Search Engine Land
  • SEO
    • > All SEO
    • > What Is SEO?
    • > SEO Periodic Table
    • > Google: SEO
    • > Bing SEO
    • > Google Algorithm Updates
  • PPC
    • > All PPC
    • > What is PPC?
    • > Google Ads
    • > Microsoft Ads
    • > The Periodic Tables of PPC
  • Focuses
    • > Local
    • > Commerce
    • > Shopify SEO Guide
    • > Content
    • > Email Marketing Periodic Table
    • > Social Media Marketing
    • > Analytics
    • > Search Engine Land Awards
    • > All Focuses
  • SMX
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • About
    • > About Search Engine Land
    • > Newsletter
    • > Third Door Media
    • > Advertise

Processing...Please wait.

Search Engine Land » Google » Google Algorithm Updates » Speculating On The Next Shift In Google Search Algorithms

Speculating On The Next Shift In Google Search Algorithms

On February 23, 2011, the day that Google’s Panda update was released, a significant shift in search algorithms and SEO in general happened. For the first time, user experience and content quality became ranking factors in SEO for Google. Google clearly liked the impact of that change, since they followed more recently with an update, […]

Eric Enge on May 2, 2011 at 12:54 pm

On February 23, 2011, the day that Google’s Panda update was released, a significant shift in search algorithms and SEO in general happened. For the first time, user experience and content quality became ranking factors in SEO for Google.

Google clearly liked the impact of that change, since they followed more recently with an update, rolling out Panda to more audiences, and also applied it to sites with less traffic. So Panda is here to stay, and you can expect more and more updates along the same lines.

So what’s next? What is the next shoe to drop? I believe that it will be in the area of links. There are still way too many sites that are prospering through the use of poor quality link building practices, and the Panda algorithms do not address them directly. These poor practices frustrate publishers that try to play by Google’s rules, because they see “cheaters” taking business away from them.

I believe that Google will make an algorithmic move against some of these practices in the near future. Here are some of the things they may key in on:

1.  Hit Counters

Believe it or not, there are still sites that use hit counters to get links that are prospering. Here is an example:

This site has published a hit counter from a third party, and in return, they have provided a link with the completely irrelevant anchor text “Expedia” to the company that provided the counter. I believe that creating useful tools and allowing others to publish them is a legitimate practice, but the problem with this example is the lack of relevance.

If the link back had said something like “Hit Counters” it would be a different story. Widgets relevant to the site providing them and that provide attribution links back to that site is a valid strategy as I discussed with Matt Cutts back in 2008.

2.  Useless Blog Posts

Guest posting is another link building practice which I think has a lot of value if done in the right manner. In my view, the right way is to write a quality article, give that article to only one quality site, and get an attribution link back in the credits. Contrast that with this post:

There are several easily detected signs that gives this post away. The three keyword rich links embedded in the post are just begging to be flagged. This stuff simply has to go the way of the dinosaur.

3.  Footer Links

There is really very little reason for someone to give a link that is meant to an endorsement in the footer of their website. I know that it happens legitimately some of the time, but if a high percentage of a site’s inbound links appear in the footer of other people’s sites, I would think that would be a clue of misguided link tactics. Of course, there also extreme examples like this one:

This one is extreme because the blog post on which this appeared is nowhere in sight. The link is many inches below the last bit of text on the page.

Why I Think This Shift Is Coming …

These type of link building practices are (most often) used by poor or lower quality sites. When a publisher’s promotional strategy uses manipulative techniques like this, the chances that they go home at night worrying about how to add more value to their users is relatively small.

Google took one big step forward with Panda, using one set of signals that they were able to show through internal testing, to help improve search results. The type of link building illustrated here is another set of signals ripe for picking. No doubt that it will require serious effort and tuning to get it right.

Processing these types of problems algorithmically isn’t as simple as it may seem on the surface, but with testing the search engines can find a way to clean out a lot of crappy sites.

My advice to readers of this column is to stay clear of these types of shady practices. I have no way to predict precisely when, but I believe that their time is coming, and you don’t want get caught in the crossfire.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


New on Search Engine Land

    What are your secrets to overcoming marketing challenges? Take our survey

    10 reasons to join us at SMX Advanced online this June

    How to ensure influencers help your SEO campaigns

    Webinar: Dominate your competition with Google auction insights and search intelligence

    Vimeo adds structured data to all public videos to improve Google Search visibility

About The Author

Eric Enge
Eric Enge is President of Pilot Holding. Previously, Eric was the founder and CEO of Stone Temple, an award-winning digital marketing agency, which was acquired by Perficient in July 2018. He is the lead co-author of The Art of SEO, a 900+ page book that’s known in the industry as “the bible of SEO.” In 2016, Enge was awarded Search Engine Land’s Landy Award for Search Marketer of the Year, and US Search Awards Search Personality of the Year. He is a prolific writer, researcher, teacher and a sought-after keynote speaker and panelist at major industry conferences.

Related Topics

Google Algorithm UpdatesLink BuildingSEO

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Learn actionable search marketing tactics that can help you drive more traffic, leads, and revenue.

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 15-16, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover time-saving technologies and actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges.

Start Discovering Now: Spring (virtual)

September 28-29, 2022: Fall (virtual)

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

Webinars

Data-Driven Answers to Achieve Omnichannel Success

Is Your Marketing Stack Ready for Omnichannel CX?

Outrank in Organic Search with These 5 Core Tactics

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

The Progressive Marketer’s Ultimate Events Strategy 2022 Worksheet

CMO Guide: How to Plan Smart and Pivot Fast

The Retail Renaissance Report, USA Edition: 4 Keys to Predicting Online & In-Store Demand Across Global Markets

Thinking Bigger About Marketing Budgets

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily search news and analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • SEO
  • PPC

Our Events

  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX
  • MarTech

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.