How Google’s Evolutionary Chain of Algorithms have Filtered the Internet

How the Evolution of Google’s Algorithms Have Filtered the Internet What does Google’s evolution of Algorithms have to do with your website, how it ranks and how your content is found? Find out.
Are you one of the many website owners constantly wondering why Google’s Algorithms have left you out, or what you can do to get ahead of the curve when it comes to search results?

Well, we’re going to talk about that today. More specifically, why we look to Google for answers and what Google’s evolution of algorithms have done to impact search results.

The Need for a Search Engine

It’s probably something you don’t even think about, but when was the last time you searched for something?

30 seconds ago? 5 minutes, 30 minutes maybe?

I’ll bet you can’t even imagine what life would be like without Google now. All that information right at your fingertips. We live in an age where you simply ask your phone a question and you get a dozen answers immediately. Of course, getting an exact result that matched your query is no easy task, but you don’t have to worry about that either.

Who cares — it just works right?

Well, maybe you’re one of those obsessive SEO’s or a digital marketer who is interested in how Google’s search algorithms impact websites. Whatever your reason, the evolution of AI over the years has certainly made Google the most trusted search engine in the World, so it is a little exciting to try and understand their inner workings.

How do Google’s Algorithms Work?

I’m not going to lie… the average Joe doesn’t know how Google algorithms work. In fact, unless you have insider knowledge as a Google engineer, and maybe not even then, you won’t know all that goes into producing those magical search results.

We do know that the process starts with the role of web-crawlers indexing web-pages. Beyond that tons of web-pages are getting crawled and it’s safe to say a LOT of data is being stored and evaluated regarding each of those pages.

I mean Google has reach all over the world and it’s leveraging all of this for information gathering. Information regarding individual user’s tastes, domain authority, website traffic, Click through rates, site speed, links, pages indexed and hundreds of other insights.

Think about it, Google is able to generate ads based on the websites you visit and even the products you are searching for. Google even serves up personalized results based on your browsing data when logged into Google or using Chrome. From the Chrome browser, it will easily have the cookies which keep track of your internet activity. Though they have a privacy policy sometimes it sure seems like they’re watching and listening to everything you do.

If Google’s algorithms are working so well to produce the results that people are looking for, then why are so many sites overlooked.

Maybe they’re not.

If there can only be a handful of ‘answers’ served up on the first page of results, well you can just imagine how many pages are getting left out. It doesn’t even mean that your pages are spammy or sub-par. Shoot maybe even some of your pages deserved to make it on the first page of results, but the truth is Google has done a pretty good job of determining what actually is relevant.

We’re going to take a chronological journey through Google’s most significant algorithms. It is important to keep in mind that we can only truly know what we’ve seen in terms of SERP changes over time and of course what Google has told us about those published updates. While we can’t know everything, there is enough data to string together very insightful optimization practices to better address what Google may be looking for in a website.

1. Panda

This is one of the core algorithms which is leveraged by Google’s AI to distinguish web-pages that are using plagiarized content for their marketing purpose. It doesn’t have to be plagiarized content — it could just be thin or crappy content. This thin, crappy or plagiarized content does not contribute to helping the end-user and thereby google penalizes it for the non-usability of resources. The site owner can later reform the web-page to satisfy the requirement and get back on track for having visitors. Panda is a broader concept which focuses on the we-page and frequently rolls out on websites giving them a chance to correct their mistakes.

2. Penguin

The penguin algorithm can be termed as a focused version of the panda but it relatively checks for the micromanagement which is done on the website.

Google first announced the Penguin update back on April 24, 2012, saying it was aimed at lower the search rankings of websites that violate its Webmaster Guidelines. More specifically, however, the update targeted websites that used black-hat techniques to manipulate their search rankings, such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, paid links, link farms, etc.

The best way to avoid getting hit by this algorithm is to manage your SEO services in order to maintain a natural and ethical way of building your website’s authority.

3. Hummingbird

This algorithm was officially launched to bridge the gap between user and information provider, as this algorithm is responsible to study the user perspective of searching query rather than the exact keyword. On the other end, it made the content developer get more focused on making the world understand their conceptual theory and not just focusing on keyword optimizing for getting rankings. This was a required revolutionary step for eradicating the “keyword stuffing to get you ranked on google” concept.

