Update on Google’s new carousel for “best credit cards” - turns out Google doesn’t really give us the “best” cards here, but rather, an endless list of cards 🙃 well, 500 to be precise. Check out this exchange between Glenn Gabe, Matic Broz and me. Interesting that Google absolutely cracked down on “review” sites over the past few years, many of which fell into the financial/credit card comparison space, with strict guidelines about providing valuable reviews that demonstrate real-life experience and go above and beyond what the manufacturer says. Now we have this at the top of the SERP. #seo
Just curious, do you really think there is a BEST card ? There is a best card for specific use cases. Not saying this SERP is a great answer. But I am kinda tired of seeing articles : top 10 best and rank 1-10. All cards offer different benefits and different cons. Obviously the articles of US news and Forbes are trash, but not sure if Google adding themselves there is worse than most affiliate articles.
This disturbs me on so many levels: “Interesting that Google absolutely cracked down on ‘review’ sites over the past few years, many of which fell into the financial/credit card comparison space, with strict guidelines about providing valuable reviews that demonstrate real-life experience and go above and beyond what the manufacturer says. Now we have this at the top of the SERP.”
Mike Ciffone
4w
Of course, because "their experience is better"...the arrogance.
Seb Atkinson
4w
Google’s requirements if you’re a publisher: “Focus on what you liked or disliked about a product and your own experience using it.” Google’s requirements if you’re Google: 500 random products with no context, ratings or other descriptive content
Ugh as an SEO, hate this. But as a user, hate even more. I just want a top 3, or at least a measure of who it's best for. If they're going to just dump a bunch of cards in a carousel, there's no point in any of it. Why is Google hoping to keep traffic from publishers by providing a less good user experience?
Sean Fleming
4w
No checks for eligibility, no rep APR. pushing users towards direct applications (with hard credit checks) is financially harmful and extremely careless. very poor.
Kaj Kandler
3w
It's like asking LLMs about "the best" or "rank by ...." It's all bullshit if you know how these things work. It's even more scary if you realize that Google rewrites your query based n what ever it calls context. In that case it often adds silently something like "best ..." or "... near by".
Luigi F.
4w
It looks like a test to understand engagement prior to some kind of paid ad launch.
The funniest thing about this is that they actually call it a feature.
VP, Digital Strategy & SEO at NetSuite and Oracle | STEMinist | Public Speaker | Content and Buying Journeys
4wI know I love 500 options before I make a decision... :D