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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how businesses operate, especially with tools like Google’s AI-driven search results and advertising campaign types in Google Ads like Performance Max. While these advancements bring convenience and automation, they can also lead to unexpected outcomes if not carefully monitored and managed. One such issue is the impact of leaving outdated web pages on your web server.
This seemingly minor oversight can have serious repercussions, including misleading AI-generated search snippets, inaccurate ad content, and customer service challenges. Here’s what you need to know to avoid these pitfalls.
Google’s AI engine is designed to crawl (or “spider”) everything it finds on your web server. While this comprehensive indexing is key to ensuring your website is discoverable, the AI doesn’t differentiate between current and outdated pages. This can result in old, irrelevant content being factored into search results and even Google Ads ad copy.
For example, imagine you’ve transitioned to a new website but forgot to take down pages from your previous site. Google’s AI may still access these old resources, leading to confusion. This issue becomes even more problematic in AI-driven features like Performance Max Ads and organic AI search snippets, where AI pulls text from available web pages to craft ad content or highlight prominent information in search results.
To illustrate the potential fallout, consider a recent incident involving a doctor who launched a revamped website for their practice. Unfortunately, old pages from their previous site were left on the server. These outdated pages mentioned a service the doctor no longer provided.
Here’s how the situation spiraled:
Google’s Performance Max Ads generated ad copy referencing the outdated service. The AI pulled this information from the old pages, resulting in promotional ads for a service the doctor didn’t offer. It is important to know that you cannot see all versions of AI generated ad text in the Google Ads control panel. Google Ads may even create campaign ID’s that are not displayed in your account leading to further problems in trying to solve an issue.
AI snippets in organic search results also prominently mentioned the outdated service. To make matters worse, the snippets referenced promotional offers and price points pulled from another doctor’s website. However, the way the information was presented at the top of the Google search results page, it made it seem like the offers were linked to the physician’s practice.
Customers searching for this service began reaching out to the doctor, expecting to book an appointment. When they found out the service wasn’t offered, it created a poor customer experience and eroded trust in the business.
This scenario highlights how leaving outdated pages on your server can cause real-world problems for businesses and professionals leveraging AI tools.
AI-driven tools, such as Google’s algorithms, operate based on the data they find. They are not inherently “intelligent” in discerning outdated or incorrect information. Their primary goal is to provide the most relevant content based on keywords and user queries. If outdated web pages exist on your server, the AI assumes that data is still current and valid, incorporating it into both search outputs and advertising frameworks.
Failing to address old web pages can result in:
Outdated content can confuse potential customers and damage your reputation if it’s tied to services or products you no longer offer.
AI-generated ad campaigns may promote irrelevant services or products, leading to wasted ad spend and frustrated customers.
Misinformation from AI tools can lead to a barrage of inquiries for services you don’t provide, diverting your team’s time and resources.
When users encounter misleading or inconsistent information about your brand, it can erode trust and impact your industry reputation.
Preventing these issues starts with proactive website server management. Here’s how you can safeguard your brand from unintended AI consequences:
Perform routine audits of your web server to identify and remove outdated pages. A tool like the Google Search Console can help you discover pages still indexed in search engines.
If old URLs have been indexed by Google, use 301 redirects to guide users (and search engines) to current pages. This ensures no one lands on outdated content.
To prevent search engines from crawling outdated pages, update your robots.txt file or add a noindex meta tag to those pages. But better yet, remove the page from the server entirely and use a 401 notification and even block the old file URL in your robots.txt file.
Regularly review the ad copy generated by Google’s Performance Max campaigns to ensure accuracy. If you notice AI pulling incorrect details, address the source of the content immediately.
If you’re launching a new website, work with your development and SEO teams to decommission the old site properly. Remove all outdated content from your server before going live with a new website.
Google and other platforms frequently update their AI algorithms. Follow their announcements to stay informed about changes that could affect your search or advertising performance.
AI tools like Google’s search and ad platforms are incredibly powerful, but they work best when supplied with accurate and up-to-date information. By actively managing your web presence and eliminating outdated content, you can ensure AI serves your business rather than misrepresenting it.
Don’t allow something as simple as forgotten web pages to create confusion, damage your reputation, or waste valuable marketing resources. Take these steps today, and keep your business positioned for success in an AI-driven world.
For more insights into AI search and ad strategies, or for help optimizing your business content, subscribe to our blog or get in touch with our experts.
