Google Caffeine Buzz: Is Your Site Ready?

If you haven’t heard, Google is poised to launch major enhancements to its search algorithm any day now. Code name: Google Caffeine.

Google announced in November that they chose to release the enhancements after the 1st of the year to avoid disrupting customers and retailers during the Christmas shopping rush.

So…it’s finally the new year. Anyone who works in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Web Content is holding their breath! After all, the content and steps taken to rank in Google will likely need to be revisited or audited once Google Caffeine is unveiled.

What’s Up Google’s Sleeve?

Google’s not messing with us. Unlike Facebook (yes, I’m still annoyed), they do serious research, user testing and gather feedback before making any sudden moves. Have no fear. They’re just making themselves even more awesome and Google-like. Google will always be about delivering the most relevant search results and content to its users. End of story. Google Caffeine will certainly reflect that mission.

Steps You Can Take

Although we won’t know exactly what Google Caffeine will look like until its launch, there is information from the Google camp and industry experts that gives us an idea of what to expect. 

Here are some steps you can take to get ready for the Caffeine rush!

1. Become a Content Machine. Content is still King. Only now, it needs to be fresher, more frequent and more relevant than ever. If you’re still on the fence about whether you should commit time and resources to building fresh content regularly, this is the time to jump. Bloggers rejoice. The “freshness” score will be in your favor—so long as you’re creating new content several times a week.
2. Fix Slow-Loading Pages. It will be more important than ever to address pages that appear to stutter and stall. Optimize images, remove clunky code and kill the JavaScript that’s slowing down you down. Slowness annoys visitors. Therefore, it annoys Google and will cost you Google Karma points. Sites built on WordPress.org and other “clean-code” platforms will be rewarded.
3. Create Inbound Links. Google will still look at links from external sources as important in determining your ranking. However, it’s highly likely that Google Caffeine will give more weight to inbound links from Social Media sources. Of course, many spammers will take this to mean that they should post to Twitter every two to three minutes. Google’s Already Taking Steps to Squash Auto Tweets.

The Moral of the Story: Create Content. Don’t Play Games.

As always, there will be a flood of folks claiming to have the “overnight” solution to beating Google at their “new game.” Avoid looking at Google rankings as a game. Treat Google as you would any visitor to your site. Provide a good user experience and valuable, relevant content! You’ll win Google Karma points. It really is that simple.

Keywords Still Matter.

So, should you still research and integrate keywords into your content? Of course! Including the right keywords is still critical. But think of keyword research as learning about what users want and need. Deliver content that they’re looking for, but ONLY if it’s relevant to your company, business or interests.