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Changes coming to Google. Will you be ready?

I read an article on Inman this morning which, if it all comes to pass, will force many of us to rethink our websites and how well they are performing. According to Inman, keywords are going by the wayside. Instead, Google will be looking for specific consumer behaviors to create more specific and customized search results. How our site ranks will not carry as much importance as conversion. That, of course, really is the objective isn't it? Getting people to our sites is one thing. Getting them to sign up for a newsletter, inquire about a property, or simply leave their contact information will be key to what Google will consider Top Shelf Organic Rankings.

If you have a website, this is worth reading. It's a short article that will probably leave you wanting to know more.

Posted by Carol Clay, Broker/REALTOR Brevard NC Real Estate Specialist on 11/20/2008 03:57 PM

Comments (115)

google, search engines, seo, website, consumers, rankings, customer converstions

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115 Comments on Changes coming to Google. Will you be ready?

NOV

Wow - I hadn't seen the article so thanks for the heads up! Oh well, just a new direction that we have to start thinking in, right?

Hmmm. Might be very interesting. Wonder how it will affect AR?

I think it's easy to get complacent about content once it's in place. This should serve as a good motivator to take the time and take a hard look at what produces and what doesn't. Thanks for the heads-up.

I am glad to hear this it upsets me that some agents have these shitty websites but are top ranked because they have all this seo garbage on it. But those that have valuable information are dragging, I like the new concept.

This may make some people re-look at their Active Rain blogs as ranking better than their outside blogs since the AR blogs get a lot more activity in most cases.

Tina in Virginia

This could be the end of the usefulness for having a web site. It may be time to reinvent how we attract people to our Internet presence.

Very good heads up. I didnot read this topic until today. No matter what, a good website is essential. Playing with SEO will not work.

Thank you for the information. It certainly is worth looking into. We need to stay abreast of the many changes that take place on a regular basis and make adjustments.

I wonder what this will do to SEO businesses.

Thank you very much for the information,I don't always stay as up to date on this stuff as I should.

That doesnt sound like such a bad idea. Afterall we would all love to convert more leads, now we might be under pressure to do so!

I read this on Inman as well. I think those who provide content to their target markets will come out ahead. Write useful information consistently and traffic will follow.

This will actually be a revolution in Search ranking! But still it will be difficult to implement, i opened that link in a new window to read it all carefully. Thanks for sharing :)

Wow! Good info. I had a feeling this day would get here someday. Thanks!

I hadn't seen the article yet -- thank you for sharing! The challenge with some of the IDX websites is that it only offers two contact forms -- one for scheduling an appoint and another that is a "contact me" form. I guess we'll have to invest even more in our websites to convert potential home buyers and sellers.

Thank you for the update. Sounds like those who really do the work will be the ones who benefit. As it should be.

Carol...

There will come a time when Google rules the world. Google will become "The Man". The constant changing of the Internet as we know it is just one more reason not to have all your Marketing eggs in one basket. I know many people who do and they're going down. I should write a post about that. Oh wait...I already did :)

TLW...ROAR!

We all want the conversion, but it doesn't happen often enough. I guess functionality of the site is now crucial.

Hi Carol, Hmmm, interesting article. I wonder if the AR gods are working on a way to take advantage of this and make it work in our favor ?

Wow, Carol, just as I'm learning to blog and SEO, they change the rules. I am destined to stay behind!

Change is constant -- we must keep learning and growing and changing to survive. Interesting to see what may be next.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm going to Inman to read more about it. Either way, I don't think my website gets much traffic. One of the reasons is that the provider doesn't allow blogging. If they were to allow blogging they'd be really hot. But, I'd still hang out in AR!

That is interesting news to hear! Guess I need to check into this further!

Thanks, Debbie

If this comes to pass we all will certainly have to adapt or we will become irrelevant in the internet marketing process. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for posting this article. Keeping the Google juice is the name of the game.

Thanks for sharing this information. I am headed over to Inman now to read the article. Sounds like I need to have my webmaster Husband read it as well!

