by Debra Howard
The latest SEO buzz around the Internet is all about Google’s new “Caffeine.” For those of you that may not yet be familiar with Caffeine, it is Google’s latest indexing feature. Because Caffeine just recently launched, there is much speculation around the Web and little hard evidence for the full effects of this new system. (For a detailed explanation about Caffeine from Google: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html )
So how will Caffeine affect your website?
According to various articles and blog posts, the emphasis is being placed on real-time, news sites, and continual updates. Website Magazine ran several articles in the August 2010 edition regarding SEO and indicated that content managers will have to step up their game and add fresh content more frequently. Dave Cosper, Search Engine Guide, had a similar conclusion in his article “New SEO Practices for a Google Caffeine World.” Cosper also indicated that Caffeine would focus more on organic results and quality content.
At this point, it is too early in the game to say definitively how Google’s Caffeine will affect your particular site. However, the old rules of quality content, white- hat SEO tactics, and continual content and image updates are more important now than before. Users are demanding quality information and expect to access it quickly, so if you’re lucky enough to have Google’s Caffeine select your site among the top ten, don’t disappoint your visitors. Keep your site fresh and keep writing quality content. If you’re lousy at writing, hire someone, find a journalism student, or someone that is good at writing and hire them! Content is still king.
If anyone is experiencing recent changes in page ranking and suspect it may be from Google’s new system, we want to hear from you. We invite you to share your experiences, both good and bad, by posting a comment.