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Google: Why SEO Weather Tracking Tools Aren’t Accurate

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google weather reportsIn last week’s Google hangout with John Mueller, he was asked about recent algo changes in the search results, a question that comes up often.  Nearly always, the response is that there are hundreds of changes, and there was most likely something that changed, but nothing major enough to warrant a comment from Google.

This time he added a caveat regarding SEO weather reports, something many SEOs use to determine if there was an algo change or not, and this particular algo change Mueller was being asked about did coincide with a Mozcast spike.

And it’s also worth keeping in mind that some of the weather tracking tools, they pick a sample of the search results that they track. And from our point of view, that might not be really a statistically relevant sample, It might be kind of a skewed sample that they’re looking at. So sometimes they see things as bigger changes than they actually are overall.

And you might notice this when you kind of see discussions around that online. You’ll see, oh, this weather report tool says it’s hot SEO weather, things are changing, but you don’t really notice a difference on your site, or when you use Google. And sometimes that just means that some things have changed, but they’re not necessarily the ones that are affecting your website.

And it is worth noting that some major algorithms didn’t even cause a blip on the weather tracking reports, including Panda.

That said, Mueller’s comments won’t stop SEOs from consulting with all the SEO weather tools daily, to check for any fluctuations.

Earlier this year, I also looked into it, and how both weather reports and “winner and loser” lists could be greatly skewed by things outside of Google changing something with the algo.  “Why SEOs Shouldn’t Trust All Algo Weather Reports & Winner/Loser Lists.”

Here is the video:

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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