Google is only useful for searching Reddit

In the beginning was Search, and Search was good, but then it was Crap

I go to Google for one main reason: to search Reddit.

And, my brother in christ, if you aren’t doing the same, consider this your… uh, burning bush? Sorry, my bible knowledge is a little patchy.

Anyway, I’m sure you’ve noticed how bad Google Search has got; the results are less clear, the sites it throws up less useful — in technical terms it’s become a crock of shit.

There are a myriad of reasons why this is the case, but if I had to level an accusation at one thing — which is lucky, because that’s exactly what I’m going to do — it’d be the SEO industry.

Here’s that burning bush I mentioned earlier. I can’t remember the story exactly — and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna use Google to search for it — but hopefully this makes sense to someone, somewhere.

These days, pretty much every business worth its salt has a website. Big whoop, I know. But there is a point here.

Bigger companies generally pay a roster of people to tweak their site so it’s attractive to Google Search’s algorithms. The specifics of this are an unending game of cat-and-mouse between the company and SEO experts, but there are openly expressed guidelines.

For example, creating text of a certain length and including a balanced number of keywords. The more boxes like these you tick, the more Google likes your site, and therefore prioritises it for searches.

This sounds all good on paper — apart from the fact it’s clearly not.

It’s like Google is shitting on a spoon and trying to get me to eat it by making aeroplane noises. I’m not saying it doesn’t work, just that I don’t like it that much.

Consider the experience of finding a recipe.

You hear about an interesting-sounding meal, so you go to Google and search for the dish. What’s that? An alluring picture of the recipe? Yes please! You click through to the site, but instead of finding a clear set of instructions, you discover a winding story about how the rainy weather made the author’s mother feel cosy on the day they first cooked the meal.

After that, a list of the dish’s use and taste profiles (PERFECT for a winter lunch!), and a list of other, similar foods you can also make.

Nothing against indulgent writers (I mean, come on), but this approach is less than ideal for finding cold, hard information.

Did I need to make this image? Of course not. But I did it for you, my dear reader.

Variations of this pattern are repeated across Google, whether it’s sites with endless slideshows, overly long articles from services trying to sell you their wares, or shitty product round-ups where you question if the author has even touched any of the items they’re recommending.

To put it simply, money corrupted Google Search’s ability to do its job.

Appearing on the first page of the search engine is incredibly lucrative. This means companies spend a lot of money to get their site featured in those positions.

And it’s us, humans, who get caught in the crossfire.

Google is fine if you want to find what time a business opens, but what happens if you need a straight answer to a tricky question?

Well, that’s when you turn to Reddit.

The platform isn’t perfect, but what it does excellently (in most cases at least) is self-moderate. Yes, there are bots and toxic communities, but, overall, Reddit is brimming with passionate and knowledgeable people who love to discuss the minutiae of any topic you’d care to think of.

Because the comments are voted on by users of those communities — rather than being ranked by a mysterious algorithm — you can find an incredible amount of good information on the platform that’s, in most instances, free of corporate involvement.

No matter what you’re looking for, I can guarantee there’s been several conversations on Reddit that can guide you towards an unbiased answer.

So, next time you search something on Google, whack “site:reddit.com” in there too. You’d be surprised at just how much it improves your life.