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Huge difference in Google search results
Thread poster: Baran Keki
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 16:24
Member
English to Turkish
Jun 1, 2020

Hi,
I was searching for a couple of specific terms on Google for a translation project. I entered the words in the search box in quotation marks separately and got only 5 results. I sent the link of that page to a friend to mine and when she clicked on it she got 371k results. Why is this happening? Has anyone experienced something like this? Does this mean Google search results are unreliable?


Yaotl Altan
 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:24
Danish to English
+ ...
Exact matches? Jun 1, 2020

Were the 371k exact matches or had Google disregarded the quotes because it couldn't find an exact match?

Try different regions under Settings and try to disable Use private results if you haven't already.


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Shortly: YES Jun 1, 2020

1) A decent specialist always must check SEVERAL different sources.
2) Google is but one of the sources [based on your profile].

Little wonder many specialists and I still prefer some meta-engines which search in parallel.

[Edited at 2020-06-01 14:28 GMT]


 
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 16:24
Member
English to Turkish
TOPIC STARTER
Exact matches Jun 1, 2020

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

Were the 371k exact matches or had Google disregarded the quotes because it couldn't find an exact match?

Try different regions under Settings and try to disable Use private results if you haven't already.


The search box in her screenshot looks exactly the same as mine with quotes, and we live more or less in the same area. I use default settings, and I suppose she does the same. But I'll try your tip, thanks.


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:24
Danish to English
+ ...
Odd Jun 1, 2020

Are the search terms and screenshots confidential? I.e. can you share them?

 
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 16:24
Member
English to Turkish
TOPIC STARTER
Screenshots Jun 1, 2020

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

Are the search terms and screenshots confidential? I.e. can you share them?


They're not confidential at all. See them below:

InkedWhatsApp Image 2020-05-27 at 12.48.04_LI

InkedWhatsApp Image 2020-05-27 at 12.51.09_LI


 
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 16:24
Member
English to Turkish
TOPIC STARTER
No idea what you're talking about Jun 1, 2020

DZiW wrote:

1) A decent specialist always must check SEVERAL different sources.
2) Google is but one of the sources [based on your profile].

Little wonder many specialists and I still prefer some meta-engines which search in parallel.

[Edited at 2020-06-01 14:28 GMT]


I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. Should I check Altavista or the local library (which I suspect is closed due to covid)?


neilmac
 
Marina Steinbach
Marina Steinbach
United States
Local time: 09:24
Member (2011)
English to German
Censorship Jun 1, 2020

Baran Keki wrote:

Hi,
I was searching for a couple of specific terms on Google for a translation project. I entered the words in the search box in quotation marks separately and got only 5 results. I sent the link of that page to a friend to mine and when she clicked on it she got 371k results. Why is this happening? Has anyone experienced something like this? Does this mean Google search results are unreliable?


Hi Baran,

Your government could be engaging in censorship. Do you and your friend both live in Turkey?

Regards,
Marina


Yaotl Altan
 
Natalie
Natalie  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 14:24
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...

Moderator of this forum
SITE LOCALIZER
Settings Jun 1, 2020

Hi Baran,

It depends on your search settings. I have repeated your search and received exactly the same results.

When English is chosen in the settings:

1

When Turkish is chosen in the settings:

2

Hope this helps.


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:24
Danish to English
+ ...
Conflicting information Jun 1, 2020

When I try this (from Germany, but Region set to the UK), Google says, 'About 5 results', but shows me 100 and says at the end, 'In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 100 already displayed.'

If I click to repeat the search with the omitted results included, it tells me, 'About 911,000 results', but I only get two results pages (with up to 100 on each).

Then it says, 'Some results may have been removed under data
... See more
When I try this (from Germany, but Region set to the UK), Google says, 'About 5 results', but shows me 100 and says at the end, 'In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 100 already displayed.'

If I click to repeat the search with the omitted results included, it tells me, 'About 911,000 results', but I only get two results pages (with up to 100 on each).

