There's a new "Google Jail" for independent wikis
summary
Google implemented a change in early 2024 that effectively penalizes brand-new root domains by preventing their internal pages from appearing in search results, creating a 'Google Jail' for new websites. This phenomenon forces independent wiki communities to use subdomains of established sites to maintain visibility and traffic. The author argues that this is likely a broad effort by Google to combat SEO spam, though it inadvertently harms legitimate community-driven projects.
key points
- New root domains often only have their main page indexed by Google, while all other internal pages remain hidden for months or even a year regardless of content quality.
- Using subdomains of established domains bypasses this penalty, allowing new wikis to achieve immediate search visibility and traffic.
- The proposed workaround involves hosting wikis on a trusted subdomain temporarily to build authority before eventually migrating them to their own dedicated root domains.
who should read it
Wiki administrators, community managers, and SEO professionals interested in how Google's indexing algorithms affect new website launches.
discussion skeptical
consensus
Commenters generally agree that Google search results are heavily biased toward Fandom, even when independent, community-run wikis provide higher quality and more up-to-date information. This preference is attributed to Fandom's legacy SEO advantage and a business model that leverages existing content to maintain dominance. Users express frustration that this 'Google Jail' for independent wikis harms search quality and forces the use of third-party extensions or paid search engines like Kagi to avoid low-quality results.
top insight
One commenter points out that Fandom's dominance is not just about SEO, but a predatory business model where they exploit open CC licenses to prevent original creators from effectively competing with their own content after migrating to independent platforms. This highlights a systemic issue where the platform's legal and structural advantages outweigh the content's actual utility to the user.
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