Let’s start with an unavoidable truth. Google is big, dominant and here to stay for a while. So when it makes changes we all need to take note.
The degree of reaction from my clients and I would assume the whole market will tend to fall into two camps. Those that accept the changes maybe complain a little and then carry on as before. Then there are those that embrace the changes and realize the opportunities that they offer.
You may have heard about something called Google Slaps. The term was invented for the slap in the face that some web sites received when Google made changes in its search algorithm. One day they could be top of the page, the next day Google has slapped them onto page three.
However, during changes to Google’s algorithm, we will have winners as well as losers. So, surely we need to make sure that we are always one of the winners?
Google has announced this month that they are working on a new Google update called Caffine. (I know, search engines that can not spell!)You can read it yourself from Google’s own Dev Blog here. Not only have they announced this, but they have also given access to a beta version, so you can see how this new proposed version will affect you. Google are even looking for feedback from customers.
Now, as business people, I believe there are two reasons why Google is giving all this effort to a new release. Firstly, it is actually great publicity. Secondly, it suggests Google is aware of the impact such changes can make, and is giving the opportunity for those that care to work with Google.
The conclusion of all this is simple. Take advantage of the information from Google and look at the content. You must make sure you have a quality tracking application installed. Google Analytics is good, and is free, and I will not air my reservations here, but I do personally use something better (http://www.seowebtracker.com/). You need to make sure you understand your current baseline. Not only the hard numbers of visitors, but also which keywords are bringing in the most visitors.
When Google implements this new update, you will need to look at the impact and find out which of your pages are winners, and which are losers. Then you will need to apply the lessons of the former on the latter. Of course, this time you could make some of those changes BEFORE Google makes it all live?