If you’ve been paying attention to the Internet marketing rumor mill over the past few days, you’ve likely heard some rumblings about a potential Google algorithm change that may be coming over the next several weeks. Of course, nobody really knows when these things will happen, or how significant they will be, but all the ‘indicators’ seem to be pointing to something fairly significant coming in the not too distant future.
One of the biggest things that gives these rumors credibility is a video from Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search engine spam. It was a normal Webmaster Tools video, where he answers a question from someone. In this video, he talks about how Google differentiates site popularity with site authority. He goes on to talk about how Google engineers are working on an algorithm change which would factor in the context of the destination page on links to see what the sites are about.
This, he says, would improve their ability to see what types of pages should be displayed for queries. In the video he said, “We actually have some algorithmic changes that try to figure out, hey, this site is a better match for something like a medical query. And I’m looking forward to those rolling out, because a lot of people have worked hard…” (He was giving an example of ranking a specific term for medical queries at the time).
Another indication of an upcoming change is from a patent Google recently filed. Some are calling it the “Panda Patent” and it gives some insight into how Google uses their algorithm. Many search experts have found that Google will be using what they call ‘implied links’ and ‘brand mentions’ to help provide improved search results.
Of course, the exact nature of any changes is subject to speculation, which I’ll leave for others to do. Cutts’ video comments, plus the patent, and the type of rumors being discussed on Internet Marketing forums and other locations all seem to point to an upcoming algorithm change by Google.
For now, all we can do is wait and see, but make sure to keep an eye on your rankings, and wait to see what Google does.
You can also read a very detailed analysis of the patent, and what some experts believe it will mean for webmasters HERE.
