Do Joomla!

Big Search Engine Changes in 2012

The world of search engine optimization suffered through what seemed like the end of the Mayan calendar in 2011. The search engines, particularly Google, just decided to flip all the game pieces in the air and more or less start again when it came to rankings.
by HalstattPires


The world of search engine optimization suffered through what seemed like the end of the Mayan calendar in 2011. The search engines, particularly Google, just decided to flip all the game pieces in the air and more or less start again when it came to rankings.

This begs the question of what we can expect to see in 2012 moving forward. Will the world of search engine optimization be one in which the search engines are constantly changing the rules of the game again or not?

The bad news is we are not going to see any stability in the coming year. The search engines grew fat on the dominant positions the last decade. Then Facebook happened and the search engines were left in the dust. Now they are trying to react to these changes.

I thought this was definitely what 2011 ended up being all about. From Panda to the Freshness upgrade, the various search engines were rearranging elements in anticipation of making significant adjustments for the coming calendar year. What precisely will the main focus be in next season?

The answer will be social media marketing integration. The major search engines may well be late to the game, but they're intending to try to nose in on Facebook's action. It is as easy as that. This is just what Google plus is about.

The patents that are out this year from Google detail the way the online search engine company means to make a significant leap into web 2.0. The idea will be to start integrating the content into its search result formula.

Contemplate that for a moment. The trust factor of the majority of websites will depend on what people in social communities are saying about it. This can appear to be the greatest thing in the world, but it clearly is not. Why? Exploitation will be a huge problem.

Let's say I set up a team of people who have established Twitter and Facebook accounts with lots of followers. I identify two doctors in Los Angeles who are competing to rank for a major keyword. I could have one pay me to have my team post negative comments about them and drop them in the rankings.

The search engines have long parroted the declaration their search results are about providing individuals with the best experience. This really is no more the truth. Now they are only trying to catch up in a social media game that they overlooked in the past.

While many will see this as the search engines getting their just deserts, especially Google, it doesn't make everyday living for folks inside the search engine ranking game any less complicated. In truth, the coming year could be a genuine dozy for most of us. See you then.

Author: