Google's Keeping It Fresh
By Lauren Kade
Expert Author
Article Date: 2011-11-11
A lot of people have been talking about the lastest Google Algorithm update, now being called the Freshness Update. But what's all the hullabaloo about?
The Update:
The new update focuses on freshness, and attempts to separate topics and search queries that require fresh content and those that don't. For example, if a user searches on a sports team, the latest scores and news should appear in the search results. On the other hand, if a user searches for a recipe, they don't necessarily need the most recent recipe, but perhaps an older recipe with 300 five star reviews.
The Facts:
What's Affected:
- Recent events or hot topics. For example, the Google Freshness Update is a pretty hot topic - who knew? The oldest search result is only 21 hours old:
- Regularly recurring events. Who won Project Runway last week? Or how did the Redskins do last week? The user wants the most recent scores or news, not from a month ago).
- Frequent updates. These are for searches that aren't necessarily a hot topic, but where the user would want the latest information. For example, if someone is researching and trying to find the top flat screen televisions, they want the latest models and the latest reviews:
So How Does This Affect You?
It's still a little early to tell how far this could really affect everyone, but it's good to be prepared. Does your company or industry fall under one of the above categories? If so, you may want to look into ways to provide new content more frequently.
- Get a blog, and post things frequently
- Make sure you have social profiles for all the major social networking sites
- Post/update/tweet often
- Look into adding user generated content on your site
- In general, keep it FRESH (cue the theme song by clicking the image below!)
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About the Author:
Lauren joined Search Mojo in December 2010 as a junior account manager, where she helps manage both PPC and SEO accounts. Lauren first discovered her interest in search marketing as an advertising intern at the American Red Cross, and next as a participant in the 2010 Google Online Marketing Challenge. After graduating from James Madison University with a degree in Marketing, Lauren moved to Charlottesville and launched her career at Search Mojo.
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