Google’s Search Algorithms Are Lost, Here’s How I Found That Out

I really did not want to spend time writing this as I feel like I’m largely moving on but at some point I sort of felt like I had to throw my (white) hat in the ring. At least to get this out my system.

The point of this article is to show more evidence of why the current Google rankings are broken (or “lost”).

Many people have already written some amazing and very in-depth articles on this topic and have showcased some really interesting findings like this one showing 80% traffic drops in travel blogs.

There are many more article like this.

Larger media outlets are also starting to cover the stories and so I’m going to leave it up to others to hit on the broader stories of the shortcomings of Google search and all the potential shadiness that has gone into that (and there’s PLENTY of it).

This article is focused largely on my personal experience and dives into just one SERP that’s extremely illustrative of the type of thing I’ve found throughout my niche and even in other areas.

A quick background

But before jumping into a SERP analysis, let me give you a quick background.

Yes, I know this website is not perfect.

Started in 2014, it was at one point my primary source of income until the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 halted travel and I was scared that my entrepreneur life was coming to a close. I scrambled to stay afloat through some very stressful months but ultimately survived.

But I also learned a great lesson: the need to diversify.

And thank God I did.

I created the credit card management app, WalletFlo and started to get into SEO & marketing consulting, and it is thanks to these things that I’m able to survive today.

In fact, despite getting absolutely decimated by Google’s HCU (the “helpful content update”), with the uptick in Bing, Direct, and DDG traffic I’m no longer dependent on Google search traffic to fund my lifestyle. And as some of you will surely understand that’s an incredibly beautiful thing to be able to say in 2024.

Unfortunately, there are untold thousands of small, independent creators who have had their livelihoods utterly demolished during these updates which started at different times for people but particularly hit hard around September 2023 and it’s only gotten worse.

During this time, these creators have received virtually no actionable guidance from Google on how to “make things right.” Their plight has been largely dismissed and ignored — even mocked in certain cases.

They’ve heard that changes would happen and that they could recover but there are still no known documented recoveries from this update even though we are talking about a period of eight months.

It is true that Google recoveries can take a while but I’ve never seen anything like this in the 10 years that I have been actively been doing SEO.

Anyway, let me get back to me for a second….

UponArriving has been my passion project for 10 years.

It’s how I learned SEO, and it also allowed me to transition out of being an attorney. After five years, my heart simply wasn’t in it anymore.

I grinded early mornings before work, during lunch breaks, and tirelessly through evenings to get the website making enough money for me to give up my job as an attorney. It wasn’t easy as many fellow bloggers can attest to.

The content on this website has evolved over the years as my interests and knowledge have evolved. At its core, it is a travel blog but I definitely went through phases over the years.

For several years, I focused on the world of miles and points and travel credit cards and then moved into more practical travel and then into more destination focused content, where I could tell stories of places, people, and foods.

This has led me to finding lots of fulfillment in the world of social media where over the past 9 months I’ve built around 50,000 followers with 10 reels hitting 1,000,000+ views and over 50 reels hitting 100K+ views. Zero paid ads and Zero self-serving, BS engagement manipulation. Check me out on Instagram or TikTok. 😉

I only bring that up to to: 1) give some hope to other travel bloggers and 2) provide more support that I know quality travel content.

A sample of UponArriving’s content

To get a sense of my blog’s content, here’s a few samples.

I’ve published a lot of airline reviews like Lufthansa First Class and EVA First Class, where I always spent a ton of time and effort to make the reviews as helpful as I could.

I’ve published plenty of hotel reviews ranging from the Hilton Conrad Maldives to the Glacier Bay Lodge. By the way, I was never afraid to be honest and give a real perspective in these reviews.

I’ve gone on adventures like tracing the filming locations of Jurassic Park in Hawaii and exploring historic bathhouses in Arkansas.

Other times, I just cranked out detailed guides on places like Pearl Harbor, often with many supporting in-depth “sub-destination” guides (USS Missouri, USS Arizona, USS Bowfin, etc., you get the point).

I’ve also written extensively on TSA policies like SSSS and things like full body scanners. Things I’ve experienced. Things I’ve found genuinely interesting to explore.

