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Google “Caffeine” Goes Completely Live

June 9, 2010 By

We reported a few weeks ago on Google’s big infrastructure change known as “Caffeine” and what it meant for SEOs and webmasters. Caffeine has been in the works for quite a while with few details being released to the public in August for feedback purposes. A pilot version was launched last November.

Caffeine is a change in the index, or infrastructure of Google. Unlike the “Mayday” update, it’s not changing the algorithm in any way…it’s simply changing how sites are indexed on their servers. Since content on the web is blossoming and getting more complex, Google felt it needed its index to evolve with it so it could return the most relevant, up-to-date results to its searchers.

In a nutshell, the following are the main things you need to know about Caffeine:

  • It’s NOT a ranking change. You shouldn’t see any major ranking changes from this
  • It DOES change how Google indexes pages – speed, scalability and how deep they can get into a site
  • It should now deliver fresher results
  • Search results should go deeper over time

Before, the old index consisted of several layers, each of which was updated at different times and frequencies. When refreshing a layer, Google would have to analyze the entire web which caused a delay between when new content was discovered and when it was made available to a searcher.

With Caffeine, Google will now analyze the Internet in small portions and continuously update the search index on a global basis. As the spider finds new pages or information, it can automatically be added to the index, making it available immediately.

Caffeine can index pages on an enormous scale – its server takes up over 100 million gigabytes of storage in one database. It adds new information at a rate of hundreds of thousands of gigabytes a day. To compare, you would need 625,000 of the largest I-pods to store that much information.

As with anything, there is some controversy as to the effects of this. Some comments on different forums discussing the new infrastructure claim Google is making a smart move, staying ahead of the bell curve when it comes to the advancement of websites.

However, others worry about spam and how this could be a great boon to spammers. Since Google is striving to post the most current results, spammers could take advantage of this by copying other sites’ content. Some have even said this could lead to Google’s demise and only gave them 6 months!!

Either way, we will stay on top of how Caffeine is working and its effect on websites and web searchers. If it is a bad move on Google’s part, we will certainly witness a decline in their search volume.

In the mean time, see Google’s spam chief at the recent SMX Advanced conference explaining Caffeine in this video below.

Filed Under: Forum Watch, SEO Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

Google’s New Search Engine Index – Caffeine

May 7, 2010 By

Google Caffeine was announced several months ago but it was uncertain how and when it would be implemented…our post from Monday speculates that it may be in effect now since webmasters and SEOs have been noticing some changes regarding long-tail keywords.

So what is Google Caffeine?

Caffeine was formerly kept secret by Google and only limited details were released to the public last August. The search engine characterizes it as the “next-generation architecture for Google’s web search.” It appears this new architecture includes crawling, indexing and ranking changes and that it’s not simply an addition or change to their existing infrastructure but rather a complete overhaul.

Based on Google’s announcements regarding Caffeine, we can best surmise that this new infrastructure may include ways of crawling the web more effectively, determining reputation and authority and returning relevant results quicker…however, Google’s spam chief Matt Cutts says the changes are “primarily in how we index.”

Most of these changes do not affect the user-interface (what you see) very much but you may have noticed some subtle changes in a search engine results page in the last few months. Take this search – “buffy the vampire slayer” for example – and how it returns video and news results midway down the page.

If we use the existing infrastructure, Google displays news results at top, video in the middle and images at the bottom.

Google’s new infrastructure has undoubtedly caused quite the stir in the online world, with webmasters and SEOs scrambling to try and understand how this will impact their rankings…along with many a speculative blog post about how to best optimize to the new changes.

In the end though, it still comes down to having the right foundational elements – a crawlable site infrastructure and compelling content – maintaining these will certainly keep you ahead of the curve.

We’ll keep you posted on Caffeine and its effects on optimizing websites for the search engines…in the mean time, keep creating compelling content for your target audience and be sure your site’s architecture is setup so search engine spiders can effectively crawl your site.

Filed Under: Forum Watch, SEO Technology, Site Architecture Tagged With: , , , , ,

My Site’s been Penalized – What Do I Do?

April 26, 2010 By

It’s the bain of any SEO or webmaster’s existence…your site for some reason has been penalized by Google and you’re experiencing a drop in rankings or site traffic. It may seem that all you have worked for may be slipping away. Your boss is unhappy or worse, that client you labored to obtain is getting nervous or upset.

No reason for despair if this happens to you. Rather, look at it as a process of discovery as to why you’re site’s dropped…you may be surprised at what you find out.

Here’s a method you can use to aid in your quest of finding the source of your problem and getting right with Google…watch the video below for more details.

Are you sure it’s a penalty?

There’s a good chance that it’s not even a penalty per se but more of a technical issue. Maybe there’s a crawl problem or you forgot to include keywords in some of your content. Check and see if Google is indexing your pages by typing a keyword phrase, a colon then your web address (keyword:http://www.yoursite.com/) and see if they’re indexing your pages.

Try and identify whether you’re experiencing a rankings drop or a traffic drop…doing that will help you determine what you can do to fix the problem.

Are any links you have causing the problem?

Links are big part of building rankings in the search engines so it stands to reason something could go wrong and cause a drop in rankings or traffic. There are a couple of possible reasons for this.

