The impact of link exchanges in the search
engines
November 2003 might go down in history as
the month that Google shook a lot of smug
webmasters and search engine optimization
(SEO) specialists from the apple tree. But
more than likely, it was just a precursor
of the BIG shakeup to come.
Google touts highly its secret PageRank algorithm.
Although PageRank is just one factor in choosing
what sites appear on a specific search, it
is the main way that Google determines the
"importance" of a website.
In recent months, SEO specialists have become
expert at manipulating PageRank, particularly
through link exchanges.
There is nothing wrong with links. They make
the Web a web rather than a series of isolated
islands. However, PageRank relies on the naturally
"democratic" nature of the web,
whereby webmasters link to sites they feel
are important for their visitors. Google rightly
sees link exchanges designed to boost PageRank
as stuffing the ballot box.
I was not surprised to see Google try to
counter all the SEO efforts. In fact, I have
been arguing the case with many non- believing
SEO specialists over the past couple months.
But I was surprised to see the clumsy way
in which Google chose to do it.
Google targeted specific search terms, including
many of the most competitive and commercial
terms. Many websites lost top positions in
five or six terms, but maintain their positions
in several others. This had never happened
before. Give credit to Barry Lloyd of www.SearchEngineGuide.com
for cleverly uncovering the process.
For Google, this shakeup is just a temporary
fix. It will have to make much bigger changes
if it is serious about harnessing the "democratic"
nature of the Web and neutralizing the artificial
results of so many link exchanges.
Here are a few techniques Google might use
(remember to think like a search engine):
1. Google might start
valuing inbound links within paragraphs
much higher than links that stand on their
own.
(For all we know, Google is already doing
this.) Such links are much less likely to
be the product of a link exchange, and therefore
more likely to be genuine "democratic"
votes.
2. Google might look at
the concentration of inbound links across
a website.
If most inbound links point to the home
page, that is another possible indicator
of a link exchange, or at least that the
site's content is not important enough to
draw inbound links (and it is content that
Google wants to deliver to its searchers).
3. Google might take a
sample of inbound links to a domain, and
check to see how many are reciprocated back
to the linking domains.
If a high percentage are reciprocated,
Google might reduce the site's PageRank
accordingly. Or it might set a cut- point,
dropping from its index any website with
too many of its inbound links reciprocated.
4. Google might start
valuing outbound links more highly.
Two pages with 100 inbound links are, in
theory, valued equally, even if one has
20 outbound links and the other has none.
But why should Google send its searchers
down a dead-end street, when the information
highway is paved just as smoothly on a major
thoroughfare?
5. Google might weigh
a website's outbound link concentration.
A website with most outbound links concentrated
on just a few pages is more likely to be
a "link-exchanger" than a site
with links spread out across its pages.
Google might use a combination of these techniques
and ones not mentioned here. We cannot predict
the exact algorithm, nor can we assume that
it will remain constant. What we can do is
to prepare our websites to look and act like
a website would on a "democratic"
Web as Google would see it.
For Google to hold its own against upstart
search engines, it must deliver on its PageRank
promise. Its results reflect the "democratic"
nature of the Web. Its algorithm must prod
webmasters to give links on their own merit.
That won't be easy or even completely possible.
And people will always find ways to turn Google's
algorithm to their advantage. But the techniques
above can send the Internet a long way back
to where Google promises it will be.
The time is now to start preparing your website
for the changes to come.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Leonhardt is an online and offline
publicity specialist who believes in getting
in front of the ball, rather than chasing
it downhill. To get your website optimized,
email him at info@thehappyguy.com. Pick
up a copy of Don't
Get Banned By The Search Engines or
of Get
In The News.
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