Google my friend... how do you work?

[Old Nick]

Let's imagine a technical question, for example: « what size of screw is required for the CDR-456W carburetter? ».
Now let's imagine that the right answer is: « an A13 screw ».

Well, let's ask the question on a very popular and active mechanical forum, unfortunately the only answer given is to use a B34 screw, so the answer is incorrect.

Let's ask the question on a small forum, which has a few weeks of existence and few members. But one of the members knows the CDR-456W carburetter well and therefore he gives the right answer, i.e. an A13 screw.

Which answer will be best indexed? That of the popular forum because Google thinks that the answer is surely there or that of the new forum because the answer is right?

 

[joelr]

The way that you presented the question was how a site is indexed, and if a small site that's more accurate is indexed "better" than a big site thats inaccurate. I don't know if indexing is as black and white as that.

I don't know if I can answer this question myself since I don't work for Google, but here is what is generally known:

• All sites have a crawl budget. Google may apportion a bigger site with a bigger crawl budget, but if you're a small site with a small crawl budget, you might be better off because your results will be refreshed faster since you have fewer posts.
• Signals like helpful, informative, or question-and-answer boards are more important than ever for forums.
• In your scenario, you mentioned that the big forum may have actually identified a wrong answer. But maybe there was contextual information like: how do you identify the model number, how do you cross reference against the manufacturers website, etc. These aren't answers by themselves, but are still extremely helpful.

 

[Tracy]

There is a difference between indexing, and indexing the correct answer. Indexing alone will not guarantee the correct answer. Indexing, by its very nature simply collects and presents information, with no promise of how correct it is. You will have to compare multiple returns of the search term and then determine what the highest returned common answer is.
Generally though, the indexing algorithm will index repeat answers of the same question higher than those with different answers from my experience.

AI would tend to generate the correct answer with less intervention if it's allowed to run willy-nilly scarfing up all data on the internet because generally you will have more right answers than wrong of the same type. So those higher correct ones will generally be considered the correct one and the offered result.
But even AI has issues... classic case was recently when one was suggesting that children need to eat rocks, apparently to get minerals.

 

[Old Nick]

Interesting, indeed beyond the correct answer the knowledge capital of the big forum can be decisive in the way Google will treat the answer to the question asked.

But in fact I was wondering if Google knew the right answer or not, does it determine the order of appearance in its search results according to whether the answer is correct or according to the popularity of the site that produces an answer.

Knowing that the way Google has been presenting its search results for some time, it is no longer even necessary, in many cases and for relatively simple questions, to click on the links of the sites from which the answers come.

 

[Old Nick]

Generally though, the indexing algorithm will index repeat answers of the same question higher than those with different answers from my experience.

Yep.