I read the article and the comments that were made and most people disagreed with the article other than the obvious fact Google is and will always change. It seems the article otherwise was mostly wrong.

Good post, I'd love to read it....do you have a link to the article?

I've heard bits and pieces of this but it is definitely something to keep abreast on...Thank You!

Well who couldn't see this coming. We all question the validity of hits and clicks when there is no solid pattern of capture. Guess we will all buckle down and try to offer the things that will interest buyers and sellers to sign up and come back.

Wow

I am technically challenged enough as it is....Lol.

That said...thanks for the heads up.

Well you had to know it was comming, just as you get used to oneway the goal post are always moved. Now all the spammers will be recalling with I can create people to go to your site and register etc.

There is no way that Google is getting rid of pagerank anytime soon. And since they cant rank the pages any other good way other than by links thats not going either. Sure they are changing by location but they have always done that per your ip address. Also if you read the comments on that article it is pointed out that its not correct because its too easy to fake bounce rate etc.

Had read this someplace else as well -- just when you think you have it down pat -- then something changes.

I'm just learning how to blog and about SEO but I have a great VA that will be able to help me with the changes. Thank goodness!

This is great info. Thanks so much for sharing. I am just starting to learn about SEO stuff but think my blogs are decent. Will comments help? I hope I make the cut!

Just when I've spent the day doing some SE optimizing of our website, they change the rules! It figures. Hope Brad and the boys, and Nestor & Katerina can help us out on this one. I think our website will have to change too.

Every time I think I have gotten a handle on all things technological in real estate, something new comes up, and I find myself just trying to keep up. Thank you for posting this. Now I have something else to think about!

It will all shake out in the end. Relevance has always been their keyword. Stick to it and stay consistent and I think it will all be about the same in the end. Static sites are dead.

sounds like a great change to me... i get a lot of "conversations" on my website... we have a lot of info and free reports so we tend to get leads daily... the article makes it sound like that will help our website rank better.. i'm all for that!!!!

Wow, Changes on the way. It will be fun. More to learn. We seem to be always learning.

I didn't realize things would change.......things are constantly changing. I live in a state where only about 35% of the population even owns a computer. (That's the stats my husband quoted)

I hope that is the case, that will make it more fair.

Interesting! We are in an ever changing world.

That is interesting...but how is a new person in the world of blogging going to be found then? They will have no conversion rates at all...also, how many people actually read our blogs and do nothing? But they are getting information...how is google to know who picks up the phone to call us but doesn't act on anything on our blog? I'm really curious how this will pan out...thanks for sharing.

google is always changing and they are always looking for the best way to rank websites. You have to adapt and make changes to keep with.

I'm glad I logged onto Active Rain or I would have missed your post. Frankly, I'm happy to hear there will be changes. Even though I'm a Realtor, I find it soooooo frustrating when I goole something and get nothing but real estate sites even though it had nothing to do with what I was looking for. I enjoyed the article.

Yes, what is interesting is that I read this in a blog post last night by Misty and my wife Stephanie read it on an article today... so the news is getting out. Is great to know some of this ahead of time ! Great post : ) ~ Chris

HI CAROL!

Things are ever changing. I appreciate you sharing this with us! And yes, CONVERSION is key. I haven't mastered that...yet!!

Best,

Hi Carol- Wow! This is good stuff to know...Thanks for giving us the head's up! Times they are a changin'...

Imagine ... judging a website on achieving its purpose!

I too had seen this and at this point I guess all we can do it wait and see, and then adjust asap, as the wheel keeps spinning and we can't be left out! ~Rita

Thank you very much in pointing out the article, it does raise some concerns

Well if we thought things wouldn't change, who is the foolish one? The only thing certain, particularly in technology and websites, is change. SO, let's see where it takes us? thanks for the post.

Very cool to let us all know that. It's been coming for some time, and I really hope this comes to pass. For all the SEO 'cheaters" out there it might be a tough road ahead...:-) (insert evil grin)

Gotta love it when the rules change.