Admittedly, my content has always been a little bit all over the place but there has been a cohesive theme throughout which is practical travel advice colored by my own personal experiences. I’ve authored 99% of the content on this website.

Am I a Pulitzer Prize winner? No. Have my articles always been perfect, not a chance. Does the website have some issues? Yes. And was I in the middle of a major site re-design when HCU broke out? Unfortunately, yes.

But I’ve always taken the job very seriously of putting out original, helpful, and honest content with plenty of my own photos and personal insights to help other people have a better time traveling.

To lump UponArriving in with spam as Google has done is asinine.

Where these Google updates have lost themselves

One area where I believe Google is screwing up royally is its response to so-called “keyword chasing.”

This is effectively creating content, at least in part, for the sake of getting traffic in order to monetize said traffic. A 3rd degree felony in the eyes of Google.

Personally, I don’t think a blogger should be punished for this if the content is still helpful to humans.

But nevertheless, it appears to trip some sort of broken pattern recognition Google has employed in it’s recent updates so that if you engaged in any level of this, your website will essentially be treated as a spam outlet, regardless of the on-page quality.

Examples of me “chasing” keywords would be me writing about things like airline boarding policies and airline lost and found policies.

But I honestly think its such a mistake to punish websites like mine for this.

First, remember I personally wrote all these articles.

Unlike virtually all of the competitors who published on these similar keywords, who paid other authors or hired content farms to pump these articles out, I took an actual liking to writing these articles myself.

I found it very interesting to compare and learn about the evolution of the boarding policies for different airlines. (I also didn’t even write about these boarding policies until I had personally experienced them.)

I liked learning about the nuances and different ways that airlines handled things like unaccompanied minor rules (which are all pretty different, fyi).

I always enjoyed being able to answer questions about random things like baggage policies and cancellation policies right off the cuff whenever my friends and family had them (assuming my memory actually served me right).

Basically, I had a genuine curiosity for developing an expertise in these areas and I usually always had first-hand experiences that helped me tie all of the information together when I wrote about these things.

Despite all of that, the site was tagged with a classifier that demoted the website in unprecedented fashion. Again, I can’t stress enough that this happened to thousands and thousands of other websites. It’s brutal.

Trying to find helpful content lost in Google’s SERPs

So, let’s completely discount the fact that I wrote these articles personally and had a genuine motivation for doing so.

Let me show you why these results are actually broken.

Below, I’ll break down the results for the search query “delta airlines lost and found.”

#1 (or zero) on Bing

On Bing, my article is at the very top of the search results and plastered across the screen.

This article definitely is not my most shining piece of content and it’s admittedly formulaic but clearly, Bing has trust that I have offered good value on the search query compared to other results.

I mostly think it’s helpful because it provides a link to file claims and gives direction on what to do based on the user’s situation. For example, are you at the airport or have you already left the airport? It also gives some tips on how to optimize your odds of recovery when filling out the form.

I also just think it’s helpful because of the feedback I get via emails and comments.

Trying to find helpful content lost in Google’s SERPs

Now let’s take a look at Google.

UponArriving comes in at…… wait for it….. wait for it….. no really, wait for it I’m still scrolling…… number 42.

How can there be such a drastic discrepancy between Bing (#1) and Google (#42)?

Well, it’s because the Google classifier has essentially determined that my content is the 42nd most helpful piece of content for that search query (yes, I realize this is a crude way to describe the ranking process but hey it’s all about “helpfulness” right?).

The problem is that when you look at the results ranking ahead of this article you quickly realize that the ranking is nonsense.

First, a large chunk of the results that are ranking higher than me are lost and found pages for specific airports.

• Memphis International Airport – MEM
• Boise Airport
• Sky Harbor Lost and Found
• San Jose Airport
• Gainesville Regional Airport
• MSN Airport
• Raleigh-Durham International Airport
• Seattle Airport
• San Antonio Airport
• Charlottesville Airport
• Daytona Beach Airport
• Port Authority of New York

(There’s also a result that takes you to the Southwest Airlines lost and found form because that certainly would be more relevant than my resource, right?)

It’s as if Google is just guessing that you might have lost something at one of these random airports across the country, because why not? Sure, some might have heavy Delta traffic but see this next point.

