People often criticize Google’s search results, but the current situation with queries containing the acronym “SEO” is particularly puzzling and unusual.
Anomalies in Search Results
An anomaly is something that deviates from the norm or expected outcome. Typically, when there are issues with search engine results pages (SERPs), the anomalies can be explained. For instance, unusual results can occur with queries that combine a geographic element with a long-tail phrase or when there isn’t enough data about a specific combination of words, sometimes resulting in offensive outcomes.
However, the situation with a specific group of SEO-related keyword phrases is a genuine anomaly.
Keywords Google is Misinterpreting
Here are the keywords that Google is getting wrong:
- SEO program
- What is an SEO program?
- SEO New York (City)
- SEO NYC
- SEO Conference
- SEO Events
- SEO Education
- SEO Awards
- SEO-USA.Org
The website ranking for these SEO queries is SEO-USA.org. In this context, SEO stands for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, not search engine optimization. This nonprofit organization, established in 1963, focuses on mentoring underserved youth to help them get into colleges and universities. Their SEO Scholars program supports young people through high school and college.
SEO-USA.org is Not Relevant for SEO
The acronym SEO is predominantly associated with online marketing. A search for “SEO” on Google typically returns results related to search marketing. However, SEO-USA.org, a nonprofit focusing on educational opportunities, ranks for these SEO-related queries despite being irrelevant to search marketing.
Google Trends indicates that searches for “SEO Scholars” and “SEO Scholars Application” are not widely popular, with most occurring in New York. Yet, SEO-USA.org ranks for SEO keywords in regions outside New York.
Could Backlinks Be the Reason?
One possible reason for SEO-USA.org’s high ranking is its backlinks. A search restricted to .edu sites shows nearly seventy .edu domains linking to SEO-USA.org. Similarly, many high-quality .org sites also link to it. This suggests a strong backlink profile might be influencing its ranking.
Why Links Might Not Explain the Rankings
If backlinks were the sole reason, then many SEO-related keywords would be dominated by .edu and .org sites, but this isn’t the case. Over the years, Google’s algorithms have evolved. Initially, sites with high PageRank and many .edu links ranked well. However, Google improved its algorithms, focusing more on the context of links, the relevance of surrounding text, and the quality over quantity of links.
Due to these algorithmic changes, the sheer number of backlinks matters less. Links from multiple pages on a single domain count less, and the position and context of a link are more significant. Given these advancements, it seems unlikely that backlinks alone explain SEO-USA.org’s rankings.
What’s the Answer?
It appears that a relevance factor is not functioning correctly, allowing the irrelevant SEO-USA.org site to rank for keywords it shouldn’t. This oversight might be due to a missing factor that typically filters out irrelevant sites. There could be a trustworthiness component allowing this site to slip through, but this is speculative.
Ultimately, the exact reason remains unclear. The site is benefiting from an unusual gap in Google’s ranking algorithms, leading to its unexpected high placement for certain SEO-related keywords.