I found this article very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Interesting concept. Traffic without conversion is nothing. I'm curious if the article will have any insights on how Google plans to measure consumer behavior.

Carol,

Google is known for constantly tinkering with its software and now comes this. It'll likely make the consumer's search more relevant and reward well-run websites. Thanks for the heads-up.

I think this is great. The whole keyword thing was becoming one big game. A web site with good content that converts its leads is a no brainer for high ranking.

Just when I think I'm getting a handle on things, they are going to change it. Its good in a way, it would be a sad day if I actually caught up to the Google Guys. They are some sharp dudes.

It's about time, Google. Glad to hear this bit of information; sounds like a logical move to me.

Carol - kudos to you for linking and sharing and bringing this to your reader's attention. I think the reason this is so prolific in real estate is because it was posted on Twitter, picked up by Inman and spread like wildfire in less than 48 hours. (PS if you are a competitor of mine please panic :)

I keep seeing references to this Bruce Clay interview and it is getting a lot of weight. I won't take the time to post my resume here but suffice it to say I have some weighted experience. Bruce earns his living by sharing information and he is very knowledgeable and experienced. However his one interview has caused almost a panic mostly in the real estate world. Yes, the things he says are true - to an extent. Google already changed the way they present search results. But that's GOOGLE. Google is only a 60 share of search results and while that is giant it is not all. DO NOT STOP USING KEY WORDS, crosslinking, title tags, etc. I don't even think Bruce meant to imply that and if he did and you do - congradulations!

Oh my.. just when one thinks they have it all figured out.. they change the rules.. Thanks for the heads up.

This is invaluable information for those of us that are pouring money into trying to get our rankings up. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Way to stay on top of things. Thank you.

Thanks for the heads up. Things are constantly evolving so we have to learn to adapt.

Thanks for the update.

Thanks, Carole. I read that article but don't understand how they will figure out which site is more valuable.

Ken Cook. I thank you for responding to this. I read this as well and its simply just not true. This is speculation at best. In fact it seems to be a rollout for a trial on a new Google search function that they are rolling out today basically that they might incorporate into their regular search.

Most of the article is just guessing and most of its been taken out of context or just whatever because its not happening.

Saw the article but we have a feeling this is just part of the changes that will be made next year. A total revamp was necessary as many markets have backlink spammers at the top monopolizing the market. Keep us up to date if you get more news like this. Good feature!

I hope some of the active rain community leaders can give us some direction on this. Thank you for the post!

NOV

Thanks for passing this along!!!

Lori Cofer, Beasley Realty

Carol.... I only read a handful of the comments and I am semi shocked at the responses... this actually scares me, because I don't spam. I write very good quality posts with key words also. Doesn't Google understand that the average person doesn't really comment on blogs... AR is different, because the community comments. I am talking about the consumer. And how does Google know if someone signed up for your news letter? And if people aren't ranked by key words, how do people find you to begin with. I am not an expert when it comes to this kind of stuff... I think what google needs to do is penalize those that buy ranking... companies that buy spots up top, etc etc... start there. I only get a lot of clicks, because I have been searched a lot. But if nobody comments?

Overall, in my opinion, I think this could many of us than help. As I stated, penalize the people that pay for this stuff first. thanks for the article.

jeff belonger

I use Google analytics to track my traffic, conversions and page views but wonder what formula Google will use.

Great information - thanks for sharing. I will be sure to check it out.

That was an interesting article. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I hope I am doing the right things on my web site -- and am still working it out. It is the importnat thing -- getting people to stay on it and come back.

Very Interesting. Thanks for the heads up.

Thank you for sharing.....But as the old saying goes " ...it is easy to lead a person to a website, but difficult to make them check in with

the person. Wish I knew the answer, so realtors please check in with me.

Thanks so much for the post. I'm sure we'll all be watcing this one

I read a much geekier article about it this mornging on TechCrunch. Waaaaay over my head. It seemed much more negative than this. Written for a much techier crowd than me... I missed this on Inman. It will be interesting.

Thanks for that read! I went over and read the article. It seems there will just be more reward for those of us doing it the right way!

