In a recent Google HQ blog post, Google revealed some of its 'secrets'. The full post can be found here but here's my take on things:

1. PageRank is no longer as important as it used to be.

2. Google will keep changing the mix to defeat spammers, confuse the competition (and to protect their Adwords revenue, unsaid by Google).

3. They have invested over 1,000 man YEARS in perfecting their algorithms, so if you or I think that we can outsmart them anytime soon, we are kidding ourselves.

4. They have a dedicated team that spots attempts to 'fool' the index. When identified, they then introduce a scaleable 'block' that neutralizes the attempt (how many times have you seen the 'latest and the greatest' fall by the wayside? Now, you know why).

5. In 2007, they launched more than 450 new improvements to their algorithm, about 9 per week on the average. Think about this when you come up with your next SEO strategy, things are going to keep on changing.

6. The results that you see maybe be different from the results that I see. To quote:

"some queries are best answered with a 30-minutes old page, and some are better answered with a page that stood the test of time), and personalized models (not all people want the same thing)."

What conclusions can you draw from all this? Not much that we didn't know already. You need to keep supplying fresh updated and relevant content. You need to keep trying different tactics so that you have other bases covered when one of the 450 changes effects you directly. Don't be obsessed about PageRank, it is clearly not as important as it used to be. Lastly and most importantly, if you think that you can 'trick' Google then you might be able to get away with it for a while, but it will not be long lasting business model. My recommendation, as always, is keep it straight, keep it varied, keep it fresh. Of course, my methods are spam free, so if you want to learn how to conquer Google, legally, then please sign up for 366 FREE Internet Marketing Tips AND Secrets and you will get the 'how to' course as an added bonus, totally free of charge.

Good luck!!

Technorati Tags: google, google seo, google secrets

The good thing about doing a live and in depth 'how do I conquer Google?' study is that you get to watch what happens within Google pretty closely. Now, if you have been following, you will know that I have two campaigns underway as we speak, both targeting different search terms for my poetry site (see paper gifts for first anniversary and funny 50th birthday poem for more details). Now, of course what Google shows the public and what happens within the Google machine itself are two different things. For example, most people know that the PR that we all see is not the one Google uses for ranking purposes, they use the LIVE PR, whereas the PR we see only gets updated every few months or so. (IMHO PR is a lot less important than it used to be). So, having said all that, it is interesting to note that the 211 Google links that were listed yesterday, have now shrunk to 113. How interesting! Again, this emphasises the importance of frequent posting, because a lot of those listings were obviously on high submission sites (see ice below for example). It is common knowledge that Google's algorithm has been tweaked in favour of NEWER content i.e. blog posts, Web 2.0, all that jazz. That is why if you follow the steps outlined you can get some pretty quick results. The trick is to gain longevity and for that, you need to add some secret sauce. Sign up for 366 FREE Internet Marketing Tips AND Secrets to get the recipe for longevity! However, by studying the results for "paper gift for first anniversary" in Google, we discover some interesting facts. Remember! This whole campaign started just 5 days ago! So, at the time of writing, here is what we have:

1. www.agiftofpoetry.com/ - My site, good.
2. www.agiftofpoetry.com/blogroll/first-anniversary-gift-ideas/ - My site, good.
3. www.internet-marketing-sense.com/blog/paper-gifts-for-first-anniversary/ - My site, good.
4. www.internet-marketing-sense.com/blog/positions-1-2-in-just-24-hours/ - My site, good.
5. feedest.com/feedShow.cfm/feed/5E5741785D - My Squidoo feed on Feedest.
6. rss2.com/feeds/paper-gifts-for-first-anniversary - My blog feed on RSS2.
7. www.squidoo.com/paper-gifts-for-first-anniversary - My squidoo page.
8. www.blogcatalog.com/post-tag/anniversary/ - List of all blogcatalog's posts tagged with 'anniversary', which includes mine.
9. blogs.icerocket.com/tag/google - List of all icerocket's posts tagged with 'google', which did include mine (because of the number of submissions ice love only lasts a day or so)
10. http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/topics/dailybasis - List of all mybloglog's posts tagged with 'daily basis', which by fluke, mine was (one of the benefits of using Simple Tags with Auto Tags as previously advised).

Ok, what can we learn from this? Well, apart from the very satisfactory results for my sites, the other obvious standout is Squidoo. 1 of the 10 positions is taken by the lens itself, the other by the feed of the lens. Also, interesting to note that feedest came top of the feed pile. Will keep an eye on that one. The other important 'secret' to come out of this is the importance of tagging, both technorati tags and simple tags. Follow the link for more on both. You should, as 3 of the 10 results are as a direct result of 'tagging'.

By the way, the campaign I started yesterday…I now have 2 out of the top 20 positions already..looking good, with around 60 links already being listed…looks like a winner at this early stage.

So, to sum up, what are the secrets that Google has revealed:

1. It is important to blog often with keyword focused unique content (no secret, just a reiteration).
2. Squidoo and RSS feeds play a vital role. Without these tactics, it is a lot harder.
3. Tag and tag often. Every tag basically gives you another listing. Using automatic tags is a big plus.
4. Cross link at every opportunity. You will notice that I have given some link love above. I could have used the target keyword for every link but in this case, I think that would be stretching a point.

Stay tuned!!

Technorati Tags: 50th birthday poem, anniversary gift ideas, first anniversary gift, first anniversary gift ideas, funny 50th birthday poem, google link, google secrets