TRAFFIC
GOOGLE TURNS UP THE
CONTENT REWARD DIAL
Google has finally admitted there has been a change to the core algorithm relating to how “quality
signals” work when measuring content quality. Simon Penson of Zazzle Media analyses the very early
impacts and what they could mean for iGaming.
I WANT TO begin this article with a
caveat. You’re probably thinking right
about now that we haven’t started well.
There are, surely smarter ways of enticing a
reader into a 1,000 word piece!
So, why kick things off with such a
deflationary comment? Simply because, out
of context, the data I want to share over the
next few pages could be perceived as being
the output of a major scientific test.
But while it is not the result of thousands
of hours of analysis, it is hot off the press
and worthy of sharing to begin a much
wider debate on the most recent Google
update, one which will have major ongoing
ramifications for the future.
When search marketers started noticing
significant movement in early May, the
industry fully expected it to go unexplained
as just another of the search giant’s
algorithm tweaks.
Then something unexpected happened.
Google came out and admitted that there
had been a change to the core algorithm
relating to how ‘quality signals’ work when
measuring content quality (Ed’s note –
please also see Nick Garner’s articles in
iGB Affiliate issues 49, 50 and 51).
and even the relevance and quality of the
links pointing out of, and into, that content.
Search patent writer Bill Slawski has
covered this in detail on his blog, and explains
how the filter may work in principle1. What
becomes clear from his research is that
there are definitely areas NOT covered by
the patent that could very easily be used to
further validate content quality.
measurement had been performed
through the infamous algorithm patent, so
understanding what that covers goes some
way to telling us what this is therefore
looking at.
Panda
Panda was first released in February 2011
and affected more than 10% of queries,
and focused on a number of factors to
understand content quality.
Those factors, as far as the patent
explains, looked at everything from how
well content is written on page, how well
the page fits navigationally within the query
Other factors
So far then, we know that this latest update
is NOT Panda, so what is it? Google
has told us very little in real terms, but
has admitted that it is part of the core
“When search marketers started noticing significant
movement in early May, the industry fully expected it
to go unexplained as just another of the search giant’s
algorithm tweaks.”
Figure 1: Correlation between dwell time on site and keyword rankings
What is it targeting?
This is a big deal for several reasons, but
the one eye-opening admission is that the
update is NOT a Panda-related change.
Traditionally, any content quality
1
20
iGB Affiliate Issue 51 JUNE/JULY 2015
http://www.seobythesea.com/2014/04/the-panda-patent/