Google's 2024 update puts new wikis in 'Google Jail'—here's how one host fights back
There's a new "Google Jail" for independent wikis
Weird Gloop, the nonprofit hosting wikis for RuneScape, Minecraft, and others, reveals a frustrating Google Search change from March 2024 that effectively buries brand-new domains: only their main page appears in results, sometimes for up to a year. This 'Google Jail' hits independent wikis hard, as 85% of their traffic comes from Google. The workaround? Launch on subdomains of established domains, like overwatch.weirdgloop.org, which index fine, then migrate to the desired root domain once Google trusts the content.
Since ~85% of video game wiki traffic comes from Google, and wikis (obviously) have many popular pages other than the main page, this is a pretty catastrophic outcome.
- unglaublich
> Subdomains of existing domains are totally fine
Damn, another push to centralizing and walling off user content in 'fandoms', 'reddits' and other closed communities?
Have the internet cards been handed out now, and are we in the end-game?
Will old domains resell for premiums like low-background-radiation steel?
- remedan
I enjoy the this extension that redirects search results from Fandom and other such terrible hosts to their higher quality indie alternatives.
- skhameneh
For a while, Fandom was having annoying ads and content that would get past my ad blocker. But a recent update has caused them to block users with ad blockers.
I've been looking for explicit alternatives to Fandom for some content and it's annoyingly sparse.
Just the other day I saw some meme about how if we saw as many ads taking over sites like we do now, that was a sure sign of having your machine getting infected with a virus.
Generally I've found a good portion of websites that block users with ad blockers tend to be the worst offenders with aggressive ads...
- jimnotgym
I'm going to agree.
I launched a website that is niche a few weeks ago, but totally unique. After a couple of weeks search console wakes up to tell me that they have indexed one page in 80. And that the top search term that is finding my site says exactly the name of one of my pages, yet Google is showing my homepage in search!
Way to help your users
- accountrequired
Whatever that github wiki mirror is doing, try that. You know the one, always at the top of search results...