I hate that google is so "text focused". Obviously, for 90% of the web, that's just fine, but I do web apps that "do things".
For example, if I have a web app that converts numbers between bases (just an example, OK?), Google would ignore me, since my home page is just a couple of text fields and a submit button. (If it's ajax, I don't even have a submit button)
So, I say, "OK, fine, Google, you want text, I'll give you text", and I add a blog, saying some stuff about converting numbers between bases. That works a bit, but really, I don't have that much to say about converting numbers between bases. I have this app, it works well, what's to say? So, I rapidly run out of things to say in this blog I was forced to write. Google sees my site as never having new content, and down I go.
Of course, if I had a bunch of incoming links, no worries, but I won't get them if nobody can find me in the first place.
I think Matt has his work cut out for him. There is a tonne of content that Google is having trouble weeding spam from.
Try searching for 'anything review' and you'll get 99.99% spam. Made it very difficult for me to make an informed choice about buying a new monitor recently.
My starting point was looking at the reviews on amazon.com, but I've recently found out those are gamed too (paid review shops that spam good reviews, angry reviewers that spam bad reviews, etc). Now I don't know what to do, if there are no specialized review sites (like dphotography for DSLRs, for example).
Isn't it just the obvious conflict of interest that Google make money off those sites?
I wish it weren't true, because apart from it being the biggest thing spoiling my admiration of Google, the prevalence of such garbage sites is the biggest thing spoiling the usefulness of the web.
For example, if I have a web app that converts numbers between bases (just an example, OK?), Google would ignore me, since my home page is just a couple of text fields and a submit button. (If it's ajax, I don't even have a submit button)
So, I say, "OK, fine, Google, you want text, I'll give you text", and I add a blog, saying some stuff about converting numbers between bases. That works a bit, but really, I don't have that much to say about converting numbers between bases. I have this app, it works well, what's to say? So, I rapidly run out of things to say in this blog I was forced to write. Google sees my site as never having new content, and down I go.
Of course, if I had a bunch of incoming links, no worries, but I won't get them if nobody can find me in the first place.