Does Google Caffeine Mean Doom For Internet Marketers?
December 24, 2009 6:33 am SE OptimizationIf you are one of the few who hasn't heard... Google Caffeine is the name given to Google's next generation search engine. It is said that it will be used to rank and index all the pages on the Matrix... OOOPPSSS! I meant the world wide web.
Google Caffeine is more than just one of Google's frequent updates, they are going to release a complete overhaul of their search engine. Google 2.0 if you will... They have improved their search technology as well as the algorithm used to index your website.
Matt Cutts one of Google's Spokespersons told fellow bloggers that Google already has one database online, but the full blown version won't be released until after the Holidays. This came as good news to most online business owners. In the past Google would make their changes right before the Holidays which caused a huge ruckus as you could probably guess.
Finally a webmasters dream come true. It would appear that Google has finally started listening to the cries of the Internet Marketers. As of late Google has been a little more forthcoming as far as how they index web pages. The real shocker was when Google opened up and allowed a selected few to beta test an early version of Caffeine. The even bigger shocker was yours truly The Toronto SEO Bully was one of the selected few.
I voweled to deliver top-notch information to those on my list. As I was beta testing I was constantly reporting feedback back to my students. Now I'm going to release this information to you, but I must forewarn you - I am sharing my educated opinions based on my personal test results. I also compared notes with a few other Veteran Internet Marketers. I am saying this to say - DO NOT go changing your entire business model around based on the information you get from me. Please, please, please, do your own testing. If you have any experience in Internet Marketing you know that Google changes their plans at the blink of an eye.
With my disclaimer behind us let's move forward. Here's something that I just found out from a friend of mine at Google. They are throwing a new criteria in the mix. With there new search engine overhaul, "Site Speed", the amount of time it takes for your page to load will become a bigger factor in your over all page ranking. My friend also confirmed that websites will be penalized for broken links found on there pages. These are things that were just speculation before, now it's out in the open and can be listed in the "Fact" column.
It would also appear that the quality of your website will play a bigger role in rankings. After all it should... Put yourself in Google's shoes for a moment, they are no different then any other company that is putting out a product. If there product is of poor quality it reflects badly on everyone involved. The key to Google's success is their SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) after all it is the key to all of their online revenue. It is their job to do whatever they have to keep their product fast, relevant, current and above all it must be of the highest quality.
My test results show that On Page factors will definitely play a bigger role with the new Google Caffeine. Unique content will carry more weight, page design, navigation, title, meta tags, description, keyword density, alt tags, page views, bounce rate, traffic numbers, time spent on page, and the number of social bookmarks may play an increased role in achieving higher rankings. For those of you that make a living via Adsense you may want to start figuring out a new game plan as far as bounce rate becoming a factor.
The information in the above paragraph for the most part was derived via my personal testings. However the one thing that is a fact, and I am 100% sure of is that Social BookMarking will play a huge factor in Google's new algorithm.
Hold on before you start getting all nervous. I can just imagine all of the Internet Marketers reading this clinching their fist and yelling towards the sky, "DAMN IT GOOGLE YOU HAVE SCREWED ME ONCE AGAIN!!!!" Well before you take it that far let me tell you something... This may very well be the best thing that has ever happen for the small online entrepreneurs. If Caffeine is anything close to what the beta version was like, it would appear that Google is trying to level the playing field by doing a way with the unfair practices of link buying. We all know that if you have enough money you can buy your way to the top of the search engine results. All indications show that Google is attempting to do away with this problem.
My test results for backlinks came up inconclusive time and time again. With that thought in mind here is my suggestion. Keep building backlinks it damn sure couldn't hurt, as long as they are quality backlinks i.e. article directories. Keyworded domains and good content combined with a few other on page factors did weigh in pretty high.
Here's a little secret straight from The Toronto SEO Bully's little bag of tricks that I haven't seen anyone else reporting on. According to my test results Google is some how indexing the audio of video files. Yup... You heard me correctly... My research has proven that when I use my keyword phrase within the first 15 to 20 seconds of my video that it ranked higher than when I didn't. That one little tip alone is priceless.
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