The first is a more outright penalty for having links from sites that make it look kind of obvious that you’re employing spammy/black hat type practices. They frown upon this and you can consider it to be more of a direct penalty.

On the other hand, you have many sites linking to you that were acquired legitimately through Google’s eyes that may not be valued as much or not at all for whatever reason. Maybe they’re engaging in bad linking practices or another site linking to them is. Either way, the link value you were getting isn’t there anymore so it will be prudent to get rid of that link to try and remedy the problem.

Getting right with Google

Once you’ve identified the problem, now you need to get back on the right side with Google’s spam team. Getting back in is usually based on three factors:

  1. Severity of the penalty or mistake
  2. Is this the first time or is it a repeat problem?
  3. Are you a brand name or little guy?

The more severe the error the tougher it will be getting back into Google. If you’ve engaged in any spammy/black hat practices for example you will have a harder time getting back in. First timers are given a little more leniency than repeat situations. And of course, size matters in this world so if you’re a big brand name site like Sony, Walmart, etc. you will have an easier time.

But if you’re a little guy and it’s the third time on a pretty bad penalty, you’re probably toast…you’re really at the mercy of the Google gods so the best thing to do is when you contact their spam team, be completely honest about any mistakes, etc. and what you discovered as your problem.

It’s possible they may ignore you and at some point, you will need to decide what to do. If you go a couple of months and you’re not getting anywhere with Google after you’ve discovered your problem, consider redirecting your site through a 301 redirect and starting over.

As you see, there are many reasons why you could be experiencing trouble with your Google rankings…watch the video for more details and other technical reasons as to why.

Filed Under: SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Site Speed Now a Ranking Factor on Google

April 12, 2010 By

In a post from way back on December 4th, we alerted you to a new addition to Google’s ranking algorithm – site speed.

At the time, Google added site speed to their Webmaster tools utility, comparing your site against others in your niche in terms of how fast they load. At that time, Google said it would be adding this factor to its algorithm in the coming months.

Well that day has arrived so now we can begin to get a clearer picture on how this will affect rankings. Will faster loading sites enjoy rankings over another site that may take a second longer to load?

According to various forums on the topic that have been brewing through today since the implementation of this factor was announced last Friday, this new ranking factor should hardly impact anyone except for a few specific queries (that we don’t know about right now unfortunately). In fact, the change has been in play for about 2 weeks so you would know by now if page speed is affecting your rankings.

Google will measure page speed two ways: (1) How a page responds to the Googlebot and (2) Load time as measured by the Google Toolbar.

Different posts on WebMasterWorld, DigitalPoints and Google Webmaster forums confirm that this isn’t a major factor in the over 200 elements that make up Google’s ranking algorithm. However, there are some good tips in there if you think you’re rankings are being affected by this change.

Filed Under: Forum Watch, SEO Technology Tagged With: , , ,

5 Strategies to Maintaining and Enhancing Top Google Rankings once you’re there

March 19, 2010 By

Most resources and articles I come across provide tips on getting top search engine rankings…but once I’m there, how do I stay on top?

There are literally millions of websites circulating the Internet with several who are in the same industry or niche you’re in. They all want to get to the top of the search engines, knocking you out of their way in the process.

So if you have accomplished the feat of achieving top rankings in the search engines, you need a strategy to keep you there. Continue reading to learn 5 strategies you can employ to maintain your top position in the search engines.

1. Increase link-ability

Success in SEO depends a lot on having great content with lots of inbound links. But getting to #1 isn’t an excuse to take it easy. You need to maintain your ranking page’s link-ability if you’re going to stay on top.

Some ways you can encourage links to your site include: improve your site design, continue building good content and temporarily remove advertising. Too much advertising on a webpage can potentially turn people off.

2. Find new links on your own

Look for additional linking opportunities by guest posting, article marketing and good old fashion asking. If you’re at the top for a certain competitive keyword, you can leverage your position to get additional links.

3. Get more clicks and conversions by tweaking site elements

Getting to #1 isn’t the sole goal of online marketing and SEO. You may have a page that’s ranked #1 for a certain keyword but it won’t stay there long if you’re not getting enough people to click on your site. Tweak title tags and metatags to draw attention but don’t do it too much since search engines take time to adjust to these changes. Doing this too much may cost you your #1 position.

This is also the time you should test different things on your homepage to see what works better in terms of conversions. For instance, is a blue “buy” button better than a green one?

4. Expand keywords for more ranking opportunities

Another way to maintain your #1 ranking is to expand the scope of keywords on your ranking page. This will dilute your keywords somewhat but it shouldn’t affect your position if you follow the tips outlined in step #1 and #2.

Let’s say your top keyword is “green clocks” – add “green clocks in California” for more specific searches. The majority of searches are done using long-tail keywords so if you narrowly focus on one keyword, you may lose your #1 ranking as fast as you got it.

5. Future proof your SEO

Something that may work today may not work tomorrow. Google is always changing their algorithms based on new trends and technology. You need to stay ahead of the curve by knowing what’s going on out there and adjusting your site accordingly.

In addition to good content and quality links, Google and others are starting to also focus on: traffic/user engagement, branding and social media.

Employ these kinds of strategies when managing your websites to improve the chances of holding on to your #1 ranking in the search engines. Learn more about these 5 strategies to maintaining #1 search engine rankings here.

Filed Under: SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , ,
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