Google Caffeine is what Google’s “Next Generation” search engine is being called. According to all indications, this is not just another one of Google’s infamous updates, but a major “Overhaul” of its index and algorithm – the complex formula and calculations Google uses to rank all web pages.
If that doesn’t sound broad enough, according to Matt Cutts one database is already showing Google Caffeine, and the full blown version will be released after the holidays. The reasoning behind this – Google doesn’t want to upset webmasters and site owners during the lucrative holiday buying season. In the past, other major Google Updates have come around this time of the year, most notably the “Florida Update” which severely affected many web sites and webmasters.
Recently, Google has been more aware and much more generous to webmasters by being more open and forthcoming in regards to how it indexes its pages. This time, webmasters were given access to a beta version of Caffeine which Google released last summer (’09) where webmasters could check to see how well their keywords and site would fare in this new search index. The beta site www2.sandbox.google.com is now down.
Like any professional search engine marketer who works online, I was constantly checking my sites and keywords in Google’s new search engine. I have drawn some conclusions from what I have seen, but please be aware it is often very silly to draw conclusions and make predictions from a small sampling of results. Google is probably still making adjustments and refinements on Caffeine as it analyzes the results.
There are certain ranking factors that even Google is telling us about, “Site Speed” or how fast your site loads will play a part in how its ranked. We have also heard a lot about “Broken Links” and if your page or site has them, then it will probably be ranked lower. Of course, linking out to “Bad Neighborhoods” will probably still not be a good practice, if you want higher rankings within Google.
It should not come as a shock or a surprise, that “Over-All Page Quality” will play a bigger role in how well your page ranks in the SERP’s. Bear in mind, Google is like any other company putting out a product, if that product doesn’t have a high standard of quality, it reflects badly back on everybody concerned. Google’s SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) are the key to all their online revenue, they must do everything in their power to keep that product fast, relevant, current and above all high quality.
Expect “OnPage Factors” to play a greater role in the Google Caffeine update. Quality unique content, page design, good navigation, title, meta tags, description, keyword density, alt tags, page views, bounce rate, traffic numbers, time spent on page, and the number of social bookmarks may play an increased role in achieving high rankings. A perfectly optimized keyworded page, with the keyword in the title, description, meta tags, alt tags, on the page will probably get you ranked higher in Caffeine, as well as most search engines on the web.