If you work in SEO, the state of the Google algorithm really affects your life.

3 changes have been playing tricks with our SEO sanity recently:

• The mayhem of the recent .co.uk TLD update
• The Vince Update and Google’s increasing emphasis on “brands”
• The upcoming Google Caffeine changes

Google.co.uk SERP Mayhem

For the past few weeks, we’ve wracked our brains and stressed our little hearts out about the results for some of our UK-based clients. Turns out – we weren’t the only ones in this quandary. Other major SEM agencies in the UK have also been having issues.

Previously, a .co.uk top level domain (TLD) gave you an edge in the UK SERP results. However, we figured out in the past few weeks that Google made some changes to their algorithm (June/July 2009) for UK indexing, which negated any .co.uk advantage.

From tests, we’ve seen that non-UK TLD’s (e.g. .com) are now able to rank better in the UK SERP results than they had before. Having a .co.uk TLD no longer provides any “lift” in your natural SERP’s.

Read more about it in these posts:

• SearchEngineLand – 25August 2009
• Dave Naylor’s Blog – 6 August 2009
• Burn Down Easy Blog – 5 August 2009
• SEOMoz – 21 August
• Searchnewz – 22 June 2009

We’ve noticed some really strange SERP’s trumping our UK clients results and we’ve seen a lot of yo-yo effects – as the Google algorithm calibrates itself for these changes. We expect these fluctuations will continue for a few weeks or months, until Google has re-established its yardsticks for relevance and authority on the new UK algorithm rules.

Based on what we’ve noticed though, the .co.uk TLD issue is not the full story behind what is happening.

The Vince Update

Google is simultaneously doing a few other things in the algorithm, which are also impacting the SERPs of our clients.

There was a major update to the algorithm (most call it the “Vince Update”) on 18th February 2009. The Vince Update placed an increasing emphasis on “brands” as signalers of authority, trust and SERP-worthiness.

Since then, various search professionals have done tests and some are up in arms because they suggest that this Vince Update places a heavy emphasis on branding in an unfair way.

The Vince Update seems to be slowly rolling out across the various local Google search engines and we are starting to see the effect of “brands” on the local search engine results our clients are getting.

The Vince Update reminds me of the “Florida Update” which has had a major impact on the Google SERPs since 18th November 2003. Although, in retrospect we will probably realise that the Vince Update will have even more of an impact than the Florida Update did. [That’s just my take on the matter.]

The SEO’s who have benefited from the Vince Update are smiling – but the ones who haven’t are cynically questioning the underlying reasons for Google’s emphasis on brands.

In retrospect, the Vince Update shouldn’t have surprised us all that much - less than a year ago, in October 2008, Google’s Eric Schmidt had the following to say about brands:

“The internet is fast becoming a "cesspool" where false information thrives….brands were increasingly important signals that content can be trusted…. Brands are the solution, not the problem…Brands are how you sort out the cesspool."

What Mr Schmidt fails to point out above, is that the Internet has always been a “cesspool” and Google has made a good living from sorting and purifying it for us and would no doubt like to continue to do so.

If you read my post about the Value of Search for Branding in the Travel industry – you will see the 3rd party surveys done for Google by companies like OTX Research, are confirming the relationship between brands and search and how search can be used to enhance brand awareness and competitiveness.

However, I think this recent change goes even further than just recognising the relationship between search marketing and branding.

My skeptical business-brain is whispering to me that this new emphasis on “brands” might revolve around a realisation within Google that:

• “Brands” have more marketing spend
• Often have a global reach (perfectly suited to search marketing)
• Brands are increasingly willing to use large sums of money to create awareness and defend their brands online.

And, with Google’s increasing pressure to demonstrate good ongoing earnings growth – we can hardly blame them for strategically aligning with big name (read: big spend) brands so as to monetise their search real estate in the best possible ways.

Google Caffeine

The last thing I want to mention on this Google Algorithm Watch is the Google Caffeine Update, which was released in BETA recently.

Google is planning an upgrade to their search engine. It seems like there will be a restructuring of some of the ‘parts under the hood’ which will be the “next generation” of Google Search. They claim it will improve Google’s “indexing speed, accuracy, size, and comprehensiveness.” This reminds me of the Big Daddy Update in early 2006 - where Google updated both the infrastructure and the operation of the search engine.

They’ve made the BETA of Google Caffeine available at: http://www2.sandbox.google.com/.

Notably, this is the first time they’ve released a BETA version of their search engine changes in advance for webmaster’s and SEO’s to play about with.

@mashable played with Google Caffeine and reported that not only was it faster – but it produced more “real-time” results and relies more heavily on keywords.

We’re still playing with Google Caffeine to compare what results will look like between the new and old Google. It will be fascinating to see what happens when it gets released live and “in the wild”.

Let’s just say, SEO’s live in interesting times.

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