Google’s latest Algorithm Update: Freshness Algorithm

Tuesday Nov 8th 2011, Posted by: Ryan Mattock (4 comments)

Google have recently announced the latest change to their algorithm which now gives page rank weight to posts which deliver up-to-the-minute, fresh content for searchers.

Google uses the example of someone searching for information on the 2012 Olympics. That person is likely to search using the keyword ‘Olympics’, which in the past might have brought up a page containing information on Olympic events of years gone by. Google’s new ‘Freshness algorithm’ will now assume that someone who searches using that keyword, will be hoping to find the latest information on the 2012 olmpics and will now give rank preference to a site which provides this information.

This is going to create an incredible challenge for Google due to the sheer speed at which information is uploaded to the internet. They will now have to figure out which result is not only the most relevant, but also the most up-to-date example to return to the searcher. When you consider that information is uploaded every minute of every day of every week…… you can imagine the sheer scale of the challenge this creates.

So, what does this mean in terms of SEO?

Well the Algorithm update is predicted to turn SEO on it’s head, with 35% of searches to be affected. A company has to ensure that they stay on top of their game and provide the user with the latest information relating to their products and services. One way to do this is ensure you have an onsite blog or ‘living’ website. Throwing up a static site and hoping to be found just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore.

In our previous post we discussed how Google’s own; ‘Matt Cutts’, goes into detail about how Google views SEO. A good SEO company should relish in any algorithmic changes that Google makes, not only because the end result is a greater experience for your users, but it finally means the end for those unethical, ‘Black Hat’ SEO companies who cheat business owners out of money and have given the industry a bad name over the years.