Then it says, 'Some results may have been removed under data protection law in Europe. Learn more'

This is usually about the 'right to be forgotten'.

But the numbers are clearly incorrect.

If your friend scrolls down (better to set the number of results per page to 100), does she really get anything like the 371k results, or is it simply the number 371k that is wrong?

This looks like a bug in Google more than anything else. Their totals are incorrect in one way or another. They have a feedback function for reporting problems.
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DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Where there's a will there's a way Jun 1, 2020

Baran, different search engines give various results, so if you often need an array of entries, check for metasearch engines as well.

As for this very case, you could try cleaning the cookies or running a different browser to make sure. Besides the profile, sometimes it make sense to check different DNS and VPN/external IPs too.

I would never rely on a single source though.


 
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 16:24
Member
English to Turkish
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Jun 1, 2020

Natalie wrote:

Hi Baran,

It depends on your search settings. I have repeated your search and received exactly the same results.

When English is chosen in the settings:

1

When Turkish is chosen in the settings:

2

Hope this helps.





Hi Natalie,
I think this explains the colossal disparity, but then again it doesn't make any sense at all. Why should changing the language have a massive influence on the number of results returned? Just goes to show that Google search results are not that reliable...


 
Natalie
Natalie  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 14:24
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...

Moderator of this forum
SITE LOCALIZER
On the contrary Jun 1, 2020

Baran Keki wrote:

I think this explains the colossal disparity, but then again it doesn't make any sense at all. Why should changing the language have a massive influence on the number of results returned? Just goes to show that Google search results are not that reliable...


Language setting is a kind of a filter that tells Google where you would like to search. I think if the language would be set, for example, to Chinese, the result would be probably zero.


 
Baran Keki
Baran Keki  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 16:24
Member
English to Turkish
TOPIC STARTER
I disagree Jun 1, 2020

Natalie wrote:

Baran Keki wrote:

I think this explains the colossal disparity, but then again it doesn't make any sense at all. Why should changing the language have a massive influence on the number of results returned? Just goes to show that Google search results are not that reliable...


Language setting is a kind of a filter that tells Google where you would like to search. I think if the language would be set, for example, to Chinese, the result would be probably zero.


The reason why I sent the link of that page to my friend in the first place was to show her the huge difference between the results returned for two queries involving two similar words (namely "göğüs" and "meme"). Please see the number of search results returned for the word "meme", using English language, for yourself:

Adsız


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 14:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Me Jun 1, 2020

My first thought was: you and your colleague are in two different bubbles. You should never assume that Google will show the same search results to two people, even if they live in the same house.

When I search for: "anne sütü" "göğüs", Google says "About 5 results (0,50 seconds)" but then below that it shows 1 page with 100 results (although there is no "page 2"). For "anne sütü" "meme", it says "About 1.010.000 results (0,52 seconds)", but there is only a "page 1" and a "
... See more
My first thought was: you and your colleague are in two different bubbles. You should never assume that Google will show the same search results to two people, even if they live in the same house.

When I search for: "anne sütü" "göğüs", Google says "About 5 results (0,50 seconds)" but then below that it shows 1 page with 100 results (although there is no "page 2"). For "anne sütü" "meme", it says "About 1.010.000 results (0,52 seconds)", but there is only a "page 1" and a "page 2" (my search is set to 100 results per page). When I go to page 2, it says "Page 2 of about 146 results (0,48 seconds)". Changing my search language doesn't change the results by much.

Also, remember, the approximation of the number of matches given at the top of the first page is just a wild estimate.

Baran Keki wrote:
She got 371k results.


How many results did she *really* get? I mean, if she scrolls down to the bottom of the page, and then tries to visit the last page of the search, is she able to visit "page 11" or "page 21" and further? Or does Google then adjust the number to something more realistic?

I got only 5 results.


Same question: if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, can you visit a "page 2" etc?



[Edited at 2020-06-01 18:12 GMT]
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Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
 
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Huge difference in Google search results






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