The elusive Google algorithm. For individuals working in search engine optimization, this equation can almost single-handedly affect how marketing budgets are put together, how funds are allocated, and how a company’s advertising ultimately performs on the Google Search Network. Companies almost literally live and die by the algorithm, and it is crucial that search engine marketing be algorithm-friendly.
So if this algorithm is so important, everyone knows the ins and outs of how it works, right? Wrong. The reason I refer to it as the elusive Google algorithm above is because no one really knows exactly how the algorithm, or algorithms as the case may be, works. Google has hundreds if not thousands of algorithms that power their search engine and hold that they cannot disclose the ins and outs of its functionality because it would compromise the integrity of the search function.
This leaves companies between a rock and a hard place. Being featured prominently on the Google Search network drives site views, customer engagement, traffic and, ultimately, sales. But how is a company supposed to feature in the first couple of results if they don’t know how the algorithm actually works? It is certainly a catch-22, and even Google has admitted that they tweak the algorithm more than 500 times per year. Yep, that means that this algorithm is tweaked more than once a day for a large portion of the year.
While this certainly adds to the mystique, Google isn’t concealing or altering their algorithm specifically to aggravate customers. Quite the contrary, actually. Google’s main goal in modifying their search equation so frequently is so that the most relevant search results will be generated and displayed. So with that said, search results should be ranked in terms of both how informative and accurate they are, correct? Wrong again.
Just today the New York Times wrote a piece on how to deal with identity hijacking on the Internet. They detailed the example of Rick Santorum, a Republican presidential candidate whose online identity has been gravely compromised. Dan Savage the editorial director of The Stranger has started a website calling him by a not-so-nice nickname (Savage’s characterization is much too graphic to post here, but one need only Google Santorum and the point will be made loud and clear).
This derogatory blog has actually made it to number one in Google’s organic search, calling in to question Google’s algorithm and how it organizes its search results. Google’s main goal is to provide search results that represent the content and information that is available on the web. Any attempts to remove or drop the rank of said website could be seen as censorship, and Google advises those unhappy with content being displayed about them over the internet to get in to contact with the page’s webmaster directly.
As Google points out, they are tweaking the algorithm constantly, which should ultimately ferret out content that is less relevant. So perhaps the problem of identity hijacking is only a minor one that will quickly disappear when Google next tweaks their algorithm. Rick Santorum can only hope.