Hummingbird was an update that changed the way google understands queries and was a new engine for Google. It improved the understanding of synonyms, search intent, and conversational search. There were NOT widespread reports of ranking drops from this update, but helped produce better results based on search queries.

4. Pigeon

This algorithm can be better understood by relating it to the concept of messaging through pigeon done in the past from one location to another. This update was also related to location-based services and can identify the user’s current location to provide the resources which are nearby them. The only way you can help yourself to get business from this AI is through integrating yourself with google location and developing a good on-page strategy to clearly represent your physical.

5. Mobile

A couple of years ago google gave significant importance to mobile technology which was generating more queries for them as compared to web searches. The so-called “mobile” algorithms gave priority to the websites which were having mobile-friendly web design and responsive websites. This made a clear viewing aspect for the user to feasibly read the information and navigate through it. Its a device based ranking strategy which made the website across the world develop responsive websites that can recognize the screen layout and adjust the content accordingly. Many businesses got negatively affected, but Google works for user enhancement.

6. RankBrain

This can be taken as an extension of the hummingbird algorithm which will be providing more focus on the delivery of relevant content and it is a major factor when the page ranking is considered. Any term which is relevant to the user perspective of interest, location, race or genre will be shown on a priority basis. Though its internal working has never been disclosed, it is said that the RankBrain AI tweaks the algorithm on its own and is more efficient than Google engineers.

Depending on the keyword, RankBrain will increase or decrease the importance of backlinks, content freshness, content length, domain authority etc.

Then, it looks at how Google searchers interact with the new search results. If users like the new algorithm better, it stays. If not, RankBrain rolls back the old algorithm.

7. Possum

Many of google’s algorithms may sound like they are identical in processing but that’s not the case. A great example of this is the pigeon update which was initially confused with the possum update. Possum is an update which is purely related to user location and will get results basis on the location specified criteria such as language, news, political effects, weather, and whatnot.

As I mentioned, “Possum” is an update to Google’s local search rankings algorithm, and it decides when businesses will show up in local search results, sometimes filtering business listings out of search results. This means that some local businesses might not always appear for the same search.

Possum was a critical update in the growing divide between local and general search rankings.

8. Fred

This one is the most recently recognized Google algorithm updates which was released to make the web site owners follow their ideological rules and regulation. Designed with the goal to serve the end user with non spamming websites and less annoying advertisements on site to improve user experience. This algorithm identifies the web-pages which are over-utilizing the advertisement strategy to get revenue, mostly through popups and auto-link opening in the new tab of your browser. Google will be taking strict steps and might block your website from ranking, so it is advisable not to bomb your visitors with advertisements including pop up promos.

Type of Searches

Google provides quick and easy access to not only view and visits other websites but also to help you find images, local or international news, relevant videos or a specific place on maps. A 360-degree information resource allocation is done by its AI which won’t let the user go to other search engines. Currently, there is no other with the potential to beat google. It is a one-stop search engine.

I always like to say… if you can’t find it on google it doesn’t exist.

Though Google generates huge revenue through advertisement, we should be happy at-least searching content is free of cost.

Competitors Algorithms

The algorithms which are discussed earlier are implied on other types of searches too.

It can be said that it is not easy for any search engine to even get near the score of Google occupancy among the internet users who are using it to search. Though there are some search engines like duckduckgo and Baidu which are growing in this industry, they are following the footprints of google updates to provide relevant results. Baidu is a Chinese search engine that is mostly used in China only and the market there is dominated by it due to the language relevancy which is provided by it. But on a global scale, Google is dominating.

Conclusion for Why Google is Best in What it Does?

The vision and mission of Google are the driving force behind the company’s ideology of providing smart, reliable and futuristic solutions to sooth the searching experience of the users around the world irrelevant to their language or regional presence. The platform is a representation of efforts of the best and brightest in the World, who have made possible for any person around the world to access the information they need.

Today we are standing in a world where we come across this searching giant in every form whether it is the usage of devices like mobile, tv, car or any place with equipment connected to the internet, Google will be there for assistance, and we’ll be there for assistance in improving your website’s performance in Google.

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by Chris London of Pixel Productions Inc. The Everything Design Company