[Lalabadie]

I agree with the advice itself, but I have a very hard time believing Google's statement in the context of the last 4-5 years.

Search results are noticeably poor and the top links are always obviously gamed.

Either Google have stopped combatting the gamed pages they claim they want to de-rank, or their execution does not match their intent at all.

[singpolyma3]

Maybe I'm just searching for different things but I've not noticed any changes in the past few decades. I search for things and I find them same as ever.

[fourside]

Not noticed any changes? Not even the one where in many searches sponsored results take up the whole initial screen and the actual results begin under the fold?

[liveoneggs]

your google search still shows links to websites?

[plagiarist]

I'd love to know what magic you are adding to queries so I can achieve the same results.

Search has been getting worse from the SEO arms race for at least two decades. In the last few years this has accelerated due to machines producing more convincing slop.

Searches absolutely have not been surfacing the same quality of content as they did when Google first developed PageRank.

[watwut]

I don't. The blogosphere, writings and blogs from various professionals basically disappeared from results. And especially the best ones - people who write once in a while when they have good content. Google would not return me articles I literally knew the name of and could quote portions of.

Moreover, beyond that, it used to be that I could find what I was looking for easily, the google search is now noticeably worst.