If you have landed on this post, you have likely heard about the Google algorithm update.  It  has reportedly already impacted about 12% of all Google queries!  The change was largely focused on low quality, mass produced SEO content, and was aimed at ‘content farms’ which have been littering search results for quite some time. This change has been met with praise and dissent – but those on the wrong side of this coin should not be surprised.  The signs were there.

The demise of low quality content has actually been part of the Google plan for quite some time, but up until now only smaller sites not built to withstand algorithmic shifts had been feeling the impact.

Now Google is adjusting the algorithm to target the typical profiles of sites that are using dubious SEO tactics to try to get a competitive advantage in search results. Inbound Link buying schemes have been the focus over the last couple of years and recently two major sites where dinged for engaging in these activities – JCPenney.com and Overstock.com. Although Google does work to remain neutral, it is clear that they are observing specific behaviors and reacting to keep manipulators out of the index.

Most recently they are moving on to target content farms, many of whom have been immune to prior algorithm changes. Below is an explanation of the update from Matt Cutts of Google’s Anti Spam Team:

Many of the changes we make are so subtle that very few people notice them. But in the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking—a change that noticeably impacts 11.8% of our queries—and we wanted to let people know what’s going on. This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.

My take is that they are approaching this with two business objectives in mind:

So will this spell the end for content farms? In my point of view, yes – for those that remain pure content producers for the sake of mass. In fact, many have already seen a significant change to their online visibility as shown in seen in this Search Engine Land article by Danny Sullivan.

I do expect many who have significant financial backing to evolve and focus on quality content with social value or look to purchase premium web properties to supplement traffic loss. Demand Media’s recent IPO is likely to put them in a position to do just that.

Some companies have already been forced to react to the abrupt change in traffic – Mahalo, a human-powered search engine announced a layoff of 10% of its staff and temporarily halting freelance content production.

It appears that some content producers who do not necessarily match the ‘spammy set’ were also impacted. A recent FastCompany article discussed CultofMac.com, an Apple fan site which saw a significant downward shift in traffic coming from Google.  But they have since seemed to recover.   It is likely that the algorithm went through various corrective tweaks to induce the desired outcomes over the days after launch.

As it appears, content farms as we know it are officially dead. Those who will survive once the dust settles will be the sites that are able to evolve and produce unique, relevant content which has social value.  Search engines are using social queues more and more as a method of identifying value but this will likely fuel the next wave of SEO manipulation.

Traditionally, when embarking on a SEO campaign the bar is set pretty low as to when results will begin to impact your business.   As opposed to the immediate traffic a PPC campaign can generate, the low control over SEO results has pushed a whole industry to set client expectations that ‘this is gonna take a long time to kick in’.  But this does not always have to be the case.

Below are some key indicators that your website can be thrown into high-gear, almost immediately:

• You show up on page 2 – 3 for very competitive keywords
• Your website has high link popularity (number of inbound links) versus your competition
• Google finds you relevant for many terms you are targeting (see Web Master Tools > Your Site On The Web > Keywords) but you are just not ranking well
• There are crucial SEO issues holding back your websites ranking such as Duplicate/Malformed Title Tags, non-indexable content and a poor site architecture/URL structure
• You have never been caught doing anything shady such as buying links (your Google PageRank can be a good indicator of whether you have been dinged – a site which has been around for a few years and has a PR above 4 will usually mean you are clear for takeoff)

A recent client showed all of the above symptoms as we began a new project with them.  The engagement consisted of a full website redesign, CMS implementation and Deployment with SEO baked-in to the process including initial planning, platform decisions, design, content development and site development.   Of course, having SEO included into the redesign process creates the perfect symphony of user experience and optimization – but what you are about to see would not have been possible had the pump not been primed in the first place.

Upon launch on September 2, 2010 traffic immediately increased 150% across organic search engines on Day 1!  From there traffic continued to climb from an average of 130 visits per day to well into the 2k range.

Traffic peaked in November and when reviewing year over year performance (to assess against true seasonality) the numbers are staggering.

• 572% increase in Organic Search visits YoY
• 725% increase Organic Search Visits from Google YoY
• 54% reduction in Bounce Rate year over year (this had nothing to do with SEO but the new design had a huge impact on the ability to retain and convert all these new visitors)

The new top traffic drivers are keywords which had previously appeared on page 2, and now settled into top 3 spots.

• 326% change in visits on the top keyword
• 48,277% change on the second (highly competitive) keyword which was anticipated to require long term optimization
• Bounce Rate again saw amazingly positives shifts due to the improved design and site architecture

• Redirects, redirects, redirects:  build a comprehensive 301 redirect strategy for any pages which are moving, undergoing a name change or are being eliminated.  This will transition visitors from current rankings to the new website and allow you to carry over the inbound link equity built up over time.
• SEO Best Practices: fix any major issues such as Duplicate Titles and content which cannot be indexed
• Submit A Sitemap: create an XML sitemap and submit it (you can do this in Google Webmaster Tools)
• Run Diagnostics: use Google Webmaster Tools to identify and fix crawling issues as they arise
• Expedite Results: if you have undergone a redesign try announcing your new website via Twitter which can help with real-time indexing

In closing, I encourage you to take a look at some of the indicators mentioned above.  If you fit a few of these criteria then it is likely that you can make a big impact on the short term.

