Search Algorithms
Search engines have complex search algorithms which are used to ensure they are able to display the most relevant and useful results to their users. While algorithm changes are common and won’t usually affect a site’s ranking, search engines such as Google will occasionally introduce a major update which may impact search results. Our Hangout Notes cover insights from Google around these algorithms with best practice advice.
Google Doesn’t Apply Semantic Meaning to Registered Trademark Symbols
Registered trademark symbols are treated like other symbols. You can search for them but Google doesn’t apply semantic meaning to them.
Google Algorithms Don’t Specifically Look at Grammar
Google’s algorithms don’t look at grammar specifically, but they pick up on lower quality content in other ways, like through poor user experience.
Panda is Continuous But Doesn’t Run On Crawl
Panda does run continuously, and not to a timetable, but it does take a bit of time to collect relevant signals. John assumes that you would see the effects as Google reprocesses the bulk of a website, the frequency of which varies from site to site.
Not Helpful to Think That Google Has 3 Top Ranking Factors
John doesn’t think it is helpful to think of Google’s algorithms as having three top ranking factors, as the relative importance of ranking factors will change from query to query.
Alt Attribute Provides Image Context But Can Inform Web Search
Alt attribute provides context for images and is also used as part of a page for web search. But in general Google can pick out enough information from the rest of the page that they don’t have to rely on information from alt attribute.
Keywords in URL Are a Small Ranking Factor But Unlikely to Visibly Change Ranking
Including keywords in a URL is such a small ranking factor that you probably wouldn’t visibly see changes to a site’s ranking for those keywords.
Severe SERP Fluctuations Indicate Page on Edge of Being Useful in Google’s Eyes
Wildly fluctuating rankings could be the result of algorithms judging page quality as being on the edge of being thought of as useful by Google. John recommends making a concerted effort to improve page quality to avoid this volatility.
Manual Reviewing Tests Algorithms Not Page Quality on Individual Sites
Manual reviews are usually used to test different variations of algorithms created by Google engineers. Google don’t manually review web pages and use the results to inform rankings.
Google Splits Sites With Ok And Very Slow Load Times
Google usually differentiates between sites that are reasonably ok with loading and those that are very slow when it comes to site speed.
Plural & Singular Search Queries Seen as Synonyms or Split Apart Dependent on Perceived Meaning
Plural and singular search queries can be folded together as synonyms or split apart by Google’s algorithms depending on if they are judged to have a different meaning