Many on line quilt shops price in half yard increments. A few even price in quarter yard increments. This is not because the fabric store is trying to be sneaky, it is because most shopping cart programs only accommodate "whole units". Fabric is one of the few items marketed in fractional units. If on line quilt shops won't cut less than one yard (like thousands of bolts) they usually price in the increments they are willing to cut.
It is the purchasers responsibility to pay attention to what they are ordering on line and that the price is for the quantity they intend to purchase.
As far as google searches are concerned, the algorithm that drives the search looks for key words, then for most current date. So if the most current date of the key word brings back an old hit there really isn't anything that can be done. Again this is not the store trying to bait and switch, it is just the way the net works. I have many times searched for an older line of fabric and gotten useless hits.