For merchants who enjoy putting their store websites on auto-pilot and sitting back to watch the sales come in, it is time to weep. That time is over, at least for merchants selling “fresh” product dependent on Google indexing. According to an official November 3rd, 2011 Google blog update:
Given the incredibly fast pace at which information moves in today’s world, the most recent information can be from the last week, day or even minute, and depending on the search terms, the algorithm needs to be able to figure out if a result from a week ago about a TV show is recent, or if a result from a week ago about breaking news is too old. (…this change noticeably impacts 6 – 10% of searches, depending on the language and domain you’re searching on.)
What this means is that merchants who want to rank well on Google should update their ecommerce store copy on an “as it changes” basis. Beware that even a few weeks or days delay could mean your store becomes outdated in the eyes of Google’s search spiders. Many merchants may be wondering whether everything needs to be updated with the same vigor, and the answer is yes and no. Obviously today’s search trends are about giving searchers the latest information, ideally as it occurs, not some stale copy baked three years ago. With that said, the above Google blog does indicate an attempt by Google’s search engines to be selective about what counts as fresh.
Different searches have different freshness needs. This algorithmic improvement is designed to better understand how to differentiate between these kinds of searches and the level of freshness you need, and make sure you get the most up to the minute answers.
The example Google proffers is: while a soup recipe posted several years back may not be affected by the new search update, a product review regarding the best slr cameras would be. This should have ecommerce merchants sighing with relief– it’s not necessary to hire copy writers to updates hundreds of pages of product copy, BUT it is still too early to relax. We recommend taking a proactive approach to adapt to Google search trends and updates. The last few Google updates (all taking place within months of each other) illustrate a clarity of vision over how best search practices should quench society’s insatiable hunger for the “hot from the oven” present moment.
That’s right folks, it’s a serve it up fresh world out there, so to stay in the game, keep the dough rising, unless you’re selling beef jerky.
For those who need a little more guidance on how to navigate newly mapped SEO waters (with Google’s new search updates in mind), order a FastPivot SEO analysis.