If you are a one of our customers, ask us for a server review to assure that old pages and archived content do not exist and that services or products no longer offered are not archived on your web server.
I live in the Washington DC area in Fredericksburg, Virginia. My husband was a Federal employee for 40 years, active duty military member, and a Reservist. He retired as a Captain in the Navy. Our kids grew up in a military and Federal employee family.
Two, of my husband and my, four children are Young Feds. Both work in agencies that are experiencing major reductions in force.
To help my community and our kids, I have created a Facebook Group that is open to anyone and everyone. It is called Moms Supporting Young Feds. You can visit it at this URL. Moms Supporting Young Feds | Facebook
Below if the introduction for this new page.
“Although this started out as a group to help kids who are Feds, it is apparent that more people need help. This group is open to all Feds that need help and Dads can join too. From the stories that have been shared privately with me I see that young Feds and older Feds need help and support. I have however found that right now Federal employees are scared to share their name and picture. So that is okay, you go ahead and post anonymously on this group. We support you. If that is too scary, email or DM me and I will post for you under my name. You can DM me via messenger. I am Nancy McCord. You can email me at nancymccord@outlook.com. This group is here to help and share the love and support we have for your service as a Federal employee to our country. Thank you for your service!”
If you know someone who is experiencing a reduction in force at their agency, please share this Facebook group. We have many insiders who will not use their names, but will be offering up information, job postings, and other help to those that are experiencing this difficult time first hand.
It is very hard to watch the changes that are happening now and soon to come in our Washington DC region. My post image is of a new dawn for our nation. Change is coming, but, we may have pain and trials getting there. Be Strong!
Today is the rollout day for Google’s new tracking method that you cannot opt out of called Digital Fingerprinting.
Cookies don’t matter anymore. Now, Google is collecting the following information for use with advertising on its Google Ads platform and across all its properties and partner properties on the web.
Google now records the following on you in order to create a unique digital ID of your online use and behavior that can be targeted with Google Ads advertising.
Other websites have stated that Google is collecting hundreds of data points including those mentioned above that are used to create a cross network digital ID that identifies your activity for targeting. I have not seen that this digital ID is matched to you as a known person, but that cannot be ruled out at this time.
What I do see is that all this collected information is used to create a unique profile that Google can then leverage in their advertising to make granular decision on who to target for remarketing, content advertising, and smart connected TV advertising.
Many privacy professionals and countries have expressed growing concern over this new tracking tactic and are posting complaints about this change. Of important note is that a user simply cannot opt out or control what data is being collected. This new tracking method is not like a cookie tracking. The end use does not have the ability to control or opt out of the information collection.
“The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called Google’s policy change to use digital fingerprinting “irresponsible”. The ICO says that fingerprinting is an unfair way to track users and reduces their control over their information.” Read more.
Regulators and privacy advocates have long warned the marketplace of the privacy dangers of fingerprinting techniques. For example, in 2015 the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) came out strongly against fingerprinting, calling it a “blatant violation of the human right to privacy.” Read more.
“By allowing fingerprinting, Google has given itself – and the advertising industry it dominates – permission to use a form of tracking that people can’t do much to stop,” said Martin Thomson, distinguished engineer at Mozilla, a rival to Google.” Read more in this BBC article.
Of specific concern to our team at McCord Web Services is a user’s inability to review the tracked data, to opt out, or to have data removed. These new tracking signals are not like browser cookies.
For advertisers on Google Ads, a digital fingerprint is maybe great news. A digital fingerprint allows for more robust tracking and therefore better ad targeting which may drive more targeted conversions.
We do expect more states, countries, and agencies to weigh in on this important topic that impacts a consumer’s privacy in the weeks to months to come.
What Can You Do Now?
You can add the WebGL Defender extension to your browser for now to capture a degree of privacy. This extension works for me in Edge and Firefox. The extension thwarts tracking by generating a fake response for the tracking in the WebGL category which may to a degree thwart the fingerprinting.
However, as the WebGL is a JavaScript library, some websites have not worked for me (GoDaddy is one of them), as it perceives that JavaScript is off.
Be aware that Google has already stated that JavaScript must be turned on to use the Google.com search engine as of February 15th. Read this article on that topic.
As more information becomes clear, we will keep you updated on this important change.
To find out more about McCord Web Services and what we do, please visit our website at McCordWeb.com.
