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Old 12-02-2019, 10:07 AM   #41
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Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 View Post
Except, USAA isn't going to fess up on a FAQ (or similar) page that they aren't insuring many beach areas...you would have to call or start an online quote.
Then add a negative sign before site.

-site:usaa.com Does USAA insure vacation home

Also recommend adding the state.

Lots of interesting hits in the search.
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Old 12-06-2019, 04:18 PM   #42
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Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 View Post
Recently, I have noticed a distinct change in what results Google shows me when I search for something. When I would put in a specific statement, the first page would usually show something relevant to what I was looking for. More recently, these will be "down the list" more as the ads are displayed first. Now, I am noticing that Google tends to just IGNORE some of the search query. As an example, I searched for "USAA will not insure beach home" and it didn't return a SINGLE result (I did not proceed past the first page) that was relevant. Were there ads for USAA? Of course! (I attached a pic of my search results).

I have also noticed that my Google "Now" feed (on tablet/mobile phone) will continue to show subjects I have ZERO interest in...such as weight loss. I will go to the settings page and no where is there an interest that is remotely close to weight loss. And if I pull down the specific story (where you can tell Google that you aren't interested in that subject or news provider) the subject are will not be there...you can say "don't show stories from XXX news" but nothing about "don't show stories about weight loss".

Anyway, this is somewhat of a rant as well as a "have you noticed this, too?" I use Google for a lot of things, and I know that they are all interconnected but if I can't use it to do a simple search, then it becomes pretty useless and then how long before others think the same and abandon the platform?
So true. From "Don't be evil," Google has evolved into "G," Google's Evil Empire.
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Old 12-06-2019, 04:20 PM   #43
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You know what...I agree with you. I have noticed that I have to scroll down farther than I used to to find a relevant link...
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Old 12-06-2019, 05:03 PM   #44
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You know what...I agree with you. I have noticed that I have to scroll down farther than I used to to find a relevant link...

I’ve been using DuckDuckGo lately. So far I’ve been happier with its search results
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Old 12-06-2019, 05:04 PM   #45
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Originally Posted by Qs Laptop View Post
This is called "keyword stuffing" and Google became wise to this years ago. It's no longer an effective way to rise in the Google search results. In fact, Google penalizes webmasters for doing this.
It still works.
You have to be smart at it.
I do it for some of my customers.
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Old 12-06-2019, 07:51 PM   #46
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Originally Posted by dixonge View Post
One issue: the 'filter bubble' problem

https://fs.blog/2017/07/filter-bubbles/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/01...a43c867a25fee3

Ways to bypass it (and hopefully improve search results)

https://duckduckgo.com

https://startpage.com

Both anonymize your search, bypassing Google's considerable data profile on you. Supposedly.
Thank-you!
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Old 12-07-2019, 08:18 AM   #47
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Ironic that Amazon is selling that book.

Probably the biggest "filter bubble" is news sources. For example, Google News is a great aggregator which allows you to seek out different stories about the same topic from news outlets with different viewpoints, local and international.

But if you clear out your cookies before starting and stay logged out, you can stay outside the bubble. Better still, use ad blockers and tracker blockers like Ghostery, too.

If you really like having the browser remember you some places (like this forum) you can always set up a separate, "clean" browser that has all the blockers and clears cookies at close. Then do your news surfing or Amazon product searches from there.

In a "clean" browser you'll get a generic page, not one tailored to your prior browsing. To really see this in action, try it with YouTube. Instead of videos based on your past views you'll get the most popular themes from everyone else's views. It's actually pretty funny to see what's popular nowadays. And sad when you remember that these people are allowed to vote.
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Old 12-07-2019, 08:34 AM   #48
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You know what...I agree with you. I have noticed that I have to scroll down farther than I used to to find a relevant link...


+1,000

I am so frustrated right now. I put in a key word and so many of the sites either don’t answer my question or don’t have any reference to it. When I get serious about looking something up I automatically go to page 2 and start there
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Old 12-07-2019, 11:08 AM   #49
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Originally Posted by Bir48die View Post
+1,000

I am so frustrated right now. I put in a key word and so many of the sites either don’t answer my question or don’t have any reference to it. When I get serious about looking something up I automatically go to page 2 and start there
I feel better in that I am not alone in this. Just for giggles, I came up with a random legal topic/issue and used Google scholar to find (or attempt) relevant case law. Then, I went to a database that is specifically tailored to legal material and found that my search techniques were very effective in the traditional database whereas Google gave me a lot of stuff that really wasn't useful in my search. Granted, a legal search is different than a generic term(s) search, but I wanted to compare actual search methods to see if I have become less effective at these searches.
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Old 12-07-2019, 11:30 AM   #50
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I’ve been using DuckDuckGo lately. So far I’ve been happier with its search results
+1 on DuckDuckGo

Google is just to commercial these days. DDG has been my search engine of choice for at least a year.
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