Most people searching “Delta Lost and Found” have probably already contacted the airports and have been told to “file a claim with Delta online.” So they are trying to find out the next steps, such as filing a claim or perhaps following up. So these airport results have decreased relevancy for this query even if they by chance show the airport traveled to.

Just think about it. If you lost something at the airport, what’s your first search query going to be? Something like “LAX lost and found phone number” I’d imagine.

Bottom line: These results are telling me that an article specifically focused on helping people who lost something while flying Delta, written by an experienced travel author who has published many articles on lost and found policies, is less helpful than these random a** airport lost and found articles.

That’s just objectively false.

Even if you believe my article is less helpful than everything seen below in this article, how can you argue the SERPS are quality with such misaligned intent (which wasn’t this way before the HCU and March core updates, btw).

Let’s exclude the airport results and see what we have….

A Delta “other resources” page that has no mention of the word “lost” anywhere. Not very helpful if I’m trying to file a lost and found claim.

Move up in the rankings and now you start to see different blogs or websites with content related to Delta lost and found. Keep in mind that at this point there have been about 20 results between my page and the first (potentially) relevant article. 20!

One article is written by “Gethuman desk” and begins:

“Delta lost item in flight or at the airport can be quite distressing” and recommends that if you were to lose something right after disembarking you should “have your file reference number handy.” Of course, nobody would have a file reference number “handy” if they were just trying to recover an item immediately upon disembarking.

The post also has a very similar structure to my own article and even mentions “Items lost in or around the airport facility” which is very specific phrasing almost certainly lifted from my article.

Next, it gets really good.

There’s a short and soulless, AI YoutTube video from “Flights Assistance” with no link in the description to file a lost and found claim but they do have a phone number to “Book Now.”

I called it and spoke to an Indian (?) man posing as a Delta Airlines representative who tried to get me to book a flight. When I pressed for details about my SkyMiles account, there was a very long pause with some shuffling heard in the background (checking a scam script most likely). I soon disconnected.

So yes, a scammer posing as a Delta Airlines representative is ranking much higher than I am.

We then come across a Reddit thread with the top up-voted comment: “Submit a lost item form, they’ll find it.” Not terribly helpful.

Next we have a very generic article written by a no-name author. No photos. Poor writing:

“To report your missing unchecked item, contact the lost and found Delta Airlines. Moreover, you have to fill out a lost item form on the official website of the airline. [Of course, the form you fill out isn’t actually on the official website of the airline and they also don’t link to it]. If one finds that one item is not in the checked bag, one must immediately report the missing item.”

They go on to give a phone number for TSA security lost and found which is not so useful considering that TSA has unique phone numbers for individual airports (my article has a link to quickly find those numbers). This website has been boosted big time by the latest updates, by the way.

A FlyerTalk forum appears next. Could definitely be relevant. But it could also be nearly 15 years old. It’s good to have some user generated content for topics like these but my article also has comments about recent lost and found experiences.

Next is a checked baggage tracker link from Delta. Some relevance there in the sense of it being useful if your baggage is lost but there’s no mention of lost and found.

A travel blog, One Mile At A Time appears next with a story on their Delta lost and found experience. No problem with this.

Then, we have two Medium articles that mention Delta lost and found. Weird articles for Medium, in my opinion.

The first article isn’t horrible but contains no links to file a claim online and instead contains two links to presumably the website intended to be promoted by this article (vootfly) with two different types of anchor text:  Delta’s lost and found  and Delta customer service center. The links don’t work. And the author’s other articles just include links to promote another travel site for specific keywords like “Spirit Airlines” or “Allegiant Air.”

The next Medium article written by “Vin Diesel” begins:

Did you already report Delta Lost and Found. You can check the status of your items, update your report, choose the method of recovery, and more. Manage my report.

Bad writing and in one section the article has a sentence stating to “Reach out to Delta Lost and Found” and links to the gethuman article already mentioned here. This is misleading for users and if you look at the author’s prior articles it’s a bunch of junk.

That article is #10, making it a first page result, by the way.

As you go down the first page, you start to see websites dedicated to doc/form downloads. So you can download a form for a loss of property, which is related to lost luggage. I like these sites for finding forms but it claims it is the “fastest way to redact Delta lost and found online.” Huh? This is simply not that relevant, as people want to most likely file a claim online for find other steps to quickly retrieve their lost item.

