Google Revealed Some of How They Rank Websites in a Recent Patent Application
With the newly released patent application we have a clearer window into the inner workings of the Google ranking formula. Before we begin let me say that just because they filed a patent doesn’t guarantee that they are implementing these changes. This is only intended to give you something to think about.
The patent was filed in 2003 but has just been released to the public. The patent covers how Google ranks pages and how they detect spam. It also states what they categorize as spam. To no surprise they look at your domain name registration info to analyze the length of time that your site has been registered. Domain names that have been recently purchased or that are purchased for only 1 year at a time may be considered Spam. Other factors that they may be using include the age of a page and how frequently it is updated. This is important to any web designer or SEO who works on a retainer fee for their clients. It means that your clients websites must be updated on a regular basis.
Linking has always been a way to build your search engine rankings. Many companies on the Internet offer ways to artificially boost your links to improve your rank. Google is well aware of these tricks and will eventually be penalizing link abusers. Our tried and true method of having quality content and getting people to link back to you is and will always be the best way to increase your search engine rankings. See our Link Bait Column.
One of the biggest surprises is that they may be looking into Click Tracking to determine a pages popularity. Click tracking is the monitoring of which links are clicked on in the Search Engine Results Page(SERPS). If your site is ranked #1 for your keyword Widgets and people usually click on one of your competitors links in the SERPS then your competitor will eventually rank higher than you. They may also be analyzing how long your visitors are staying on your pages or the stickiness of your website. This is important because it emphasizes the need for a clean website with relevant and usable content. If people are turned off of your website which ranks #1 for Widgets and click the back button then click on your competitors website then guess what, Google will eventually lower your SERP ranking.
This may or may not be good news to you, but if you are a legitimate White Hat SEO then you probably do not have much to worry about. The old tried and true methods for SEO still hold true. Tomorrow we will cover the importance of choosing the right host and how it relates to the Google patent.
Good Luck,
Spencer Hoyt
Spencer Hoyt is the President of Comit Technologies a leading Search Engine Optimization Firm. Hoyt has led a team of SEO professional to become Louisiana’s largest SEO firm. You can stay informed with Hoyt’s SEO Blog for all the changes in the SEO field.