Parameter you should add to most of your Google queries: “before:2023” (thanks Grant Gulovsen on Mastodon)
Posted by jpluimers on 2024/04/29
[Wayback/Archive] Grant Gulovsen: “Someone recently posted a hot tip about adding “before:2023” to Google web searches and I forget who it was but wow what a huge difference it makes. So thank you to whoever that was. It gets rid of so much AI-generated SEO crap.” – Mastodon
The actual source seemed to be either of these:
- [Wayback/Archive] Diane Patterson: “Today’s pro-tip:
If you have to do a Google search, use “before:2023” at the beginning of your search string. You get a completely different (and IMO much more usable) set of results.
The web has died.” – The Wandering Shop - [Wayback/Archive] ChristyOTwisty comments on What search engines don’t delete webpages?
I recently read the following, but have not tested. If you have a specific web page in mind, perhaps you may test and report here with a comment:
Try adding search parameter “
before:2023” (without quotes) to your keywords in the input field for a Google search.
The first was found back by quite a few people on Mastodon:
- [Wayback/Archive] Quinn9282✌️👋: “@gulovsen The person who originally posted this tip was @Dianepatterson. Thank her for that! 😁” – mas.to
- [Wayback/Archive] Chris Miller🏔️📡: “@gulovsen I saw it too! Here’s the post.” – LEDs
- [Wayback/Archive] Joe Hill 🇮🇱🇵🇸🇺🇦: “@gulovsen wandering.shop/@Dianepatterson…” – The Union Place
- [Wayback/Archive] Juan Luis: “@gulovsen Link to original post for reference wandering.shop/@Dianepatterson…” – Mastodon
- [Wayback/Archive] Sarah Burstein: “@gulovsen Was this it?
wandering.shop/@Dianepatterson…” – Mastodon - [Wayback/Archive] Spud: “@gulovsen this one?
wandering.shop/@Dianepatterson…” – Sleepy Internet Users
There are a few ways to embed parameters like “before:2023” by default into a search query.
The quickest way is to add a new search keyword to your web browser. This is way easier in Chromium derived browsers than Firefox.
Another way is to wrap Google Search with something like [Wayback/Archive] Whoogle Search (or a self-hosted instance).
That one has source code in the repository [Wayback/Archive] GitHub – benbusby/whoogle-search: A self-hosted, ad-free, privacy-respecting metasearch engine which has a few nice pointers on how to self-host it (some of them for free):
It has a project page as well. That one is at [Wayback/Archive] whoogle-search · PyPI.
Background reading:
- [Wayback/Archive] The Decline of Google: Generative AI, SEO Pollution, and Video Search Shifts – Video Summarizer – Glarity
- [Wayback/Archive] In the context of generative AI, should we talk about information pollution? | by Dirk Songuer | Medium
- [Wayback/Archive] Here lies the internet, murdered by generative AI
- [Wayback/Archive] M. Fioretti: “@gulovsen great, both in itself, and because the more people use this trick, the more will realize how much #google keeps erasing the “old” Web:
stop.zona-m.net/2018/01/indeed…” – Mastodon
[Wayback/Archive] Indeed, it seems that Google IS forgetting the old Web | Stop at Zona-M
XML pioneer and early blogger Tim Bray says that Google maybe suffers of deliberate memory loss. I may have found more evidence that this is the case.
- [Wayback/Archive] ruffin: “@gulovsen Thank heavens. I kee…” – mas.to
@gulovsen Thank heavens. I keep trying to convince myself I’m wrong about how bad search has gotten, but, well, I’m not.
AI authored content is the worst thing that’s happened to the internet. Say what you will about commerce, at least the info was still reasonably accessible.
mas.to/@ruffin/111980974523988…[Wayback/Archive] ruffin: “I’m increasingly worried that …” – mas.to
I’m increasingly worried that the growing morass of AI-generated html spam is going to cede control of the internet to search engines who can weed it out.As in you must first filter AI, *then* search. Practically speaking, it’s a layer of DRM/obfuscation over what was once open & free.Search engines will have vested interests in…1. Making bad AI composition technology easily accessible, probably by creating it themselves.
2. Making it easy to create/Creating AI spam.
Related blog post: Some phrases that might set apart text-content as LLM generated
--jeroen
The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff 
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