Back in March Google performed an update which effectively boosted the rankings of big brands in the search results. At the time I commented that the update hadn’t appeared in the UK – until this weekend.
The Google.co.uk results have been moving a lot in the last few weeks but without any real patterns (other than US results appearing for UK specific queries which is probably just an error). Today the results are full of authority websites which seem to be ranking higher than one might expect for competitive keywords.
In the past if you wanted to rank for a really competitive term it was necessary to carry out a lot of link-building and have good on-page SEO. Today Google seems to be letting authority websites rank based on internal linkage and trust even though they have comparitively few targeted external links.
The implications of this are huge for large brands because they have a much easier time getting top rankings. It also has an even bigger effect for anybody doing SEO for medium sized companies because there are a lot fewer places available on page 1 for competitive queries. In the past you had 10 spots to go after but now if Google places 5 brands on the page then there are only 5 spots for everybody else.
The key question everybody has is – what do we need to do to become a “brand” or an “authority site” so we can benefit from this? Nobody knows for sure but it’s clear that most of the factors required to gain rankings by being an authority site are likely to be totally unconnected with traditional SEO.
- Mentions in the mainstream media – how much does Google look at mentions rather than links in the authority algorithm?
- Links from mainstream media sites to your homepage – the best indication of trust Google has
- Buzz & mentions of your brand – again, how many people are talking about you?
- Search volume for your brand – how many people search for your brand directly?
- Traffic data – how many visitors do you get outside search?
- Related search volume – how many people search for “confused.com” and “car insurance” in the same session?
How has the brand update affected you today?
Patrick Altoft is Director of Search at Leeds based digital & SEO agency Branded3. Patrick also runs Blogstorm.You can get our blog posts delivered for free by email every day - simply add your email address to the box below or alternatively grab the RSS feed.
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The related search volume idea is an interesting one. If Google used traffic data, do you think the results might be skewed as it kind of depends on who has Google Analytics installed, and the kinds of people that have the Google toolbar installed? Still, I suppose it’s more than possible. Brands also probably have a much higher click-through rate, so they might look into that (although I think they did anyway).
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With Analytics & Toolbar data combined with data from DoubleClick and CTR data from search & PPC they can easily build an accurate model to give brands a boost. Even if it’s just a model that picks the top 5 sites in an industry and makes sure they are on page 1 for the biggest keywords it would work fine.
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I noticed this over the weekend with a few brands popping up on Saturday for a few broad keywords. However this morning things seem to have settled again on the same keywords. Google do seem to “test” websites and see if they are relevant to a keyword.
I can see why Google want to show trusted brands more because most users would expect to see top brands appearing, however if they have certain “big” brands in their mind prior to searching, surely they’d search for them first?! If this change is indeed a big one then the so-called level playing field has been tipped away from those websites with smaller budgets.
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The algo based brand ranking measures aren’t too scary – with hard work you can build and get people to mention you. I’d only truly fear this change if there was a manual element in choosing ‘brands’, because then it’s going to purely go down to above the line marketing spend which most small/medium sized companies can’t afford.
My early research would lead me to believe it’s only effecting ‘hollywood’ search terms so far and not the mid-tail, can anybody else verify this?
So much for my holiday!
More comments from Matthew OxleyThis is a significant develop for brands if it is ‘true’ (not that I have any reason to doubt you Patrick!). What it reflects is the truth that mainstream consumers look to trusted mainstream media channels for their content. It means that true digital PR will become increasingly important in the digital space.
The ability to provide compelling content which adds value to consumer and brand owner is critical, not only for brand reputation, but for Google ranking too.
Above the line spend bears no relevance to this either. It’s pure-play PR which is required, so SMEs can play in the same space as the large corporates without fear of being proced out of the market.
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I don’t agree with this: “Links from mainstream media sites to your homepage – the best indication of trust Google has”
So you pay some PR agency a load of cash to grease some journo’s and your trusted. Without a PR agency you have little chance of getting those types of links. Surely the links to pieces of news or articles should be the best indicator because those kind of links don’t get paid for.
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Perhaps the best indication of being a “brand” is a site that is newsworthy itself rather than a site that only gets linked to because it has written something interesting?
More comments from Patrick AltoftEmphasising this as a brand update is a bit of a miss nomer, ultimately factors changed in the ranking algo that happened to favour brands. I find it unlikely that this was a deliberate action, more a side effect. As mentioned above, as with all things SEO, its possible to identify the factors and to manipulate them, regardless of whether you’re a big company or not.
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This could also mean the death of SEO as we know it and more and more SEO related consultation business going out of business. Branding the search results is unfair to small websites…content is no longer the king!!!
You can now write a killer article and Google will not take notice, since they looking for your reputation rather than the quality of your websites (in terms of content). I think it is a disastrous move for upcoming websites and businesses.
On the lighter side, we may see a reduction of sales pages promising overnight success with Google for newbies.
More comments from DomainMarvelousI’ve noticed with a few searches that official “brands” are now taking up more of the first page, this algo change simply means that to out beat the big players, you need to think smart
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if you have a great site and you are providing great deal of information or content to users, then i am sure you are not going to be impacted by any google updates or any changes in the way it search the information.
More comments from counselingIf there is one thing we as webmasters can all be sure of, is that Google will constantly be a fluid concept. Our job is to create great websites, and not work to manipulate Google. Google will always be changing itself, and if you have a good site, it should be of no concern.
More comments from The Therapistcreate good and user friendly site and do quality seo. Google algorithms will be always changing so it is not concern.
I have to agree with the previous blog comment that Google's algorithm is constantly changing and so having a site that is well coded with good and natural seo techniques used should not cause you any major concern
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Google brand update hits the UK http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc (via @tweetmeme)
Google brand update hits the UK http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc. Bad news for medium size companies? (via @tweetmeme @gspowart @patrickaltoft)
Google brand update hits the UK: Back in March Google performed an update which effectively boosted the rankings.. http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
Google brand update hits the UK: brand rankings boosted. http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc RT @patrickaltoft
Based on assuptions and theories of http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc online pr is going to become more favourable than traditional link building
@EdWords what is your opinion on http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc ?
Google brand update hits the UK http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
Google brand update hits the UK http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
So…Online PR may be even more important to gaining ‘brand’ status http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
RT@patrickaltoft Google brand update hits the UK: Back in March Google performed an update which effectively …http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
Google brand update hits the UK http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
@Raidensurfer I know-The well known geo issues along with an update at the w’end which Patrick was the 1st 2 blog- http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
Google making SEO more difficult for small/medium brands in the UK – http://tinyurl.com/ksz8wc
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