by a 3rd party source?
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What Google Analytics Data to Share with Potential Website Buyer
Hi Mozzers,
Industry News | | emerald
We have contacted our competitors to let them know we would like to sell our website (domain and all content). One of them has asked for Google Analytics data. Which parts of this and how is this data best shared in such a case? As this is the opening of offers, I'm assuming some kind of PDF export with a summary of some Analytics data is sufficient to see who is serious. Then for those who are serious more data could be shared. Or is it ever ok to share your full Analytics with a competitor? Would love to hear what data and best practises are used to share this kind of information. Thank you.0 -
Now that Google is no longer publicly displaying Page Rank updates, how will this effect Moz's ability to calculate DA and PA?
Hi, How much more important do you guys think that Moz's Page Authority and Domain Authority metrics are going to become now that Google has stopped giving people public access to a site or pages Page Rank? And how accurate is PA and DA as a measurement in comparison to Page Rank..so for example if I was seeking a guestposting opportunity and saw a site as having a PR of 4....if I now looked to Moz's Page and Domain Authority metrics instead...would that still give me equivalent information on the strength of that domain and thus make a judgement on whether it will be a worthy site for a guestpost.. I guess what I am asking is, how close is now looking at Moz's metrics (ie. a third party company) to the info on PageRank that was being updated by Google themselves? Also will the lack of updated public PR info from Google effect the ability for Moz to calculate PA and DA?? Look forward to your replies on this,
Industry News | | sanj50500 -
Google Site Warnings via Phone?
I received a voicemail earlier stating that "there are two issues with your company's current Google listing that we need to discuss with the business owner. it is very important that we talk as soon as possible. press 1 to speak with an agent immediately. press 8 if you have already verified your account information or if you are no longer in business and want to be removed from this list. thank you" that's it. no contact number, no reference to what listing or what type of listing (organic, places, etc.) Checked GWT, GA, and the Gmail - there are no warnings or messages in any of those accounts. Has anyone else experienced this?
Industry News | | EmpireToday0 -
Is it getting harder to sell SEO services?
Is it just me, or is it getting harder to sell SEO services? SEO costs more now and takes longer to achieve results There seem to be more good SEO agencies out there (gone are the days where the primary competition was offshore outsourcers and web design agencies) It seems that the number of agencies is growing faster than the number of companies buying services As online competition heats up, it takes more and more budget to really "win" in a market, but so few companies are willing to invest enough Any others notice similar trends? What will the future look like?
Industry News | | AdamThompson0 -
Bing beats google to disavow links
You can now disavow bad links in Bing WMT, google has stated they will be doing the same, this should shake up the rankings when many sites get penalties lifted http://www.bing.com/community/site_blogs/b/webmaster/archive/2012/06/27/disavow-links-you-don-t-trust.aspx
Industry News | | AlanMosley1 -
Has there been any feedback from Google regarding their mass mail blunder?
I received a mail yesterday from a Joseph Middleswart from Google welcoming me to the beta trial for real time analytics. But my enjoyment at finally being able to see what's happening with real time data on my site was tempered by the 100+ spam mails I received immediatly after from some of the 200 odd people he'd included in the bulk mailing. Coming less than a week after Google tells us it's withholding keyword data from GA in order to protect the privacy of logged in users, I'm absolutely dumfounded at their incompetence. How can they show such a flagrant disregard for my privacy in introducing a new service while dressing up a restriction on another service as a security / privacy matter? Did anyone else fall victim to this incompetence?
Industry News | | 2Stroke0 -
How long after making changes will position on Google be altered?
I'm curious as to how long Google updates take these days? I'm just getting back into SEO after 9 years and I recall back in the day there was a monthly "dance" during which page results were updated. Is it more frequent now? Thanks
Industry News | | celife0 -
Google API's
As you may know Google has API’s http://code.google.com/more/ I can see ones for Blogs, News etc. but not for general search am I being dense? If someone can point me in the right direction that would be great. Justin
Industry News | | GrouchyKids0