Hi Carol, wow great post thank you for all the good info.

I read the article and all of the comments and just don't see this as a good thing and I can't see this as really happening.

Think it through. Here's what they say about what convert means:

By convert, I mean to get them to perform a specific action like sign up for a newsletter or request additional information

So are you telling me that the highly ranked pages are going to be those sales pages? Are you telling me that sites that provide free information are going to be outranked by people who try to sell that information instead?

Are we going to have to do squeeze pages? That's where you force someone to submit their email in order to gain access to the real information of your website. So if you make it harder for people to see all of your information, you are going to rank higher?

My best conversions are when people pick up the phone and call me. Tell me how Google knows when someone does that?

Will everyone start having those "enter here" pages?

Is the new way to spam rankings going to make you hire bogus users to come to your website and submit forms?

If Google changes like this I think that this will be the beginning of the end for them.

Just in case, it's always good to diversify. I wouldn't reconfigure a current site that is ranking well. But I guess it would be wise to create another site with those new possibilities in mind.

Goodness, that is like throwing out the whole business model---we've worked so hard with keywords and now this may happen?

Tim you know so much more about this than most of us. You are so far ahead.

Robert/Carol -

Thanks for the info!

You know, I sell real estate, and don't specialize in SEO. But, as a practitioner, with a web presence, you need to know how your heavy-investment website will do online.

In the last couple of years, I have simply trusted my SEO company to place keywords, and generate clicks. But the whole thing is about CONVERTED LEADS - which is where it should be.

This places more of an emphasis on WEBSITE DESIGN to GENERATE ACTION, rather than keywords to get them to the first page.

I will share this with Mike Parker, my SEO guy, and his company, Compass Internet Systems.

Thanks for the heads up - and the link to the Inman post.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by so far. I agree that this opens to door to all sorts of questions....not the least of which, how will Google analyze the conversions?

For Dean and everyone else who works with SEO experts, please come back and post any updates or information you learn along the way.Inquiring minds need to know!

Carol

Seems like a good idea from Google. Like another way to get rid of the spammers and fake websites that might have good seo and been able to get to top of results, but aren't being used by real people. I like the idea of ranking based on how long someone has been on certain pages or how many times they have cliend on the signup button or even a more info button.

Not sure how they would track conversion other than by time on page or specific links clicked. Conversion can mean many different things to different types of business.

Was playing with Google today and there are some new buttons to the right of each result and X and a up arrow icon.

Can I hire people to click the up arrow icon to promote my website to the top of the results? Seems a way to fool this new tool yet again.

Golly gee whiz or something like that,,,now all the gurus will have to out new signs and new acronyms,,,,Yicks !

This is really interesting and am looking forward to reading the article you quoted. Case in point for my local area: One of the real estate agents that consistently comes up in the top 5 for my county on Google recently was quoted in a local newspaper article that he and his team of 4 have only sold 10 houses all year.

Proof for me that just because you are top ranked on Google doesn't make you a top producer or draw people in to stay within your website.

Wow, when you think you have it figured out or are just learning the basics, it all changes. I think it could be more than interesting to see what happens. Maybe some of the little guys might move up the ranks? Who knows, but it will be more than interesting to see.

Thanks for this information here. I will check it out further. Good luck

Thanks

Don

I dont understand why more people arent challenging this.

There is no way that they are eliminating page rank.

There is no way that Google is going to rely entirely on conversion because there is no way they can know if someone converts or not.

There is no evidence that Google has even intended to do anything with conversion. This is entirely speculation.

Google itself has said it will rank higher sites that have video. This is not news. They said this a long time ago.

I also believe this is announcing a different feature that Google has released and is beta testing now and I think people are confused with the 2.

So in summary nothing has changed. We have no way of knowing what will change. We always know Google will change but probably nothing that drastic as of now. Whatever change does occur has to allow for new websites to flourish and prosper as well, they arent going to punish them for being new (Other than how they already do!) etc etc.

I just dont think its fair to speculate and then say its the word the google gods. There is absolutely no proof for any of this.

