How many years ago was it that Google last had any sort “top of the page” for search results?
Google has personalized every single search result query for every browser since 2008.
I know for certain they’ve been doing this to all search results since 2008 which is when they published their guide to search results personalization. This is true even when not signed in to google. They were doing it as far back as 2005 for signed in google users. So “top of the page” search results is something that has only existed in scammer seo snake oil land for a good 8 years.
While Google keeps their secret formula closely guarded and changes it regularly it has been confirmed that search personalization has factored at some point the following: browser cookie, the specific signed in user, user search history, browser search history, browser url box history, gmail content history, google docs content history, location, analytics data, ratings and reviews, etc. There are different formula for mobile and desktop.
Something being in top search results is as variable and subjective as something being above the fold…both are misapplications of concepts from older times that don’t apply.
The closest you can get to non personalized search results in private browsing on a new/wiped computer, location everything shut off, and vpn’ed into somewhere with a huge diverse population.
What the article linked to describes is simply targeted ads, climate change deniers promoted their links and sites for climate change searches. Those placements are clearly marked as ads. This is different than gaming searches and doesn’t require algorithm knowledge, when promoting your links google’s tools allow you to customize the words and tells you percentages and allows you pay more to adjust. The google ad system is intended to work this way, they didn’t beat google, they simply paid them.
