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Google™ ranks sites based on a particular algorithm, or rule which they determine will bring the most relevant results for any given search. Major changes to Google's™ algorithms are commonly named by the internet and search engine community.
In what Google's™ co-owner categorized as an effort to reduce the amount of spam sites from their index, the change that web developers in the Search Engine Optimization community have deemed the "Jagger" update. This update began in September 2005 and is currently in its third stage, as of December 2005.
The Jagger Updates are Google's™ way of doing a series of ongoing small changes instead of doing large scale changes all at once. As mentioned before, their main purpose is to remove spam sites off of their Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS). Spam sites can be defined as domains which use hidden or invisible text or Cascading Style Sheets in a manner which is intended to trick search engine spiders. Other common Google™ dont's include link farms, where unrelated links which do not utilize a directory structure for categorizing is implemented, purchasing links, alt tag abuse, or overused keywords.
All of these changes may have an effect on PageRank™. PageRank™ is Google's™ measure of the importance of a website; scaled from zero-ten, ten being the highest rating More On PageRank™ Can Be Viewed Here. MSN.com™ was observed to have a PageRank™ drop down from 9 to two for a brief period of time. It seems that for most websites this has been a temporary problem, however, for websites who push the envelope that Google™ deems as accepted practices there may need to gear their particular site towards the end user as opposed to trying to deceive or manipulate the search engine spiders, something Google™ has been trying to convey for a long period of time. Google™ lists the following as their "Quality Guidelines":
"Quality Guidelines - Basic principles:
- Make pages for users, not for search engines. Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as 'cloaking.'
- Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you'd feel comfortable explaining what you've done to a website that competes with you. Another useful test is to ask, 'Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?'
- Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank™ . In particular, avoid links to web spammers or 'bad neighborhoods' on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.
- Don't use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate our Terms of Service. Google™ does not recommend the use of products such as WebPosition Gold™ that send automatic or programmatic queries to Google™ .
Quality Guidelines - Specific recommendations:
- Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
- Don't employ cloaking or sneaky redirects.
- Don't send automated queries to Google™ .
- Don't load pages with irrelevant words.
- Don't create multiple pages, sub domains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.
- Avoid 'doorway' pages created just for search engines or other 'cookie cutter' approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.
These quality guidelines cover the most common forms of deceptive or manipulative behavior, but Google™ may respond negatively to other misleading practices not listed here (e.g. tricking users by registering misspellings of well-known websites). It's not safe to assume that just because a specific deceptive technique isn't included on this page, Google™ approves of it. Webmasters who spend their energies upholding the spirit of the basic principles listed above will provide a much better user experience and subsequently enjoy better ranking than those who spend their time looking for loopholes they can exploit."
If these Guidelines are followed, the drop in your websites PageRank™ should be brief or altogether unnoticed. If your site experiences any long term negative effects from these updates it is sure to not be over, as Google™ continually updates their algorithm in order to make sites that follow their guidelines list closer to the top. If the latter is your case, designing a new strategy as to how your site optimization is handled may be necessary. In the meantime keep the content pure, the links free, and we will see you at the top of the rankings!
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