Search Engine Ranking Algorithms - Radical Change Ahead

The most important indicator of whether a search engine algorithm is effectively indexing webpages is whether keyword searches generate relevant results, ranked according to importance. As Google is the search engine of choice for the vast majority of people, it would appear that Google is out-performing its competitors in relation to this quality indicator.

While the number of good quality inbound links to a website is known to have the greatest influence on Google rank, on-site factors are also important. The problem is that because much is known about what improves Google search ranks, and indeed search ranks for other search engines, considerable effort and expense, expertly applied, can yield impressive results.

Given that labor-intensive and costly search engine optimization strategies cannot be deployed as intensively or extensively by the smaller companies or the single operator, their websites are unlikely to perform well in terms of search rank compared to the giant organizations.

In addition, the giants have numerous networks and divisions which can easily provide backlinks from long-established websites. As these websites are invariably regarded by Google as important, they attract a high Google PageRank which greatly assists search rank for the back linked page. Again, the smaller player does not have these ready-made networks to deploy.

As a result of the above, the larger organizations tend to dominate the top places for the most competitive keywords. As these are the very brands and services that the public will want to check out, arguably, the search engine algorithm is achieving the desired outcome.

Aware of the aggressive search engine optimization tactics deployed by the large organizations, Google has worked hard to improve its algorithm so that it is more able to detect sudden increases in high quality back links which could only have been generated by targeted SEO campaigns. The easy SEO solution, of course, is to roll out these links more gradually so they are impossible to identify.

If the above manipulations are indeed the main determinants of search rank, then high search rank is an exclusive club, with membership reserved for an elite group of well-established service providers. The difficulty with this is that the strength of the internet, arguably, is that the small provider should be visible in searches if that provider offers a good service. At the present time, such services tend to be several pages down the search ranks and they are therefore effectively invisible to the public.

The good news in relation to this is that Google and other search engines are well-aware of this issue and are working towards solutions. In particular, website content is becoming more important in the determination of search rank.

The embryonic new search engine Cuil, that utilizes only website content to rank pages, is spearheading this movement. Unfortunately, Cuil search results currently lack the relevance of the popular search engines but as their algorithm improves, they could become an important competitor to Google.

Of course the reality is that the bigger players will continually shift their strategies to take account of algorithmic changes in order to stay ahead of their smaller competitors. It will be more difficult than currently, however, which should assist some smaller businesses to thrive.

Change is in the algorithmic air. Exciting new directions in SEO, particularly for the smaller organizations, are ahead.

The Successful Affiliates Guide provides guidance on effective SEO strategies for the small business.