Whenever Google makes an update to their search algorithm great debates are sparked over the fairness of the search model and whether Google has too much power. It is understandable that people complain about an update if it has a negative effect on their ranking, and therefore their business. Some commentators ask if the best thing to do would be to regulate Google, or even make the algorithm public.

Complaints run along familiar lines. Google keep things secret so web publishers don’t know what the ‘rules’ are and when updates are made, without prior warning some businesses suffer greatly. This coupled with the fact that search is such a large part of the economy now, means that one company should not be too dominant. The argument goes that therefore, the algorithm should be made public.

Some of the points made are genuine concerns to consider but the step into making the algorithm public is a step too far. It would bring far too many problems. Primarily the search experience would suffer. Spam is a massive problem in electronic communication and I have little doubt search results would be quickly infiltrated by spammers. Legitimate sites would find it harder to rank well and the whole mantra of a search engine would be compromised.

Essentially the more secret the algorithm is, the better protected the search results are. Google, and Bing and Yahoo for that matter, work on the premise that they will return the most relevant web resources for your search. All of the added value you can get with their other services help but the core remains the same. The challenge is to make your site more useful and a better user experience than the competition.

If you would like to speak to an SEO consultant about your website and how Google can affect your business please call us on 02380 4233348.