What's Google Caffeine?

Website owners that keep up to date with changes by Search Engines to their algorithms may have noticed that there has been a lot of discussion over the past six months about Google Caffeine. Google explains the change as follows:
"For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google's web search. It's the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions. The new infrastructure sits "under the hood" of Google's search engine, which means that most users won't notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we're opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback."

That preview allowed Google to collect feedback on the new version. Experts in SEO began to notice in early 2010, that there were very little difference between the new and old Search Engine versions in terms of rankings for particular websites. The trial version then disappeared from the ''test'' web page and Google commenced to roll out the new version. It is estimated that that roll out is now nearly complete and that all ranking results are now produced by the Caffeine version.

If you want me to check your website for Caffeine-friendly features, just give me a call on 0274 777753 or contact me here. I'll do that promptly and for free.

The new approach for website owners wanting to succeed with Caffeine appears to favour a truer website with fresh, relevant content. Webmasters will need to change their priorities and concentrate on "relevance" rather than just incoming links. The old adage "build it and they will come" has used to be the mantra of website owners. Now they will need to ensure they build it with relevant, quality content.

To successfully adapt to Caffeine's new blended search results, it's going to be really important to use the Social Media (see the article here or download my new ebook here). You cannot afford to miss opportunities like the advent of the Facebook "Like" feature and Twitter's "Places of Interest". These social media incoming links may be better than traditional links because they are related to a specific user and open up new gateways to social sharing and resulting traffic.

So maybe it is not going to be easy to fool Google anymore. To rank well in a Google Caffeine world, you need to think about how you can encourage other websites to link to your website within a meaningful context.

So how can we gain a marketing advantage by applying Google Caffeine best practice methods?

The following represent some of the more important changes that are expected with Google Caffeine:

Website content will become more important than ever. But now, even more than before, the content should be concise and relevant to a site’s products, or services. The upside here is that that this will not only make a site easier for Google to index correctly, but it will also improve your visitor's overall experience. And that should result in more conversions which equals more business.

Site and page download time will become an important factor. Slow loading sites frustrate visitors and reduce conversion rates. Google Caffeine emphasizes optimal user search experience and speed of accessing a site is high on any searcher's list of wants. Read more information here on site/page download speeds.

Social Media enhancements will become even more important. Adding Social Media features, or engaging in Social Media Marketing, will help your company’s Internet exposure. That will drive more traffic to your site, keep the content fresh and attract the attention of Google Caffeine.

See some more detailed suggestions here (yes, I'm keeping the page short just for Caffeine!).