With recent news that GoogleBot will be able to determine the position of the content on the page, like whether the content is above the fold and if the site is Ad heavy in this region, it is becoming more and more apparent that the search giant is seeking to do it’s users justice by serving up relevant copy that is not only relevant to the query but also appeals to the masses.

Mobile

So to comes the fulfilled proclamation that this would be the year of Mobile and Social within search (also Local), and that it has. 15%+ of Google queries coming from mobile devices (30%+ of those queries are with local intent) proving page load time and mobile web development to be very important for your digital strategy.

Ten Algorithm Changes

And now enter ten algorithm changes on Inside Search (The Official Google Blog) with at least two of them mentioning snippets directly and another citing freshness (as part of the recent freshness update) one draws a conclusion that is parallel to real time, user satisfied content that is verifiably authoritative.

But doesn’t this path take even more of the responsibility of the query results away from the SE giant and push it towards the community? Isn’t there in fact a trust that has been built over the years that Google serves up the most relevant results and with this direction are we headed toward social manipulation?

Many Changes This Year

This year we’ve seen great strides in local results and listings and this was well received within the search community. Then the content argument and Farmer/Panda redirected all of the community attention toward how steep the threshold is for affectation, in what was to be an update toward providing the best content. So, direction changes throughout the year have been a consistency within Google Search updates this year.

Fresh and strategically placed on-site content, with rich snippets, schema.org and social engagement continue to be the big winners to date. SEO is confirmed that it is in fact, “Not Spam” (which is really validating as a marketer) but I am said to say that, as a marketer, I am no longer able to view my keyword level organic traffic in
Analytics.

While there is certainly more to come on many of these, including searchless-search, which will certainly introduce many comical sources and mediums in the near future. And with these continuous changes and updates we can rest assured that Google knows what is best for us, the users. Dropping ads off the sidebar is just another example that it is serving up pages with users in mind. Ever evolving and un-compromising, Google continues to impress it’s growing community.