Marketing Defined

The Secret to Top10 Google Rankings is out, and this is official information condensed in non-technical English straight from the penmanship of Google’s technical team.

Google’s recent patent applications have allowed us to decipher the critical points which must be applied for a Website to attain high Page Rank, and Increase Free Website Traffic.

Some of the information in the following article is a reinforcement of previous Posts in this Blog, and in particular adds weight to the last Post on The Importance of Inbound Links for Google Page Rank.

How many years did you register your domain name for?

If it’s only one then that’s a point against you in Google’s eyes. Why? …

Because the majority of Spam websites only register a domain name for one year. A domain registered for a longer period implies that the owner is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their web site.

This is just one of the unusual factors now considered by Google when indexing and ranking a website.

Factors you could never even have guessed at in some cases. How do I know this?

Google’s filing of United States Patent Application number 20050071741 on March 31, 2005,  revealed many of the search giant’s secret ranking criteria… making it essential reading.

You have got to read this if you’re serious about ranking well in Google.  Pay close attention to the points in this article, particularly if you are a small business owner in the process of branding your name in your chosen niche.

The days of spamming Google are drawing to a close.

With this patent Google reveal just how hard they’re coming down on Spam sites. You Do NOT want to get caught out.

[Update Sept 2008: To compound that fact: if you spam, you now break the law... Just heard on the telly the case of a US based spammer who copped a 7 year prison term for heading a spamming empire that earned him $20,000 daily - yes, that is daily]

Below you will find the hard facts - perhaps a good idea to bookmark this page now as a reference point to optimize a new site.  All of the points are still pertinent as I update the article in Sep 2008

LINKS

It’s common knowledge that Google relies heavily on inbound relevant links to rank a site. Now they explain exactly how it works.

This is a major factor so I’ll take a few paragraphs to explain what is going on.

As well as the number, quality and anchor text factors of a link.

Google seems to also consider historical factors. Google’s sandbox or aging delay begins countdown the minute links to a new site are discovered.

Google records the discovery of a link and link changes over time. The speed at which a site gains links and the link life span. With this in mind fast link acquisition may be a strong indicator of potential search engine Spam.

Gone are the days of pages and pages full of link farms.

You must grow your links slowly to stay below the radar and be careful who you exchange links with.

That means no more buying hundreds of links at once or other underhand tactics. Page Rank has suddenly become valuable.

Your link anchor text should vary but remain consistent with your site content. No more using your main keywords on every link exchange you gain. That’s ‘anchor Spam’. Instead vary them around your top five to ten keywords.

Link exchanges are still very important but you must work and utilize them ethically.

If you don’t and you get caught the recovery from a ban can be months in coming and your host and IP may also be recorded. Softly, softly seems to be the message.

The fact is fewer but better quality links will benefit you more anyway and likely to be more long-term which is good to.

SITE CLICK THROUGH RATES

Site CTR may now be monitored through cache, temporary files, bookmarks and favorites via the Google toolbar or desktop tools.

Many have suspected for some time that sites are reward for good CTR with a raise in ranking. Similar to how Adwords works.

CTR is monitored to see if fresh or stale content is preferred for a search result. CTR is monitored for increases or decreases relating to trends or seasons.

TOP10 RANKING SCORECARD

• Web page rankings are recorded and monitored for changes.
• The traffic to a web page is recorded and monitored over time.
• Sites can be ranked seasonally. A Ski site may rank higher in the winter than in the summer. Google can monitor and rank pages by recording CTR changes by season.
• Bookmarks and favorites could be monitored for changes, deletions or additions.
• User behavior in general could be monitored. As Google is capable of tracking traffic to your site you should closely monitor the small amount of copy returned in search results. Ideally you want to integrate a call to action in there to increase CTR.
• Clicks away from your site back to the search results are also monitored.
• Make a site as sticky as possible to keep visitors there longer. As mentioned above it may also help if you could get your visitors to bookmark you.
• The frequency and amount of page updates is monitored and recorded as is the number of pages. Mass updates of hundreds of files will see you pop up on the radar.
• On the other hand too few or too small updates to your site could see your rankings slide. Unless your CTR is good.
• A stale page that receives good traffic may hold it’s own and not require an update. So don’t update for the sake of it.
• Depending on your market fresh content may not be a requirement. If the information your pages contain does not go out of date then updating may not be necessary.
• If your market is more news based for example then changes regularly are a must. In general changes don’t necessarily have to mean fresh content. They could involve simple edits to current content.
• A further indicator that Google is really cracking down on Spam is made clear in the following extract from the Patent. Mention is made of changing the focus of multiple pages at once.

Here is the exact quote from Google:

“A significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable ….”

Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate Spam.

For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a stable period of time and then a sudden spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a doorway document.

Another indication may include the sudden disappearance of the original topics associated with the document.

If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document.”

MORE KEY POINTS TO LOOK OUT FOR

• Changes in on-page keyword density is monitored and recorded as are changes to anchor text.
• The domain name owner’s address is considered most likely to help in a local search result.
• The technical and admin contact details are checked for consistency. These are often falsified for Spam domains.
• Your hosts IP address. If you are on a shared server it’s possible somebody else on that server is using dirty tactics or Spamming. If so your site will suffer since you share the same IP.

The impression I get here is that Google have learned from the Spam attack they suffered in early 2004 and are determined to eradicate it. So what do you do?

There’s a lot to take onboard here and consider.  But you can’t go far wrong with your SE marketing if you try to grow your site as organically as possible. If you know what you’re doing you can take short cuts, but you must apply the following thinking at all times.

• Continue with link exchanges but consider each site carefully and slow down in your gathering of them.  Crucially a one way inbound link counts for far more than ten reciprocated inks.
• Vary your anchor text.
• Add small amounts of good quality original content to your site regularly.
• Check your search engine listings and edit your site to include a call to action in them if possible.
• Make your site more sticky to encourage visitors to stay a while.  The home page of a well thought out magazine style Wordpress theme is excellent link bait, offering visitors a multitude of options to venture deeper into your blog.  Encourage visitors to Bookmark your site - I always include a call to action to bookmark a web page at the very top of the sidebar of each blog.
• Oh! and it appears to be an absolute must…  to register new domain names for at least two years and more.

Here’s hoping the above serves as a starting point when planning the design of any new website or blog.   It may just save you months of misery and prevent your site getting banned or ‘Sand boxed’.  Stick to these  guidelines and you are far more likely to outlast and out rank your competition

Overall keep it ethical and you can’t go wrong.

NOTE:  Personally don’t like the word “secret” to describe previously published SEO requirements, but posted this article…  as it certainly reinforces the validity of adhering to Google’s strict requirements in a webmaster’s quest  to Increase targeted website traffic

Your input on how the requirements of this Google patent have impacted on the overall ranking of your Blog is welcome.  Please share via the comments.  Marketing Defined offers our readers a chance to win an Ipod or similar “gadget” - selected from every block of 100 reader comments left at our blog.