With massive overhauls in google's search algorithms in recent months, many article writers and bloggers are taking big hits in the pocketbook when content that previously ranked well is now buried on page eleventy-seven. There's been a lot of speculation about how and what to write to get back into the running again, and fresh content is one of the topics that keeps popping up.
After what I saw this evening, I believe fresh content is key.
I had an article published on Yahoo! Shine this morning and also made several blog posts. For kicks, tonight I chose a basic phrase that might turn up either of those pieces and was pleasantly surprised at the results. Both topics should have been pretty well saturated on the internet already, but when using SwagBucks, ZoomBucks, and Yahoo search engines, the phrases I searched for returned both the article and blog post in the #1 position, although they were both on pg 2 of google results.
I asked a friend to search the same phrases that I did to see if my results were skewed based on my already having read both pieces, and my search patterns as a whole. Her results mirrored mine. Even though they didn't rank as high on google as they did the other search engines, I wouldn't have expected to even find them on google at all. The only thing I had going in my favor that is common to both pieces is that they're fresh content -- both were published today.
I know nothing of algorithms. I'm not a techie. I have no 'in' with any of the search engines. I don't have any scientific formula to back me up, but my experience this evening tells me that fresh content is a key player in what a search engine will return. Will that hold true tomorrow? That's anyone's guess.
Keep writing. Crank those articles out. Dust off your blog(s) and post frequently. Update that web page you've been neglecting. Nobody likes stale content.
After what I saw this evening, I believe fresh content is key.
I had an article published on Yahoo! Shine this morning and also made several blog posts. For kicks, tonight I chose a basic phrase that might turn up either of those pieces and was pleasantly surprised at the results. Both topics should have been pretty well saturated on the internet already, but when using SwagBucks, ZoomBucks, and Yahoo search engines, the phrases I searched for returned both the article and blog post in the #1 position, although they were both on pg 2 of google results.
I asked a friend to search the same phrases that I did to see if my results were skewed based on my already having read both pieces, and my search patterns as a whole. Her results mirrored mine. Even though they didn't rank as high on google as they did the other search engines, I wouldn't have expected to even find them on google at all. The only thing I had going in my favor that is common to both pieces is that they're fresh content -- both were published today.
I know nothing of algorithms. I'm not a techie. I have no 'in' with any of the search engines. I don't have any scientific formula to back me up, but my experience this evening tells me that fresh content is a key player in what a search engine will return. Will that hold true tomorrow? That's anyone's guess.
Keep writing. Crank those articles out. Dust off your blog(s) and post frequently. Update that web page you've been neglecting. Nobody likes stale content.
That is so true! I notice this myself. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI had a freshly published piece of content that actually hit Google's first page an hour or so after it published. Thanks for the info, I need to dust off them blogs!
ReplyDeleteThe $64,000 question is: Does updating current articles make them "fresh" in Google's eyes? Mahalo was certain that it did, and required that page managers update every page at least every 30 days. I know that no one outside of Google knows the answer to this question for sure. I am just pointing out there might be more to keeping content fresh than writing new posts and new articles.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece. I've been sticking to my blogging schedule and once I stick to it another month or so I'm going to blog even more frequently. I also need to get back in the habit of writing for Yahoo!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Great information.
ReplyDeleteJohn Mario