The Great SEO Loophole: How to Rank for Anything on Google

After doing SEO for over 11 years, I’ve realized something strange.

Ranking on Google isn’t hard anymore.
Not if you have authority. Not if you’re a “big enough” brand. And definitely not if you stop caring about relevance, ethics, or logic.

I know that sounds wild. But let me walk you through a system that’s working right now.

You can call it a “hack” if you want. But it’s really just a loophole that Google’s pretending doesn’t exist.

Step-by-step guide to ranking for anything on Google (seriously)

Step 1:
Pick a topic with high search volume.
Does it relate to your product? Doesn’t matter. Just find a connection that sounds half-reasonable.

Like:
“We sell loans, and people travel using loans, so let’s write about travel.”

Step 2:
Write the most generic blog you can think of.
Make it look clean. Add headings. Steal format from top-ranking pages.
Zero originality needed.

Step 3:
Drop a link or two to your actual product page.
“Planning a trip to Varkala? Don’t forget to check our personal loan options!”
Beautifully irrelevant, but now Google thinks it’s topical.

Step 4:
Publish. Interlink. Submit sitemap.
Done.

And now, somehow, your site that sells financial products is ranking above travel bloggers, mobile review platforms, and health portals.

At this point, maybe you’re thinking:

“Bro… I already knew this. This is old-school content farming.”

Yeah. Exactly.

You know it. I know it.
We’ve all seen it.
We’ve all ignored it.

But this time, it’s gone too far.

This isn’t smart SEO. It’s just Google being blind.

Let’s stop calling it strategy. There’s nothing clever about spamming 200 travel blogs on a finance site.

And yet, it’s working.

Let me show you how ridiculous it’s gotten:

• A financial site like Bajaj Finserv ranking on Page 1 for queries like:
• “Spiti Valley trip cost”
• “Varkala trip cost”
• “vivo x200 ultra”
• “Used cars in Delhi NCR”

And yes - they’re outranking Cars24 and GSM Arena on some of these.

• An insurance company like Acko publishing blogs on:
• “Bent penis”
• “Health benefits of eating almonds”
• “How to treat anxiety naturally”

And somehow that ranks above actual health publications.

• Housing.com is giving tutorials on:
• “How to file ITR online”

Not making this up. A real estate portal telling you how to handle taxes.

Even Google.com is doing it.
They rank #1 for “travel” with their Flights page - technically affiliate content scraped from other websites.

So while SEOs debate “site reputation abuse,” Google is literally setting the worst example.

Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do, and what is right to do.
– Potter Stewart

In a world of noise, trust is the only filter that matters.
– Me (because sometimes we need to quote ourselves)

The Helpful Content Promise vs The Reality

Let’s be honest - Google’s “Helpful Content Update” should be renamed “Selective Content Privilege Update.”

What Google Told Us	What’s Actually Happening
Write content within your area of expertise	Finance sites rank for health, tech, travel, etc.
Show first-hand experience	AI-written generic blogs dominate
Don’t chase search volume blindly	That’s literally the strategy everyone is using now
Avoid content for the sake of rankings	Brands write for rankings only
Provide helpful, original insights	Same recycled content with better domain authority

But some folks still defend this.

Let’s unpack the common arguments and why they don’t hold up.

❌ “If it satisfies the user, what’s the problem?”

Really? You’re telling me someone searching for “tax saving options” wants advice from a site that primarily sells apartments?

Intent without credibility is like a doctor Googling symptoms and calling it a diagnosis.

❌ “They’re just educating users.”

So you’re telling me an insurance company writing about mental health symptoms is doing that to help users - not to grab traffic?

If they cared that much, maybe they’d list the author’s medical credentials.
Oh wait - they don’t.

❌ “How do you know they didn’t hire experts?”

I don’t. And I shouldn’t have to guess.

If you hired experts, show it. Add bios. Cite sources. Provide trust signals.

Topical authority doesn’t work on vibes.

❌ “It’s just marketing. Understand the user journey.”

This is not marketing. This is keyword farming with budget.

If someone searching for “best phones under 20k” lands on a finance site, they’re not there to buy your EMI plan - they’re there because Google failed to show a better source.

Why this is bigger than just one brand

Because now:

• Niche creators are losing visibility despite creating better content.
• Big brands are abusing domain trust to rank for literally anything.
• Google is rewarding authority, not relevance.
• SEOs are getting pushed into dumb content playbooks just to keep up.
• New SEOs will learn this as “best practice” and kill the craft before they even understand it.

And honestly, that’s why I’m writing this.

Why I’m sharing this now

This post isn’t just frustration - it’s a warning.

Because there’s a new generation of SEOs watching all of this.
Young folks, smart minds entering the field, seeing big companies rank for everything under the sun - health, travel, tech, whatever.

And they’ll think: “Oh, this is SEO? Just publish whatever gets volume?”

If we let this become normal, the next wave of SEOs will never learn the real game.
They’ll never understand topical depth, user trust, authority building, or ethical growth.

And honestly, that’s the part that bothers me the most.

I’m not worried about Bajaj or Acko or Google Flights.
They’ll rank anyway.

I’m worried about the guy sitting in a small agency, learning SEO, thinking “this must be the way.”

If you’re facing this kind of competitor…

I see you.
You run a legit travel blog. Or a phone review site. Or a health advice platform.
You’ve spent years building real expertise.

But now your rankings are stolen by a finance site that writes one generic blog with a ₹500 writer and a .in domain.

And it sucks.
It’s not fair. And no amount of “content quality” can beat brute-force authority right now.

But don’t lose hope.

Here’s what you still have:

• Community trust (Your users will come back)
• Topical clarity (Your content roadmap won’t burn out in 3 months)
• Long-term resilience (Algorithm shifts will swing back your way)

Because relevance isn’t dead. It’s just being ignored temporarily.

But when the next real update comes, the junk will burn.
That’s how it’s always been.

I’m not against growth. I’m against shortcuts.

Let’s be real - ranking matters. Growth matters.
But not like this.

If we want SEO to stay alive - not just as a channel, but as a craft - then we have to draw the line somewhere.

And that line isn’t drawn by Google.
It’s drawn by us - the people actually doing the work.

You might not have the biggest domain.
But you can still have the cleanest strategy.
The most helpful answer.
The most consistent structure.

That’s SEO.
That’s what we signed up for.

At the END

No, Google isn’t perfect right now.
Yes, this loophole is frustrating.
And yes, these brands are winning with half-baked logic.

But we still have control over what we build.

If enough of us stick to relevance, clarity, and real user intent - this industry won’t collapse.
It’ll reset.

And when it does?

It’ll reward those who didn’t chase the shortcut.

In a world full of noise, the only thing that compounds is trust.
– Probably someone who gave a damn about users.

Hold on to that.
Teach it to your team.
Build with it.

That’s how we win.