Next there is a website dedicated to airport lost and found claims. They state their “unique system links a vast network of locations where lost items may be lost or stolen, creating a centralized database of items lost across the globe.”

I like the idea of a centralized a database to help find items but they still don’t provide direct information for filing a Lost and Found claim with Delta, which I think every search result for this query should do because you KNOW that’s going to be helpful to the vast majority of users. Again, so many of these people have been directed to Delta’s lost and found after striking out when contacting the airport.

Then, we see another Reddit thread. But hold up, this one’s actually helpful. At least in the sense you can hear from anonymous people about their experiences. But again, no link to file a claim, which means more clicking and searching for lots of people.

Another doc website with programmatic SEO makes an appearance. Again, I don’t think these websites are that helpful to most people who just want to file a claim online and not sign up for something and edit a PDF for a loss of property claim.

Finally, we arrive at the top 5 results. Up to this point, how many articles have actually linked to where you go to file a claim online? Practically none.

How many have had confusing or poorly written text, often directing people away from Delta and to spam or even worse scammers? Several.

It is at number five that we see the online form needed to file a claim. However, we also see this at number two. Having duplicate results in the top five REALLY hurts creators because it’s essentially a wasted space that robs a whole lot of clicks. It’s also just not a good user experience and of course not helpful.

Delta occupies three of the top five spots in addition to the number 6 so once again there is a lot of duplication. I’m certainly not opposed to Delta ranking high for a Delta Lost and Found query.

In this particular case, the semi-duplication is somewhat understandable because of the mixed intent of the search. It’s related to people searching to recover physical items left in the plane or in the airport and also people searching when their baggage is missing.

Those are two very different processes for recovery and my article is heavily and thoroughly addressing the first query rather than trying to address every possible related search term like some of the other articles do (aka heavy keyword chasing).

However, zooming out a but, this is one area where I see Google really hurting small publishers.

By not honoring diversity in search results and sometimes just plastering a single entity across the first page — even when several of those results are duplicates or lacking relevancy — they have been pushing out smaller creators who have often created much more on-point resources.

Now let’s recap

So to recap, I’m outranked by:

• A dozen plus random airport lost and found webpages
• A Southwest Airlines lost and found page
• Poorly written, authorless pages, probably spinning my article
• A literal scammer posing as a Delta representative
• Doc pages
• 1 helpful Reddit thread; 1 unhelpful Reddit thread
• A 15 year old forum post
• 2 spammy Medium articles
• A few tangentially related Delta/doc pages
• Duplicate posts

Aside from the duplicative top 5 results, there are only a few posts in the SERPs that are actually relevant and show any signs of quality writing by someone familiar with the industry. There definitely are not 40 of them. And only a minuscule number of these point users directly to where they can file a claim online, which is the #1 thing these people probably want to do (or at least contemplate the process).

The problem is, this same occurrence has happened hundreds of times for the ~3,000 articles I’ve written. I could re-work this type of breakdown over and over and over again. #1 on Bing. On Google, buried under spam, irrelevant or poorly written results, and shady actors.

But worse, it’s also happened millions of times to other creators out there who have put way more time and money into their content than I have.

The current algorithms are not presenting content based on its helpfulness to answering the search query. Instead, the machine learning has lost its way and is penalizing websites even when they are creating genuinely helpful content based on real world experiences and research.

The sad thing here is that I honestly don’t really see a future for niche informational blogging.

Google is now scraping content and spinning it for it’s “AI” overview. They are also showing a lot of favoritism for large platforms and also boosting their own partners and their own websites like a Google Travel.

I’ve been able to be fortunate enough to be in a position to support myself through all of this thanks to the scare I experienced in 2020. So, I am one of the lucky ones but there are plenty out there who have been pushed down in the rankings AFTER Google has trained their AI on their content, and now they are really struggling to pay rent and survive.

And once again, these people have zero real direction on how to fix things and a flurry of confusing and seemingly contradictory statements from Google.

It really does seem that Google has lost its ability to find quality content while spammers and scammers have found themselves a new place to fill the web with useless, time-wasting crap that doesn’t directly address these searches.