Archive: November, 2007

For the past six or seven years, one of the most dominant factors in determining page or document placement has been an evaluation of incoming links. Google pioneered the method, known as Pagerank, in its original algorithm and has refined it ever since. The recent flap over Pagerank revaluations might provide SEOs a broader hint at changes happening behind the scenes at Google and other major search engines. While unintended, Google might be signaling a step away from Pagerank as a primary means of recommendation and valuation.

A shift away from link based scoring methods would be an enormous step for Google to make however, looking at the evolution of the Internet, it is a logical step to make. Information transmitted over the Internet is changing rapidly as are user-habits. While it will continue to be a primarily text based medium, today’s Internet infrastructure allows easier access to a multiplicity of file types and formats, many of which are not conducive to the link-loving Google grew up on.