So it is official, our once beloved Yahoo! has cried uncle and submitted to the looming M&A noogie we have faithfully followed for the past few months.  It is truly a day of reflection for those of us who have been around long enough to remember setting GoToast to ‘Jam’ competitors through Bid Rules created specifically for Overture.  Ah, those were the days – when budget size meant more than quality.  We will miss you a lot and I will cherish my piles of purple swag and keep it in my garage to visit at times when I grow weary of my blossoming Google relationship.

So what does this mean to advertisers with insatiable appetites for search clicks? Well, here are the questions I can answer now:

1. Who is zoomin’ who?

Microsoft Bing will replace the Yahoo! Search technology for both PPC and Organic (Natural) Search results. Yahoo! will now be the sales force across both properties.

2. What advertising platform will we be using?

The AdCenter platform will become the core platform for paid search campaign management. This should all be complete within the next 18 months (pending regulatory approval of course). So expect minimal changes to the Yahoo! Advertising platform, while we can be sure MSN will be adding in significant enhancements.

3. Is this also the demise of Paid Inclusion (SSP)?

Unfortunately, there is no information on this currently.  But we do know that no changes will occur until Q2 2010 so you can count on it being around at least through the Q4 shopping season.  My take is that this is a huge revenue opportunity for Bing/Yahoo! and they will likely find a place for it. We will just have to see.

4. When will this all happen?

The plan is for regulatory approval in early 2010 with no changes until this occurs.  Following approval, Yahoo! will begin to display Bing results through organic search within 3 – 6 months, while Paid Search is expected within 12 (United States).  The complete Global roll-out may take up to 24 months.

How this impacts the advertising landscape remains to be seen, but despite the world view that less competition equals less innovation – I do not expect Google to rest on its heels and let things fall where they may, that is just not how they work.

For more information on this deal:

* It’s Finally Official, Microsoft & Yahoo Make A Deal, Yahoo Gives Up On Search
* MicroHoo Seals the Deal Everyone Expected

Our research uncovered two significant insights.

Insight 1:

SERPs which include Universal Search results reinforce eyeballs to stay focused on the first page’s top paid and natural search results

Implications:

• The advent of Universal Search demands that companies optimize not only their text, but also their media (images, videos, etc)
• Image and video results may anchor users to stay at the top of the SERP
• Images and videos will begin to impact what users will click on first in a SERP

Insight 2:

The inclusion of Universal Search results increase emotional engagement during interactions with a SERP

Implications:

• Users will get an ‘instant gratification’ from images – perhaps more so from branded images
• Higher engagement with Universal results may stop users from exploring the rest of the SERP

One to One Interactive’s OTOinsights research division is happy to announce its latest research white paper titled “Implications of User Engagement with Search Result Pages“. 

It is well established that rankings on a Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) have much to do with whether a user is likely to click on a given result and higher rankings can actually have a positive effect on a brand’s perception and ‘likeability’ (MarketingSherpa, 2009). With the onset of Universal Search, this study sought to measure the user impact of this new generation of search engine result pages that include multimedia elements such as images and videos.  Specifically, we wanted to understand if there was a difference in emotional engagement with the results and if that would impact click propensity in Paid and Natural Search.  The study compared user engagement with Universal search results vs. traditional text-only results by recording the users’ eye tracking, physiological & emotional reactions, and click tracking behavior. 

Our research uncovered two significant insights.

Insight 1:

SERPs which include Universal Search results reinforce eyeballs to stay focused on the first page’s top paid and natural search results

Implications:

• The advent of Universal Search demands that companies optimize not only their text, but also their media (images, videos, etc)
• Image and video results may anchor users to stay at the top of the SERP
• Images and videos will begin to impact what users will click on first in a SERP

Insight 2:

The inclusion of Universal Search results increase emotional engagement during interactions with a SERP

Implications:

• Users will get an ‘instant gratification’ from images – perhaps more so from branded images
• Higher engagement with Universal results may stop users from exploring the rest of the SERP

OTOinsight’s “Implications of User Engagement with Search Result Pages” white paper is free and available to download here. 

Below is a PowerPoint presentation of the research findings that Dan Berlin and I shared earlier this week at the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Boston’s Annual Conference at Bentley University.

We welcome your comments, feedback, and suggestions.

Indeed, OTOi was highlighted along with AvenueA-Razorfish as one of the full service digital agencies to have established leading SEO/SEM practices internally over five years ago while larger agency families, like WPP, are just launching cross-agency search marketing support through its acquisition of 24/7 Real Media.