An SEO asked on LinkedIn why anonymous Reddit users rank higher than trusted websites with named authors. Google's response gives us a glimpse into what's going on in search rankings and why Reddit ranks higher than expert articles.
Why do anonymous Reddit users rank higher than experts?
The questioner wanted to know why anonymous authors from Reddit would rank higher than actual authors with more “credibility,” like those on brand-name sites like PCMag.
The person wrote:
“I was just saying how important the credibility of a writer is now. If you search for 'best products under X amount,' for example, both PCMag and Reddit come up on the first page.
While PCMag is a trusted source on its products, Reddit has user-generated content and we can't guarantee its reliability. Where do you think this falls in terms of reliability?
In my opinion, Google needs to put more emphasis on this, especially since the AI boom, when misinformation can easily spread in large amounts.
Do you think this is a significant factor in rankings anymore?”
This is a question that points out what SEOs feel is wrong with Google search results.
“As you can see, Reddit, popular for anonymous use, ranks much higher than many other websites.
This means that content from anonymous users is allowed.
“Would a blog function just as well without an 'About' page or an 'Author Bio'?”
Relevance and usefulness vs. credibility
Google's John Mueller responded to this question by pointing out that there are multiple types of websites, not just those that are perceived as trustworthy. The concept of trust is one aspect of a site's potential, one of its characteristics. Mueller's response was a reminder that search (and SEO) are multidimensional.
Google's John Mueller responded:
“They're both websites, but they're quite different, right? Finding the right tool for your needs, the right platform for your audience and message, is worth considering beyond such simplification. Google aims to provide search results that are relevant and helpful to users, and there's a lot that goes into that.
This seems like a good fit, maybe you've seen it before -“
Is Reddit unreliable?
When it comes to recipes, it's my opinion that Reddit users are less trustworthy in some situations, and when it comes to recipes I would rather value the opinions of recipe bloggers or Serious Eats than what a random Reddit user “thinks” is a recipe.
The questioner cited product reviews as a topic where Reddit lacks credibility, but ironically, that's actually a topic where Reddit actually excels: Someone on Reddit sharing their real-life experience using a certain brand of air fryer or phone is typical of what Google is trying to rank in reviews, because it's the opinion of someone who has actually used the product for days, weeks, months, or years.
Saying that UGC product reviews are useful doesn't invalidate professional product reviews — I think both UGC and professional reviews can be valuable — and I think John Mueller's message was not to simplify search into one ranking criterion, one dimension.
This is an aspect of search that the questioner overlooked, and the reviewer's practical experience, and explains what Mueller meant when he said that “it's worth looking at more than just simplifications” about search result rankings.
On the other hand, it feels like a slap in the face.
High quality sites with original photos, real reviews, and real experience content are no longer ranking highly in search results. I have seen many sites that should be ranked higher but are not. Google representatives have indicated that a future update may bring back quality sites, and many specialty publishers are hopeful.
Still, I have to admit that it must feel like an insult to a professional author to see an anonymous Reddit user ranked higher than him in Google search results.
A multi-dimensional approach to SEO
A common problem with how some digital marketers and bloggers debug search engine results pages (SERPs) is that they look at it in one, two or even three dimensions:
- keyword,
- Expertise
- reliability
- Link
It’s a good idea to look at the SERPs to understand why Google is ranking something, but looking at only a few dimensions, a limited number of “signals” can be frustrating and counterproductive.
It was only a few years ago that SEOs were convinced that “author signals” were a key ranking factor, but now almost everyone (finally) understands that this was all a misunderstanding of Google and what Googlers were saying (even though Googlers have consistently denied that authorship was a ranking signal).
The “authorship” SEO trend is an example of a one-dimensional approach to SEO that ignores the multi-dimensional quality of how Google ranks web pages.
There are thousands of contexts that contribute to ranking: solving a problem from the user's perspective, interpreting user needs, adapting to cultural and linguistic nuances, national trends, local trends, etc. There are also ranking contexts (dimensions) that are related to Google's core topicality system used to understand search queries and web pages.
From Google's perspective, web page ranking is a multi-dimensional problem, which means reducing the problem of search ranking to a single dimension, such as the anonymity of user-generated content, will inevitably lead to frustration. Broadening your perspective will improve your SEO.
Read the discussion on LinkedIn:
Would it be fair to conclude that blogs without an “About” or “Author Bio” page would work just as well?
Featured image: Shutterstock/Master1305