NEWS

Google Algo Bug Puts Sites In Weird Limbo State via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Published

3 years ago

November 29, 2021

In a Google Office-hours hangout, John Mueller answered a question about how long it takes for Google to re-rank a website that disappeared and returned. Part of his answer revealed an insight into a rare problem at Google that stops a website from ranking for any keywords at all, not even the name of the domain.

John Mueller described it as a state of limbo, an in-between state.

Background Information About Legacy Domain Penalty

Something I’ve only encountered a few times that is so rare that it doesn’t have a name, so I call it a legacy domain penalty.

Legacy software is old software that can’t be replaced because so many people use it. For this domain related issue, it’s a penalty that is attached to a domain but does not show up in Google Search Console so it cannot be removed.

There is no way to detect that a domain is affected by this kind of penalty other than the site cannot rank for anything, not even its own domain name.

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But because Search Console doesn’t register the penalty there is no way to submit a reconsideration request because search console reports that there is no penalty.

John Mueller was presented with a legacy domain penalty in an office-hours hangout two years ago. He asked the person who managed the site to pass along the URL.

I monitored the URL for a couple months and after about a month and a half the domain began ranking normally.

I wrote about that issue here: Site Can’t Rank on Google: Is It a Legacy Domain Penalty?

This kind of penalty showed up around 2004 on the domain of a marketer who was new to SEO. He didn’t know why his new site couldn’t rank.

Superficially the site looked fine because the Google toolbar showed that it had PageRank, indicated by a green bar on the toolbar.

The domain didn’t display the telltale sign of a penalized domain, which is no PageRank, displayed on the Google toolbar as a gray bar instead of the normal green bar.

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So I and others looked at it and determined that it had been previously used by someone else as a spam site.

A Google engineer, Matt Cutts, was contacted on this marketers behalf and Matt had the penalty removed.

But Matt never explained what this weird penalty was that was attached to the domain but didn’t show up as a penalty.

Over the years no Googler ever explained what this penalty was and it was so rare that many SEOs weren’t even aware of it.

So the mysterious domain-level penalty continued to be hidden in mystery …Until a few days ago.

John Mueller recently discussed a rare domain-level penalty that sounds exactly what was observed in the past.

Site Gets Stuck In A Penalized State

John Mueller was answering a question about how long domains take to recover being unavailable. He discussed temporary outages due to technical issues and also a full-site update where a website undergoes extensive changes.

Then he began talking about this “weird” penalty limbo that appears to be an old bug in Google’s algorithm.

The bug happens in reaction to spammy activity on a domain and according to John it can last for many years.

That matches the description of the mysterious legacy domain penalty.

This is how John Mueller describes it:

“The other thing that I’ve very, very rarely seen, is that a site gets stuck in some kind of a weird in-between state in our systems in that…

…at some point our algorithms reviewed the website and found it to be absolutely terrible and uh for whatever reason those parts of the algorithms just took a very long time to be updated again.

And sometimes that can be several years.

These are things that I’ve seen every now and then but they’re extremely rare.

So the chances of any random website kind of falling into it is fairly low but it is something where if you struggle and you really see that you’re doing a lot of things right and nothing seems to be working then do reach out to use and see if there’s something on our side that might be stuck.

But, I would say, at least technical things, they resolve very quickly.

Kind of the weird things stuck in the algorithms side, I would say that that’s a lot rarer nowadays, especially if something happened …five, ten years ago and your site is stuck in a weird limbo state then that’s something where like reaching out and seeing if there’s something weird is always worthwhile.”

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Symptoms of Ranking Limbo Penalty

The site that Mueller previously discussed two years ago was unable to rank on any keywords, not even its own domain name. The weird part that case is that once a month for a few days the domain would be able to rank for its domain name for a few days on the bottom of page one or the top of page two. But after the few days were over it would disappear back into limbo.

The telltale sign of this kind of hidden penalty is that it doesn’t show up on Google Search Console, the site cannot rank for anything including its own domain name and the site was previously used for spam purposes.

Verifying the previous use of the domain is possible through a free service provided at Archive.org. Archive.org saves snapshots of websites taken in previous months and years.

With any luck the previous state of the domain will be shown.

