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Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

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Re: Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

#31

Post by fidz »

signed0 wrote: post #28
pmylund wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And here's why: http://stackoverflow.com/a/5411601/620239 . Forgot to change that first occurrence after pasting it in. "Oh, it works. I'm done."

Another good reason why you should always use "example.com".

I'm surprised http://example.com is reserved by IANA.

Re: Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

#33

Post by bdcravens »

Gotta wonder though: should StackOverflow.com rank high for "stack overflow"? After all, a "stack overflow" isn't necessarily related to programming questions. Yes, you can ask questions on StackOverflow.com about stack overflows, but that's missing the point. So if I have a domain name that's a thing, but my site has very little content related to that thing, should I rank high for queries about that thing?

Re: Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

#34

Post by adrr »

lancefisher wrote: post #8

Looks like it's a cut/paste error. If you do wget www.doioig.gov, this is the page you get. Notice the meta refresh that points to stackoverflow.com. window.location.href = "http://www.doi.gov/oig/index.cfm" Page Redirection If you are not redirected automatically, please click the link to continue to the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General.

I bet there's some sort of logic on google's side that states, if a government homepage url redirects to another non .gov URL, that the .gov address should be the canonical page of the site thats being redirected too. Which would explain why stackoveflow's homepage isn't listed in the results. Just a guess.

Re: Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

#36

Post by nodesocket »

lancefisher wrote: post #8

Looks like it's a cut/paste error. If you do wget www.doioig.gov, this is the page you get. Notice the meta refresh that points to stackoverflow.com. window.location.href = "http://www.doi.gov/oig/index.cfm" Page Redirection If you are not redirected automatically, please click the link to continue to the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General.

Why would this rank them so high though? Does the googlebot actually follow the http-equiv="refresh". If so, would changing http://stackoverflow.com to say http://dell.com make them rank #1 for searching for dell as well?

Re: Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

#38

Post by [deleted] »

bdcravens wrote: post #33

Gotta wonder though: should StackOverflow.com rank high for "stack overflow"? After all, a "stack overflow" isn't necessarily related to programming questions. Yes, you can ask questions on StackOverflow.com about stack overflows, but that's missing the point. So if I have a domain name that's a thing, but my site has very little content related to that thing, should I rank high for queries about that thing?

[deleted]

Re: Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

#39

Post by dangrossman »

bdcravens wrote: post #33

Gotta wonder though: should StackOverflow.com rank high for "stack overflow"? After all, a "stack overflow" isn't necessarily related to programming questions. Yes, you can ask questions on StackOverflow.com about stack overflows, but that's missing the point. So if I have a domain name that's a thing, but my site has very little content related to that thing, should I rank high for queries about that thing?

There are more links on pages with the words "stack overflow" near the link, or with the anchor text itself "stack overflow", pointing to stackoverflow.com than to any other page on the web. Lacking additional context, the web teaches Google's algorithm that when someone is talking about "stack overflow", they are referring to stackoverflow.com more often than anything else.

If you made a website called "Nikon Cameras" today but the site had nothing about Nikon Cameras on it, it would not rank well for the search "Nikon Cameras". Other people writing about Nikon Cameras would not link to your site more often than something actually about Nikon Cameras.

Re: Stack Overflow ranks #2 for Google Search for "Stack Overflow"

#40

Post by kisielk »

signed0 wrote: post #28
pmylund wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And here's why: http://stackoverflow.com/a/5411601/620239 . Forgot to change that first occurrence after pasting it in. "Oh, it works. I'm done."

Another good reason why you should always use "example.com".

I edited the answer so it says example.com now.
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