Until a few years ago, Google played fair and honored its mission to be a trusted resource for good information.

But back in 2016, the giant search engine moved those paid ads to the top of search results and life has never been the same for digital marketers who put SEO strategies in motion.

The ads were only part of the problem. The search engine results pages (SERPs) now contain a parade of elements that often push down the natural search results – things like image carousels, top stories, People also ask, Google answers, etc.

I don’t know how Google can defend its aim to “deliver the most relevant and reliable information available.” Really, if “reliable” data is suppressed, how does that fulfill the purpose?

Plus, Google routinely shares basic facts with results – so much that people don’t even need to click to websites. I especially dislike People also ask. It’s as if Google is saying: “Here are many more options in case we didn’t give you the right results. Keep trying until you find something.”

I detail steps you can take in my new Content Marketing Institute article, Rise Up in Google SERPs With the Right SEO Website Content.