Ask HN: Search results are now filled with SEO traps, how can we fixed that?

8 pointsUnai3 comments

Make it a habit to look at both the title and the full URL before clicking on any search result.

I believe that anyone can learn to recognize SEO traps by their URL pattern.

If, let’s say, I’m looking for a new pair of headphones, I’d probably follow a link that says _Review: the best headphones in 2020_ with an URL of `reviewhub[.]com/best-2020-headphones`.

But I’m not going to follow a link that says _Best headphones xanax_ with an URL of `arizonabakery[.]com/_php/xyzs13mvfpw`.

The problem is that there's a high probabability that reviewhub is just full of ghost-written SEO-bait with affiliate links that ranks high but doesn't actually show you the best headphones but rather the headphones that pay most affiliate kickback.

100% agree. That only weeds out the malware/PUP/_You won a free iPhone 11_ gunk.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com