I read the same article, Carol. I came away with a different thought. What I read was that the customization by the consumer will only be seen by that consumer and not the general public. I find it hard to imagine that Google would start ranking sites based on consumer rankings. This would open the doorway to a lot of unscrupulous behavior.

I'm not necessarily sure I like this new method. I am in real estate, so I must consider myself a salesperson, but I have developed my website to provide information to potential clients. I did not develop my website to make people sign in to see something, or sign up for something I may provide them, like a newsletter. I basically have my site set up to provide information, and tell people about who I am and what I can do. I feel if they like it, they will either email or call me.

I guess I need to re-think my entire strategy and start making everyone who comes to my website sign in or sign up for everything - which I personally fee is a real turn off to websites. It gives me the same feeling as a used car salesman.

Wow, me must all keep on our toes and be up to speed with the latest marketing technoligies. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks for the heads up on this. It doesn't seem to really make sense, however. The point of every website is not to "sell" something or have a conversion rate. Many sites simply are for information purposes only. Does this mean that sites that don't have a conversion rate are going to fall off the radar?

Maybe we all need to study up on Google. The way they do business and how they mine the information they are always collecting. There are a number of good books out there, check with your local library. Or we can hire an agency who does this full time. But how do we know what questions to ask as we interview the number of different agencies available?

This could be great for me. Seeing as that I don't have a homepage just yet, this may let me start out on an even keel with my competition. (pardon if I can't spell) Thanks for the info.

I really think this post is misleading. There is no proof for any of this. What Google did was create the SearchWiki which currently has nothing to do with their search engine. What the Inman article is speculating is not true and basically misinformation.

Great post and it puts all ahead of the curve

Thanks for the heads up information... Nice to have people share important information....

you have to love google -- always keeping us on our toes -- thanks for the heads up -- jE

I just wrote 2 different articles now that basically refute everything in the Inman article. I think the entire article is completely false and misleading.

Just when we succeed at google rankings, they want to change the war. Thanks Shane, above, for the info, please keep us posted. I read the Inman article and from the comments it does not seem much of a change.

I just dont like it when people speculate as to what Google is or is not going to do as if its fact without any proof from Google. Google doesnt just do something without announcing it and the things they did announce contradict what these articles are saying.

Shane - I hope you don't think I'm doing the speculating. I'm just the messenger passing along what I read. That being said, if you or anyone else can add to this, let me know. I agree with so many of the comments so far - how would Google monitor conversions???? Obviously, we need to be focusing on that anyway, but that's beside the point.

I'd be real interested in reading what you have that refutes the Inman article. Please share.

This will have some positives and some negatives. It will really force us to make sure their is a solid mechanism for converting website visitors, which is good and we should already be doing it anyway. But I also see sites that rank high even now that are nothing but a form to be filled out, probably for a lead reseller. Hopefully there will be some balance when or if this does happen.

Enjoyed your post on AR about google. Thanks for the update. I had no idea!

Well I dont want to take away from what you posted but I really think what the original article says is wrong. I wasnt trying to say you were the one saying this. I reallize you were just reporting what you read, but I really think its wrong. I will post 2 things and if you dont want them just take this out. Thanks.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/801062/Major-Google-Search-Engine-Change-Must-Read-News

http://activerain.com/blogsview/801383/Google-Changed-But-the-Inman-Article-is-WrongMust-Read

I think that those will help.

Thanks for the articles Eau Claire I will read these for more clarificaton

NOV

I spent some time reading on the web yesterday about the Google search changes. Why debate it? We know Google is changing, will continue to change. I read SEO and technical sites.

Write real content for real people and people will read it, recommend it. Google is becoming more social. Can the new Wiki digglike thingy doodle get manipulated? Probably. Some cottage industry will spring up to manipulate it for a price.

Is the Inman article misleading? Who knows? Who cares.

Great Information; thank you - it is difficult to stay on top of these changesl Nice to have time to plan accordingly Terri White Broker/Owner Las Vegas Properties

And that is the way it should be. No games, just results on content......

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