Search Engine Optimization NEWS

By now most of you have heard at least some mentions of Google’s upcoming algorithm update. Nicknamed Caffeine, Google has been brewing this update for many months and expects to serve it up late this January. Google engineer and Quality Control Team leader Matt Cutts has described the Caffeine update as being the largest and most fundamental change to the Google system since its Big Daddy update of 2005.

Caffeine: Threat or Opportunity?

When algorithms change, rankings change. It’s as simple as that. But it’s not necessarily a bad thing: search engine optimization is a zero sum game…there are exactly ten results that will always show up in the top ten. So, one site’s loss is another site’s gain. What can you do to make sure you are on the beneficiary side of this update? First and foremost, you must understand the essential elements of Caffeine.

Caffeine Ingredients?

What is Caffeine? How will it affect search results? How does link building fit into the mix? What can you do to prepare for Caffeine? While we are not sitting in the Google kitchen, we have been shown a preview of what is cooking.

First and foremost, the name provides significant insight. Why Caffeine? The new update focuses on speed and sharper focus. Fewer search results served up faster. To do this, Google is completely rewriting their indexing system to crawl faster, index more efficiently, and serve up fewer results much more quickly. Content freshness will (finally) start to play the more important role it deserves; old outdated and stale content will be more readily expunged. Our explorations into Caffeine results have shown a reduction in the result set of anywhere from 30-70%!

The Role of Links

Links are still the key differentiator to move the needle forward once you have some initial traction in the search engine results. Unlike some past algorithmic update shakeups, Caffeine is not targeted to changing the criteria of links and other off-page factors. Rather, the on-page factors of a site are the variables in play.

Successful SEO is still very much the same in the post-Caffeine world. Only more so. In order for links to be most effective, they must be directed towards pages on sites which are quick to load, efficient in their coding, architected to facilitate a flatter crawl structure, and featuring a high percentage of unique target relevant content. To this last point, be assured that if your site has volumes of pages that contain repurposed content or largely redundant templated content, Caffeine will definitely not be your friend.

Effects on Social Media Marketing

SEO firm Submit-Site.com expects a huge surge in the use of Social Media Marketing strategies as an effective Internet Marketing platform. Based primarily on Google Caffeine ‘Real Time’ search results. Irbtrax also expects many Internet dependent businesses will be quickly turning their attention toward becoming Social Media Marketing savvy, creating a tremendous growth opportunity for Social Media experts to apply their trade.

Social Media SEO benefits within Google Caffeine include but are not limited to:

• Ability to make ‘Real Time’ announcements
• Funneling new visitors to a website or Blog
• Helping create backlinks using a different ‘channel’
• Wider Internet visibility and enhanced Branding techniques

Too Much Caffeine Got You Nervous?

Caffeine is fundamentally a big change for Google, and invariably you will see fluctuation (positive and negative) in your organic search rankings. This fluctuation will be driven by the extent to which your site is more or less compliant to the aforementioned factors vs. your competitor sites. Understanding why rankings for you and your competition change in the upcoming weeks is the key first step to ensure your reactions and responses are appropriate and effective.

Stay tuned for more posts on the impending Caffeine debacle.