Tag Archives: Search Engine Land

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Right to be Forgotten on Google

“How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results: The internet giant uses blacklists, algorithm tweaks and an army of contractors to shape what you see”, an investigative report by The Wall Street Journal,  is a disturbing read. It has also raised much concern in the SEO (search engine optimization) community.

The article is behind a paid firewall. These are some key excerpts:

“The company states in a Google blog, “We do not use human curation to collect or arrange the results on a page.” It says it can’t divulge details about how the algorithms work because the company is involved in a long-running and high-stakes battle with those who want to profit by gaming the system.

“But that message often clashes with what happens behind the scenes. Over time, Google has increasingly re-engineered and interfered with search results to a far greater degree than the company and its executives have acknowledged, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.

“…Google’s evolving approach marks a shift from its founding philosophy of “organizing the world’s information,” to one that is far more active in deciding how that information should appear.

“….Far from being autonomous computer programs oblivious to outside pressure, Google’s algorithms are subject to regular tinkering from executives and engineers who are trying to deliver relevant search results, while also pleasing a wide variety of powerful interests and driving its parent company’s more than $30 billion in annual profit.”

Barry Schwartz, a leader in the SEO community, published this article on Search Engine Land in response: “Misquoted and misunderstood: Why many in the search community don’t believe the WSJ about Google search.”

Both articles provide insight into the challenges facing Google…and the challenges inherent in trying to produce the world’s most accurate search results, which has long been Google’s stated mission.

 
 
Google, Online reputation management, , , , , , , ,
Right to be Forgotten on Google

Google has just launched an attack on “fake news and problematic content,” including “rumors, urban myths, slurs or derogatory topics.” That is good news for anyone (and any organization) plagued by such issues. It is bad news for low-quality content, fake links and other tactics used to trick Google into suppressing as well as raising online content.

We like it. Now you, the consumer, can flag false, biased, offensive and inaccurate content that Google brings up on search suggestions. You can also include a note that explains why Google should remove it. Equally beneficial, the Internet can potentially become a fairer playing field.

Last week Danny Sullivan, a leading search engine expert, wrote the defining explanation of what this means. These are excerpts from his article on Search Engine Land :

Google knows it has a search quality problem. It’s been plagued since November with concerns about fake news, disturbing answers and offensive search suggestions appearing at the top of its results. “Project Owl” is an effort by the company to address these issues, with three specific actions being announced today.

In particular, Google is launching:

  • a new feedback form for search suggestions, plus formal policies about why suggestions might be removed.
  • a new feedback form for “Featured Snippets” answers.
  • a new emphasis on authoritative content to improve search quality.

“Problematic searches” is a term I’ve been giving to a situations where Google is coping with the consequences of the “post-truth” world. People are increasingly producing content that reaffirms a particular world view or opinion regardless of actual facts. In addition, people are searching in enough volume for rumors, urban myths, slurs or derogatory topics that they’re influencing the search suggestions that Google offers in offensive and possibly dangerous ways.

“These are problematic searches, because they don’t fall in the clear-cut areas where Google has typically taken action. Google has long dealt with search spam, where people try to manipulate its results outside acceptable practices for monetary gain. It has had to deal with piracy. It’s had to deal with poor-quality content showing up for popular searches.

“Problematic searches aren’t any of those issues. Instead, they involve fake news, where people completely make things up. They involve heavily-biased content. They involve rumors, conspiracies and myths. They can include shocking or offensive information. They pose an entirely new quality problem for Google, hence my dubbing them “problematic searches.”

Read his full article: Google’s ‘Project Owl’ — a three-pronged attack on fake news & problematic content.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , , ,

Beginning in February 2011, Google began implementing a series of changes to its search algorithm that remove more low-quality sites from search results. The update, termed “Google Panda,” correspondingly rewards high-quality websites.

Google Panda 4.2 is being phased in slowly over the coming months. If you see the search ranking for your website change abruptly, the update is the likely explanation. The updated algorithm penalizes spelling and grammatical errors, as well as slow speed and redundant content. Search Engine Land provides a comprehensive guide to Panda. It will answer many of your questions.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , , , , , ,
SEO: What You Need to Know

Search engine optimization is constantly evolving. For more than a decade SEO experts have been able to adapt many of their strategies in relation to the periodic changes that Google has made to its search algorithms. Now that one of Google’s major algorithms is transitioning to more continuous updates, SEO is becoming an even more fluid practice. With this shift, understanding both the core fundamentals and the latest factors involved in effective SEO will be more important than ever.

Google’s Webmaster Tools

With so many experts and firms out there offering a variety of services and advice, it’s easy to overlook the valuable resources that Google itself provides for free through its Webmaster Tools. It’s Webmaster Guidelines, for example, offer a concise overview of the fundamentals of SEO, dividing them into three key areas. The design and content section recommends creating “a useful, information-rich site” that has “a clear hierarchy and text links” and points to best practices for media content and rich snippets. The technical guidelines cover the basics of how Google “crawls” websites and the importance of the robots.txt file. Perhaps most important, though, are the quality guidelines, which, in addition to listing specific “illicit practices” to avoid, identifies four basic principles to follow:

  • Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.
  • Don’t deceive your users.
  • Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you’d feel comfortable explaining what you’ve done to a website that competes with you, or to a Google employee. Another useful test is to ask, “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?”
  • Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Make your website stand out from others in your field.

Planning for the future

Google’s latest algorithm updates are likely ushering in a new era of SEO. “The old linking tactics and the old junk content — they’re not part of a valuable strategy and won’t bring the results you are looking for,” Search Engine Land columnist Aaron Friedman warns. This will make the principles listed above even more vital, but fortunately they align quite nicely with good online reputation management practices. “Create good, high quality content,” Friedman recommends. “Earn relevant and solid links because of the incredible content you build.”

That echoes my own outlook back in 2012, when I wrote that “creating great content is the only long-term strategy for building page rank.” Content isn’t everything, of course. With developments like Google’s new “Mobile Friendly” ranking and the growing popularity of voice searches, user experience is also becoming a more important part of SEO—as is social media. Outdated practices will give way to these factors, but not much will change for those already employing smart ORM strategies and adhering to Google’s principles. SEO engineer Mike King put it best in a Search Engine Land post compiling experts’ predictions for 2015: “Great SEO is really no different than it was a few years ago. Terrible SEO is what’s changed drastically.”