Major SEO rank tracking companies globally are implementing new methods to detect and correct ‘poisoned’ Google search results, where data providers receive abnormal or incomplete Search Engine Results Page (SERP) data, addressing a growing challenge to data accuracy.
This industry-wide effort addresses a growing challenge to data accuracy for tools that monitor website performance, with several platforms reporting significant percentages of affected results and adjusting their processes.
Ahrefs reported it is actively cleaning up past results that were affected by Google’s practice of showing different results to suspected SERP data providers.
SEOmonitor reprocessed affected keywords between October 9 and 13 and implemented new verification checks, estimating that approximately 8 percent of daily Google results are now incomplete or incorrect. The company stated it may temporarily show previously recorded ranks for unusually large drops until new ranks are confirmed.
Nozzle measured that 8.7 percent of first pages were ‘poisoned’ between September 13 and October 21. Myles Anderson, CEO of Nozzle, attributed this trend to Google’s response to AI scraping, according to Search Engine Journal.
AccuRanker uses a multi-step verification process to ensure data integrity. This includes re-fetching results and comparing them to historical data before storing or displaying them, the company reported. AccuRanker also performs a secondary fetch before updating dashboards.
BrightLocal is improving its data gathering by engaging with current suppliers and adding new data suppliers to ensure reliability. Roger Montti, a senior reporter for Search Engine Journal, highlighted the importance of these measures in a recent report.
The issue of ‘poisoned’ results impacts the reliability of SEO reporting, prompting these companies to invest in more comprehensive data validation techniques to provide accurate insights to their users.
Source: Search Engine Journal
