Think about this, Google accounts for over 1/2 of all searches conducted in the United States! Because of their huge market share, even small changes to Google’s ranking systems have put multi-million dollar companies, such as BMW, in Google's Blacklist (although to be fair, BMW was not playing by the rules) and have taken other companies from digital obscurity to overnight success stories. If most of your business comes from the web, it’s imperative to keep up with the latest changes with the World's Most Famous Brand.
I have talked in the past about Google’s willingness to give webmasters far more tools and information than any other search engine in the game. But they set the bar even higher when they allowed a New York Times reporter to sit in on some of Google’s confidential meetings. The result? – A great article that gives all of us an even closer look at Google’s inner workings.
So how does this relate to the real estate industry and your website? Here are the important “take-a-ways” on what going on with Google.
Google’s Top Secret Project - And Your Answer to Getting Your New Site in Google
The New York Times article broke news about a project that Google has been working on called QDF (query deserves freshness). Here’s how it works in non-geek speak.
Google has always loved content that has stood the test of time. The thinking is that this rock solid content provides better quality material. But what about searches that relates to breaking news? Not to mention that new site you just launched last week? How will that site ever rank if Google thinks your content needs to age like a fine wine? And while Google had some things already in place to account for these circumstances, it just wasn’t working that well. Enter The QDF project. Basically, it’s a way to tell if a topic is “hot” or not. If it’s a hot topic, then Google’s algorithm will adjust to pull fresher content.
Take-a-ways: If your new website just doesn’t seem to be able to break into the search results, consider beginning to blog on hot topics, or add relevant content to your site that centers around the latest buzz in the real estate industry. It may just be the extra push to get your site on Google’s radar.
Google Doesn’t Sleep, Neither Should Your Website
Another big eye opener about Google is the frequency in which they change their algorithm (the code that determines how sites are ranked). The article referenced that Google makes tweaks as much as 6 times a week. This means that they are continually patching “loop holes” and refining the system.
Take-a-ways: It’s pointless to try to “beat the system”; they are closing loopholes faster than we can think of them.
It’s Time to Get Original
For me, the biggest nugget from the article was how they ensure diversity in the search results. Here is how it works…
When someone searches for a specific key phrase, Google will first make sure that the search results displayed are diverse enough. For example: If someone searches for a digital camera, The top ten results would probably include a diverse range of results including stats on the camera, reviews on the camera, a place to buy the camera, etc. Obviously, this provides more information to the user as opposed to 10 different places to buy the camera.
Take-a-ways: If you want to be in the top ten, stop copying what the people in the top ten are doing. The fact that you’re “borrowing” some of their ideas, title tags, etc. may be the very thing that is keeping you off of page one. If you are trying to optimize for a specific key phrase, consider approaching the content from a different angle.
Other Changes with Google
While we are on the subject of Google, I think it’s important to point out a few more changes and updates not referenced in the article…
Webmaster Guidelines
Google has recently updated their Webmaster Guidelines with much more detailed information about what they look for in a website. Don’t worry, it’s not full of Geek Speak. This is one of the things I have always loved about their Guidelines. They keep it very simple and easy to comprehend. You don’t have to be a code genius to make sense of it. If you’re serious about blogging, then it’s worth spending a few minutes to look around.
Take-a-ways: You now have even more information to pinpoint exactly what Google is looking for when they “crawl” your site.
Universal Search
If you have used Google in the last few weeks, you will notice a change in the search results. About a month ago, Google rolled out what they call “Universal Search”.
Searching for Raleigh Steak displays the location of the nearest Ruth’s Chris along with other Local and Standard search results. A search for home movies shows me both websites and home videos from YouTube (without the corny jokes from Bob Saget). Furthermore, a search for Raleigh Real Estate allows me to view all listings that have been populated into Google’s Housing Search.
So is this a good or bad thing? It all depends on how you see the water in the glass.
For all the “half empty thinkers”: It’s bad. As if you needed more of a challenge to land your website on the first page of Google. Now you have to complete against so many more sources of information!
For the “half full thinkers”: Great news! There are now many more ways to make it to page one in Google.
No matter how you see the water in the glass, one thing is for sure. Google is making waves!
Take-a-ways: It’s time to start thinking beyond your website or even beyond your blog. Move past looking at your Real Estate Website and start to look at your Real Estate Online Matrix (more about this in a future post).
Until Then,
Brad Carroll
Dakno Marketing - A Real Estate Web Design Company
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