Google plans to penalize 'overly optimized' sites

[Archangel]

A Google engineer says the company is rejiggering its search results so that sites with excessive optimization don't trump sites with solid content.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57...optimized-sites/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

 

[silentg]

From what I have seen on Google: Their results got worse after their panda updates.

 

[JPC-Sabrina]

Content over optimization seems to be where Google is headed and intends to stay for a while. That stance will put some good authors to work at the very least.

 

[Veronika11]

wow..that would make browsing the internet more fun again

 

[enlytend]

Quote from a transcription of Matt's statements:

"... we’ve been working on changes to try to make sure that if you are a White Hat or if you’ve been doing very little SEO that you are going to not be affected by this change. But if you’ve been going way far beyond the pale, then that’s the sort of thing where your site might not rank as highly as it did before."

If you want to read more, Matt Snell transcribed the entire discussion - Matt Cutts, Duane Forrester (Bing) and Danny Sullivan.

 

[ommedu]

I just think google needs to completely rewrite their algorithm. There are so many sites ranking #1 on google that are "over optimized" and google still favors sites that have an exact keyword within the domain name. Not that it's to stop anyone from doing the same but all these added measures to stop these over optimizers just makes it harder for those that are trying hard to develop a legitimate site. I think Google's search engine algorithm is almost a conspiracy. The fact that it's near impossible to have your newly registered domain show up in search results for the first 6 months makes you almost need to purchase google adwords advertising. Google used to be a great resource now it's hard to take any information their results throw at you seriously.

 

[alien51]

The fact that it's near impossible to have your newly registered domain show up in search results for the first 6 months makes you almost need to purchase google adwords advertising.

I'm not sure about that. I have hand-regged exotic (non-dictionary) domains myself (as in year zero) to be used as a 'brandable' name for a business or company, and in about 2-3 weeks they all started showing up on Google search results.

 

[iowadawg]

What?
I have got newly registered domains set up with sites or blogs and indexed in google.
All in the same DAY!!!

I am always wondering if people actually think their new domain and site is not indexed in google when it really is.

 

[mhdoc]

I think that should have been "sites with NEW content". I have a very white hat site published since 1998 that took a big hit in mid November. After attending one of their "AdSense in your city" meetings I came away with the feeling that new content has become a much larger part of the rankings. Those of us in niches that don't change much will have to find a way to manufacture "new" content or loose our rankings.

 

[dcristo]

I think that should have been "sites with NEW content". I have a very white hat site published since 1998 that took a big hit in mid November. After attending one of their "AdSense in your city" meetings I came away with the feeling that new content has become a much larger part of the rankings. Those of us in niches that don't change much will have to find a way to manufacture "new" content or loose our rankings.

so do you think adding new content can affect rankings on a domain level now, and it's not purely on a page/keyword level?

in late 2011 i know there was an update with emphasis on fresher results, but that was dependent on the search query.

it makes sense that some searches return more recent results, but you seem to be suggesting something else.

 

[mhdoc]

so do you think adding new content can affect rankings on a domain level now, and it's not purely on a page/keyword level?

in late 2011 i know there was an update with emphasis on fresher results, but that was dependent on the search query.

it makes sense that some searches return more recent results, but you seem to be suggesting something else.

I lost 2/3's of my traffic overnight so I assume it was an algo change. About 90% of my traffic came from long tail searches. My pages have never been very keyword optimized. I was writing about a subject I know well so I figured I just used the vernacular of the trade and keywords would take care of themselves.

The click through rate hasn't changed. The suggestion at the AdSense in your town meeting was to update content more frequently, add more pictures, and possibly video. On the other hand I didn't get the feeling the Google staff doing the presentation knew anything that wasn't common knowledge.

Others at the meeting reported their traffic had stayed the same but their clicks had dropped. Other the reverse. I couldn't see a pattern.

My sense is that all these companies (G, Ebay, etc.) get more bureaucratic over time and successful techniques evolve. I'm tired of playing the game so I have backed off to think about different approaches to income generation that work better and be more fun.

 

[dcristo]

You were hit by panda there is no question about it.

Panda was rolled out early on in 2011 but they ramped things up in late 2011, particularly around October/November.

IMO simply adding new pages for the sake of freshness is not the solution. In fact, if you look at what G is saying, they're suggesting a few low quality pages can be detrimental to your site as a whole. So if your goal is to regularly update your site, whilst not being able to maintain the same quality, you're likely doing more harm than good.

Anyway, don't let it get to you man. If there is anything to learn from panda, it's to diversify and not be so reliant on any one site for revenue. I've seen too many innocent sites take a hit to risk putting all my eggs in the one basket, but that's the beauty of online marketing, you can expand to new markets fairly easily.

 

[mhdoc]

IMO simply adding new pages for the sake of freshness is not the solution. In fact, if you look at what G is saying, they're suggesting a few low quality pages can be detrimental to your site as a whole. So if your goal is to regularly update your site, whilst not being able to maintain the same quality, you're likely doing more harm than good.

Interesting thoughts. I get a lot of comments and had started answering them on a regular basis. The result was that some pages probably have 40-60 one paragraph comments each with my 2-5 paragraph answers. Since people tend to ask their questions without reading through the previous comments many of the questions are very similar. Makes me wonder if the spider sees that as lower quality.

 

[ommedu]

I'm not talking about being indexed in google, that you can achieve by simply setting up a wordpress blog. I am talking about your website being able to be ranked for keywords that are searched. For example your site is called sdlfslfj.com and your keyword is "making money online fast" I don't know exactly how competitive that keyword is, but that isn't the point. The point is google will not rank your website highly in it's search results unless your domain is aged around 6 months or so. This is not really made public by google, and some people will beg to differ. Most webmasters will agree that google put's a huge advantage on both aged domains and domains with exact keywords. All this does is add to the hardships that an honest developer has to go through. People are literally using the adwords keyword tool and registering any domains with a high exact search rate keyword. It makes for a massive wall of spam infested search results to get ahead of if you are trying to get that same keyword ranked legitimately.

I'm not sure about that. I have hand-regged exotic (non-dictionary) domains myself (as in year zero) to be used as a 'brandable' name for a business or company, and in about 2-3 weeks they all started showing up on Google search results.

 

[enlytend]

The result was that some pages probably have 40-60 one paragraph comments each with my 2-5 paragraph answers. Since people tend to ask their questions without reading through the previous comments many of the questions are very similar. Makes me wonder if the spider sees that as lower quality.

Hmmm - not that likely. Panda, for the most part, has favored UGC. Are there any other parts of your site that might be "thin" in content?

 

[IMEZI]

seem this not just google plans, i think this has been done quietly.... Google starting take down (deindex) private blognetwork....

 

[phowell23]

Didn't Google already state this during their first Panda updates last year?

 

[Sumith]

After panda update most of the sites are affected.Is there have any recovery over it?

 

[silentg]

If you're using these methods to get your site to rank higher then you'll be hit by Google update.

- automated link exchange networks that add your link to hundreds on other websites
- tools that automatically create fake forum accounts and comments with a link to your site
- tools that automatically create keyword rich web pages for you on your website
- participating in paid link schemes

 

[Traveler]

I wish they would say what overly optimized means. Anyone with a bit of knowledge about getting a site ranked knows that SEO is important, so sites are optimized. I hope they are talking about offsite optimization not onsite.