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Many domain names have been previously used. So it is a good idea to check if the domain was previously used before registering and using it.

Citation:

Rare Google Bug Puts Sites in Ranking Limbo

Watch Mueller Discuss Rare Ranking Limbo Penalty at 24:48 minute mark:

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Searchenginejournal.com

NEWS

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

Published

2 months ago

August 21, 2024

Max

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

OpenAI has today announced the release of fine-tuning capabilities for its flagship GPT-4 large language model, marking a significant milestone in the AI landscape. This new functionality empowers developers to create tailored versions of GPT-4 to suit specialized use cases, enhancing the model’s utility across various industries.

Fine-tuning has long been a desired feature for developers who require more control over AI behavior, and with this update, OpenAI delivers on that demand. The ability to fine-tune GPT-4 allows businesses and developers to refine the model’s responses to better align with specific requirements, whether for customer service, content generation, technical support, or other unique applications.

Why Fine-Tuning Matters

GPT-4 is a very flexible model that can handle many different tasks. However, some businesses and developers need more specialized AI that matches their specific language, style, and needs. Fine-tuning helps with this by letting them adjust GPT-4 using custom data. For example, companies can train a fine-tuned model to keep a consistent brand tone or focus on industry-specific language.

Fine-tuning also offers improvements in areas like response accuracy and context comprehension. For use cases where nuanced understanding or specialized knowledge is crucial, this can be a game-changer. Models can be taught to better grasp intricate details, improving their effectiveness in sectors such as legal analysis, medical advice, or technical writing.

Key Features of GPT-4 Fine-Tuning

The fine-tuning process leverages OpenAI’s established tools, but now it is optimized for GPT-4’s advanced architecture. Notable features include:

Enhanced Customization: Developers can precisely influence the model’s behavior and knowledge base.
Consistency in Output: Fine-tuned models can be made to maintain consistent formatting, tone, or responses, essential for professional applications.
Higher Efficiency: Compared to training models from scratch, fine-tuning GPT-4 allows organizations to deploy sophisticated AI with reduced time and computational cost.

Additionally, OpenAI has emphasized ease of use with this feature. The fine-tuning workflow is designed to be accessible even to teams with limited AI experience, reducing barriers to customization. For more advanced users, OpenAI provides granular control options to achieve highly specialized outputs.

Implications for the Future

The launch of fine-tuning capabilities for GPT-4 signals a broader shift toward more user-centric AI development. As businesses increasingly adopt AI, the demand for models that can cater to specific business needs, without compromising on performance, will continue to grow. OpenAI’s move positions GPT-4 as a flexible and adaptable tool that can be refined to deliver optimal value in any given scenario.

By offering fine-tuning, OpenAI not only enhances GPT-4’s appeal but also reinforces the model’s role as a leading AI solution across diverse sectors. From startups seeking to automate niche tasks to large enterprises looking to scale intelligent systems, GPT-4’s fine-tuning capability provides a powerful resource for driving innovation.

OpenAI announced that fine-tuning GPT-4o will cost $25 for every million tokens used during training. After the model is set up, it will cost $3.75 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. To help developers get started, OpenAI is offering 1 million free training tokens per day for GPT-4o and 2 million free tokens per day for GPT-4o mini until September 23. This makes it easier for developers to try out the fine-tuning service.

As AI continues to evolve, OpenAI’s focus on customization and adaptability with GPT-4 represents a critical step in making advanced AI accessible, scalable, and more aligned with real-world applications. This new capability is expected to accelerate the adoption of AI across industries, creating a new wave of AI-driven solutions tailored to specific challenges and opportunities.

GOOGLE

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Published

3 months ago

June 30, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:

1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update

Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.

2. Changes to Google Search Interface

Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.

3. New Features and Tests

Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.

4. Search Rankings and Quality

Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.

5. Advice for Content Creators

Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.

6. New Search Features in Google Chrome

Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.

7. New Tests and Features in Google Search

Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.

8. Bing’s New Feature

Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.

9. Local Search Ranking Factors

Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.

10. Google Ads Updates

Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.

These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.

FACEBOOK

Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again

Published

7 months ago

March 20, 2024

Max

Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.

Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.

Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.

When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.

Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.

During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.