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Google Confirms Testing Pages With Zero Search Results

Google confirmed it’s running a test which involves showing zero search results for queries when no relevant results are found.

Instead, Google returns a message stating “Hmm… the results for your search don’t seem very relevant.”

The message is followed by a prompt to “see results anyway.”

Multiple users have reported seeing this anomaly within the past 24 hours. It wasn’t until SEMRush tweeted about it that Google finally responded.

In response, Google’s Danny Sullivan confirmed this is a limited experiment which happens to be “overtriggering” at the moment.

Sullivan also mentions it wasn’t Google’s intention for ads to be displayed on that screen.

“This is a narrow experiment focused on times when our systems detect there is little relevant content available on the web for the given query. It appears to be overtriggering. We will investigate and adjust, including ensuring ads don’t show by default. That wasn’t intended.”

It would be interesting to see a running list of queries that trigger this experiment. I can’t recall many times where I’ve searched for something and didn’t see at least one relevant result.

If you run into this experiment, perhaps you find a way to take advantage by creating relevant content for queries where there isn’t any.

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SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...

Google Confirms Testing Pages With Zero Search Results

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