The second and the third results point to the same Wikipedia article. Google could've and should've noticed this - it should've automatically clubbed the second and third results. Without scrolling, a user can see only 4 results in this screenshot, and because of one redundant result, 25% of the results visible without scrolling have been wasted.
Update [Nov'12]: Adding screenshot for a principally similar, but more serious, SERP pointed out by Adam Davies in the comments.
Update [Nov'12]: Adding screenshot for a principally similar, but more serious, SERP pointed out by Adam Davies in the comments.
Look at the URLs. They're different.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteSure, the URLs are different. But we do expert Google's supersmart algorithms to figure out that the content is the same [especially because both results redirected to the same webpage - something that Google's software would've observed during crawling/indexing]. Wasting 10% of the top 10 results is significant, I believe.
A duplicate entry on the homepage is a big issue in my opinion. Here's another completely broken SERP: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=care+homes+in+essex
DeleteImagine trying to compete with that... Top 6 results are the same website and there are similar examples which the first few pages are the same sites / pages.
Is Google going senile?
@Adam
DeleteI agree with you. Since Google gives only 10 blue links on the first page [let's forget the other stuff - maps, etc. - that Google now packs into the SERP], wasting even a single of these results is indeed a big issue. Big money is involved here.
Also, I've added a screenshot for the broken SERP you pointed. Thanks!
All of the examples on this blog show how ripe this space is for innovation :)