I see it a lot in various Facebook groups, and even a bit from some of our clients. A question is asked, and the first thought is “why didn’t they just Google that?”. Perhaps they did, but they just didn’t know how to phrase it properly.
For example, if someone’s website just went down, they might search for things like:
- website down
- my site is broken
- why websites crash
The results likely aren’t too helpful, because they really don’t know how to explain what the problem is. Conversely, I’d likely search for something more specific, like:
- 403 forbidden error on WordPress 5.7.2 after Yoast 16.5 update
Odds are, my search will yield better results.
Of course, I’m on the other side of this in various parts of my life. I recently mentioned that I was searching for “lingering calf pain after cramp”, which sounds logical to me, but someone with more knowledge in the area of sports medicine could likely form a much more productive query to help get to the bottom of things.
So why didn’t they just Google that? Maybe they did, but maybe your search can lead to better things.
